🚀 Never blank out in an interview again

Before we dive into today’s article, I want to give a shout-out to Sahithi for being the first reader to reply with the correct answer to last week’s riddle. One day, there will be Out of Scope merch, and it will be amazing, and all past riddle winners will receive free merch. Now let’s dive in!

Picture this: You're in the final round for your dream PM role. The interviewer asks, "Tell me about a time you used data to inform a major product decision."

Your mind races. You know you've done this—probably dozens of times. But which story? What were the exact metrics? Who was that skeptical VP? The details blur together into a hazy mess of "that project where we increased engagement somehow."

Here's what's happening: You're about to lose a job you're perfectly qualified for, not because you lack experience, but because you can't access it when it matters most.

The Memory Gap That Tanks Interviews

After coaching many PMs through interviews, I've seen this pattern repeatedly: even senior PMs with years of experience struggle to recall specific examples beyond their last role. The cost? Missed opportunities and watching less-qualified candidates land roles because they had better stories ready.

And as one of my readers, I know you must have already accomplished a dizzying number of things. You should be proud of yourself. You better believe that I am.

The problem isn't what you've done. It's accessing those stories when it matters most. Here's what separates PMs who nail every interview from those who give generic answers: maintaining what's known as a "brag document"—and tailoring it specifically for product management.

The System That's Saved Me Countless Times

Years later, I can still tell you:

• Why that A/B test to increase conversions on Hims Hair didn't move the needle

• How a test to increase usage of a product at ZipRecruiter drove such a large increase that it needed to be re-validated

• How I navigated launching products with minimal resources at Noom

Not because I have superhuman memory. Because I've maintained a brag document for years, and can reference it any time that I have an interview.

Your PM Brag Document: The Framework

Track these elements for every significant project, launch, or incident:

1. WHAT the feature was

2. HOW it impacted customers (wins and losses are both valuable) and what you learned

3. WHY you chose to do it (including any supporting high-level insights/data)

4. WHO you worked with (which cross-functional teams were involved)

5. WHAT challenges you faced (ex:  blockers, difficult conversations, last-minute requests, process inefficiencies, etc.)

6. ANY learnings and takeaways for future products

The Interview Gold: Document the moments that make great interview stories—times you influenced without authority, when data overturned conventional wisdom, popular requests you had to reject, crises you managed, and processes you created. These are the experiences that separate good answers from great ones.

The 15-Minute Monthly Ritual

Set a monthly recurring calendar hold called "Update Brag Document." During this time:

1. Review your calendar from the past month

2. Scan sent messages for launches, decisions, conflicts, wins

3. Add 2-3 entries with key details while they're fresh

4. Revisit old entries and flesh out details that might have changed

This practice transforms more than just interviews. Performance reviews are much easier when you have concrete examples ready to copy and paste—no more scrambling to remember what you accomplished six months ago or underselling your impact with vague language. Your negotiation power increases dramatically when you can point to quantified achievements instead of making claims about "driving growth" or "improving user experience."

Supercharge It With AI

Here's a bonus move that'll save you hours during interview prep: drop your entire brag document into ChatGPT. Tell it to organize your experiences against commonly asked "tell me about a time when" questions in PM interviews.

Ask something like: "Based on these experiences, which stories should I use for questions about stakeholder management, data-driven decisions, handling failure, influence without authority, and prioritization?" The AI will map your stories to question types, so when an interviewer asks about conflict resolution, you'll instantly know which of your three relevant examples hits hardest.

The Competitive Advantage

Think of your brag document as career insurance. You might not need it today, but when opportunity knocks—whether it's an unexpected interview, a promotion discussion, or a performance review—you'll be ready.

While other candidates fumble through vague examples about "improving user experience", you'll be the one with specific numbers, clear conflicts, and compelling resolutions. 

Your future self will thank you for starting today.

The Riddle

The Meme