What they are really asking

This is a preparation check with a sharper edge than the general company question. If you'll work on the product, sell it or support it, they expect you to have touched it. Have you tried it, read about it, or at least watched a demo? And do you understand who it's for?

The trap is either knowing nothing or pretending to know everything. Guessing about features you haven't seen is risky, because the person across the table built them. A strong answer describes the product in your own words, mentions how you tried it, and adds one thoughtful observation. A question is fine too. Curiosity sounds better than a speech.

A shape that works

Describe, experience, observation. One sentence on what the product does and who it's for, in plain words. One or two sentences on how you got to know it. Then one observation: something you liked, something that surprised you, or a small question. Keep any criticism gentle and phrase it as a question.

Model answers

Listen to how each answer is built, then make it yours.

Answer 1: a customer support candidate in Austin, applying to Tallyboard
Answer 2: a sales engineer in Osaka, applying to Tsubame Flow
Answer 3: a food scientist in Delhi, applying to Monsoon Dairy

Check yourself

1Why is it risky to guess about features you haven't seen?
2How does the support candidate handle a possible weak point?

Practice · 3 min

Pick a product you use every day. Record a one-minute answer as if you were applying to the company that makes it: what it is and who it's for, how you use it, and one observation or question. Listen back and check that you described it in your own words.

Your recording stays on this device. Nothing is uploaded.

Say it today

Use it once in a real conversation before tomorrow. Out loud counts, even to yourself.