Recently, I had a job interview opportunity. I received a proposal from a senior at school, and the field is in the entertainment industry. Actually, I’ve always been interested in entertainment, especially K-pop, so it was a very intriguing proposal.
The specific role cannot be discussed in detail due to the NDA, but it involves utilizing data. Since I’ve worked as a Product Owner, I did ponder whether Data Science would be more suitable for the company.
However, the thought of working in an industry I love and hearing about the excellence of the team members made me approach the job interview with enthusiasm.
Brief notes from the job interview:
Introduce yourself.
Self-introduction is always challenging. I usually stick to basics like name and a brief overview of my career (school – first job ~ current job). If I have more time, I talk about why I applied to this company and how I can contribute to it.
Do you know what position you're applying for?
I had an idea from the discussions I had with a senior before the interview. I briefly mentioned the ultimate tasks and goals, and divided them into immediate actions.
Why did you leave your last company?
It’s always difficult to answer. I can’t list the shortcomings of the last company, nor can I talk about a failure. I worried it might reveal my unfixable flaws. My answer was “Because I couldn’t have ownership as a Product Manager.”
Couldn't have ownership in your role or was it impossible due to the organizational structure? What influenced you to leave the company?
I seem to like dividing things into pieces. In fact, dividing and combining concepts is a virtue highly demanded of leaders.
I didn’t fully understand the two distinctions, so I asked again, but I still don’t know how the other person distinguished them.
Not having ownership right away wasn’t a problem, but even executives who came before me hadn’t received ownership from the CEO yet. Seeing this, I thought it would be difficult in the future.
Our organization is difficult to lead with ownership. Isn't it not a good fit for you?
I was curious if not having ownership meant not being able to work. Ownership is necessary in my role, but it’s not something I personally strongly desire.
The main focus of the entertainment industry is creativity and sensibility. Data is like the tail—it shouldn’t wag the body, but it should assist creators from making wrong decisions.
What was the size of the organization you led as a Product Manager, and what communication methods did you use?
It’s a newly formed organization, and communication with various creators is necessary, so they wanted to check my ability and experience in leading.
Question: Is your leadership more charismatic or servant?
Answer: Servant.
Then wouldn't things not work out?
Most startups start with not knowing the “right answer.” If we knew the answer, we could proceed with charisma, but when none of us knows, the best way is to quickly validate the most suitable one among everyone’s opinions with minimal resources.
If we work together, what data would you like to know first?
I want to know about the customers. Who consumes our content? I want to divide customers by region, age, gender, etc. Then, I’d like to know about the revenue. We are a business and need to generate profit.
Reflection:
I wish I could have talked more about the project in detail. It seems like I only talked about generalities and unverifiable stories. To do that, I need to briefly describe my project and memorize some figures.
Max