What interview question best signals a candidate's growth-marketing ability?

Casey Winters · Sep 22, 2021

The best test of data thinking is a diagnostic case: give a metric movement and see whether the candidate reasons about base rates, comparative datasets, and isolating variables rather than immediately slicing dimensions

At a startup every metric is up year over year, so the right instinct is to check the comparison case (e.g. weekdays vs weekends) before hunting for a cause

15:03 Diagnostic metric movement case testing base rate reasoning is the best signal of data thinking

Hila Qu · Jan 18, 2023

Asking a growth candidate for their most unexpected experiment result, and what they did next, is the most revealing interview question

Candidates prepare their most successful experiments in advance, so asking for unexpected results surfaces how they actually dissect findings and decide next steps

29:48 Asking for the most unexpected experiment result reveals how candidates actually dissect findings

Guillaume Cabane · Nov 29, 2023

Asking growth candidates about video games — the platform, the rules, their winning strategy — is a strong signal for growth ability

Growth is understanding the rules, thinking outside the box, and making valuable risk-adjusted bets, which is exactly what a good game player does

49:39 Video game strategy questions reveal growth thinking ability

Adam Grenier · Mar 15, 2023

Probing candidates on how they would grow new, more frequent and higher-quality engagement is a strong growth interview question because most growth people only think about acquisition

It tests both down-funnel customer need and the ability to prioritize and operate experiments beyond ads and landing page tests

20:36 Probing growth beyond acquisition into frequency and quality of engagement signals broader thinking

Mike Duboe · Feb 15, 2023

'Pick your favorite product and tell me how it grows' is a high-signal early filter question for growth candidates

It reveals whether someone understands growth as a system and can think holistically rather than citing a single case study or anecdote, and it tests both quantitative reasoning and user psychology

21:11 Asking candidates to explain how their favorite product grows reveals systemic growth thinking

Mike Duboe · Feb 15, 2023

Asking a growth candidate about a time they failed matters more for growth roles than for others, because you're screening for risk appetite and willingness to learn from failure

Failure is inherent to the experimentation process, and the worst behavior in a growth role is covering up or not acknowledging failures instead of learning from them

22:22 Asking about past failure screens for risk appetite and willingness to learn especially for growth roles

Mike Duboe · Feb 15, 2023

Asking a candidate for a prioritized experiment roadmap for a given feature is a good exercise because it tests whether they have a triage system and an ROI mindset

Running a growth team requires a system for triaging experiment ideas; candidates who bring a laundry list down to button colors without higher-order context reveal a lack of prioritization

23:36 Prioritized experiment roadmap exercise tests triage system and roi mindset