Synology Interview Experience Sharing｜Synology Project Manager (Global Marketing)
Synology is committed to developing high-performance, reliable, multi-functional, power-saving and environmentally friendly network storage servers (NAS servers). NAS is mainly a smart storage device that can be connected to the network at home or in the office. It is not only suitable for important personal files Backup also helps companies improve productivity. I did some homework when I received the interview notice and found out that Synology is a company known as the interview devil on PTT’s technology page. I also heard that the company’s salary and benefits are very competitive. It is said that the salary is as high as 30 months~ (Super tempting 😍) Today I will share with you my experience in interviewing Synology, and provide it for people who need it for reference!
Synology interview process
At that time, I applied for the Project Manager position at Synology through LinkedIn. It seemed that the position was for Senior positions, but I still wanted to give it a try XD (inexplicable Forrest Gump spirit). It is said online that the interview usually lasts three hours directly on site, which is a very compact and high-pressure interview. However, due to the epidemic this year, this time it was divided into three online interviews. I guess the previous interview was divided into three. The reason why the second interview was so tight was because I had an offer in hand at the time, so I coordinated with HR to see if I could speed up my application process, so if it were a normal interview, it shouldn’t be that fast!
2021.06.17 HR invitation letter
2021.06.25 One side (HR + department colleagues*2)
2021.07.01 Two-person job invitation, time is one week (7/8 DL)
2021.07.12 HR letter inviting two interviews
2021.07.15 Two interviews (department colleagues*4)
2021.07.23 Received thank you letter
Note: Part of the third interview is expected to be conducted next week after the second interview. It is said that the interview will be with the department head. The first and second interviews should be colleagues from the department.
Synology Interview Job Introduction
The job vacancy I applied for at that time wasProject Manager (Global Marketing), mainly researching, collecting customer insights, and then making decisions to formulate the company's go-to-market strategy. Therefore, the job vacancy not only includes the work characteristics of a PM, but also involves marketing and marketing-related abilities, so I am quite interested in this part of the job. This is my first interview, haha. It was quite challenging for me to encounter such a high-intensity interview and I learned a lot!
Job description:
- Conduct detailed market and customer research to gain insight into the details behind purchasing decisions, how key players act, and provide valuable insights to other teams to tailor their efforts.
- Understand how to identify and execute complex projects, often working with other cross-functional teams to produce accurate and high-quality deliverables.
- Develop and improve marketing strategies based on a thorough understanding of internal developments and external market trends.
- Work closely with content marketing and copywriting teams to execute plans to reach diverse customer segments, including creating campaigns, marketing collateral, and more.
- Manage operations on a global scale, working with multiple regional teams around the world to adjust strategy based on local needs while balancing brand consistency and downstream team resources.
Job requirements:
- 3+ years of relevant work experience in a marketing, product marketing, product management or strategic planning role.
- Experience working in the consumer electronics, server or enterprise IT equipment markets.
- Clear and concise communication skills in Chinese and English, able to efficiently convey the latest information, and at the same time, be able to accurately convey the importance of matters to stakeholders.
- Experience in handling B2B and B2C marketing objectives.
- Excellent problem-solving experience that can demonstrate how they have handled difficult challenges in the past.
Synology interview questions
The interview process for this job opening at Synology is divided into two stages. The first stage is a background inquiry and general interview. The HR will briefly check your background and ask relevant questions, and then department colleagues will ask more questions about the PM. The second level is a briefing and interview based on your assignment. Department colleagues will listen to your Sales Kit briefing. This paragraph will describe these two levels in detail respectively.
Side 1 (nearly 2 hours)
At the beginning of this level, the HR will simply check your background and ask a lot of questions related to your resume. I think the questions are quite detailed. This session will take nearly an hour. Then the interviewers from the two departments asked some PM-related situational questions. This session also took nearly an hour. The following is a list of the more impressive questions I was asked at that time and my answers for your reference. This is my first time interviewing for a PM job. If you have a better solution, please share it with me!
HR
- Why did you originally want to change your career from landscape to enterprise research? Is there any tutoring?
- What is the thesis title? Why do you do this topic?
- Do you like the way instructors lead people? Why?
- Ask about past internship experiences and other questions related to resume and experience.
department interviewer
- How did you find his TA for the projects you were working on in the past, and how did you do it?
=> Briefly explain how I conducted consumer research in the past, used quantitative and qualitative tools to understand their needs, and finally provided solutions to their pain points. - Is there an APP or software that you like very much? Why do you like it?
=> I said that I like Notion. It is a very convenient tool that can control many things. Many of my past experiences, such as paper process control, project acceptance pipeline, article writing, etc., were all managed by Notion. I briefly explained Every feature I like. - If you were a PM, what functions would you want to improve on this app?
=> I mentioned that Notion's offline access has always been a point that can be improved. Some functions cannot be used normally when offline. If I were a PM, I would hope to improve this point. - Do you think there is a big market for this feature? Because if you want to change it, it will take RD time and so on.
=> I will explain from the perspective of a niche market, who may be the ones who propose "offline access". If this market can be satisfied, the product will also be profitable. - How to achieve a balance between business model and consumer demand?
=> I kind of forgot how I answered this. I should explain based on my past design background, we will put consumer demand at the top. Consumer demand will be the most important, and the links in the business model will also be inevitable. We will take care of meeting consumer needs, so we focus on consumer needs. Once satisfied, there will be no harm to the business model. - Why would you want to apply for our company? Where did you hear it?
=> Mentioned that in the past, he paid attention to industry news such as the technology industry, and was very interested in products, overall technology trends, etc. - What is the level of these certificates you took exams for? Why do you want to take the exam?
=> The main question is about my IBM design thinking certificate. I continued my background in the design department. I mentioned that I was interested in Design thinking during the interview, so after changing careers, I also thought more about different industries. Proceed and so on. - You have always emphasized Design thinking. Can you explain what you think Design thinking is?
=> I use past landscape design cases as an illustration. We need to plan a space for users that belongs to and suits them, so we need to discuss with them in depth and understand what they want, from all aspects. And provide an optimal solution.
Side 2 (nearly 2 hours)
After passing the first level, HR will provide a topic, ask you to do a briefing assignment, and will evaluate the assignment to decide whether to enter the briefing interview. The topic is to provide data protection solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises, which requires using Synology products as an introduction and a 15-minute English presentation. Entering the second level, I gave a 15-minute English briefing at the beginning. I introduced Synology's products in the sales kit mode, and then the interviewer asked some PM-related questions. There were four interviewers in this interview, including the two last time, and two more who should be interviewers from different departments. The following interview questions are also provided for those in need:
- Who is the competitor mentioned in your sales kit and why did you choose him? (I have done a one page comparison)
- Could you please explain the difference between public cloud and private cloud? Why would you want to highlight the benefits of private cloud?
- The presentations were mainly focused on software, and there seemed to be less emphasis on the hardware part? why?
- For a product that has just been launched recently, who do you think its TA will be? Why?
- How would you plan his market segmentation strategy? Why is this planned?
I was mainly impressed by these questions, and I continued to ask them. I forgot some of the others XD. I also asked them what they thought about my presentation at the end, because this was my first time doing a sales kit, and I based my pitch on past entrepreneurial courses. I did it based on the logic of the briefing, and wanted to know more about whether this direction is feasible. The interviewers were also very friendly and suggested areas for improvement and provided some suggestions for my presentation, which helped me learn a lot🙌
Synology interview experience
I found the interview process and schedule at Synology to be very smooth and rigorous, and the overall experience was very good. During the interview, I could see that the people at Synology were very capable and aura, and the questions they asked were very precise and to the point. Points. It is written on the technology board that the PM is one of the best in both interviews and written tests. Although it should be mainly engineers, I think the PM interview level should be considered high-intensity.
It was quite a pity at the time. During the second interview, I happened to be stuck in the thesis oral examination, and the whole Big Bang QQ. But I was still very happy to have the opportunity to participate in such a high-intensity interview. Although I did not have the opportunity to join Synology, I also learned a lot during the interview. , it was really challenging for me and I learned a lot!
Finally, I would like to explain to you that because I have just graduated and applied for this relatively senior position, friends with work experience may have different interview methods. I hope you will like the topic of this article 😉
