I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Alarm.com
Interview
Overall I found the interview process frustrating. Not necessarily the interviews themselves but more my interactions with HR, I discuss this more at the end.
First round was a simple HR screen that was fairly straightforward. It was basically telling me more about the position and Alarm.com in general. The second round was with a Lead Product Manager who was really nice. This was a fairly standard behavioral interview where we went more in depth on my resume and experiences.
After the second round I had heard from HR that I was moved to the final round. I submitted my availability for interviewing and then didn’t hear back. I sent a follow-up in which I got an immediate response saying they dropped the ball scheduling my final round. Kind of strange and not a huge deal, but indicative of how unorganized HR is at Alarm (more to come).
The final round consisted of 3 interviews one after another. One was with a Senior Director of Product Management where I was asked brain teaser questions. The best way to prepare for this interview is to google common brain teaser questions and be sure to discuss your thought process. Many tech companies do not use brain teasers for interviews anymore because they are a poor indicator for performance and I think Alarm.com is definitely stuck in the past using this practice. On the first brain teaser, I explained my thought process and was able to work out the correct solution fairly quickly. Without showing any emotion he asked me “How confident are you in your answer?” Which admittedly threw me off a little and I double checked my work before confirming I found the right solution. While I think he wanted to see how I handled pressure with this question, I think it takes a certain type of person to enjoy asking outdated brain teaser questions and watch eager applicants squirm after they successfully work out the correct solution.
The other two interviews in the final round were more straightforward, one was with a more technical QA engineer trying to get an understanding of my technical background. The other was with a group of 3 product managers who were trying to get a better understanding of my personality.
When I finished the final round, 4 days later I received an email from HR asking to clarify the total compensation I was looking for from Alarm.com. This led me to believe they were drafting an offer letter and I was excited to join the company (despite my woes during this process). However the next day I received a generic rejection email and when I asked for feedback I did not receive any. I think it is unprofessional after a month of interviewing to reach out to an applicant to clarify the compensation they want, if you did not want them to join the company in the first place. I think it ultimately shows how little Alarm.com cares about their candidates. If you decide to apply and interview with Alarm, keep this experience in mind.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
These were the brain teaser questions:
If you have a 10x10x10 block made up of 1x1x1 blocks, how many of the 1x1x1 blocks are on the outside?
If you have a stack of pennies as tall as the Empire State Building, could all of the pennies fit in your room?
If you have a race that is 2 miles long, and a car travels 30mph for the first mile, how fast does this car need to go over the second mile in order to average 60mph over the whole race?
Difficult product interview with high specificity to their business. They ignored factors that I raised that would influence the decision. Overall a difficult case and after not receiving an offer I received no response from the recruiter I was working with.
I’ve done many interviews and this one was very odd. The interview process went well up until the end when the recruiter asked me for salary requirement. I asked for a range they were offering for this role. She proceed to say she can get me any salary... It was an odd response but I shared my salary anyways then my target. The recruiter instantly got offended. Then back paddles on her comment. It felt very unprofessional at this point. My salary requirement was within PM to SPM range so I don’t understand what happened. As a recruiter they should know their candidate salaries with their resume. I knew after I got off the phone call with the recruiter that she wasn’t moving me to the next round of interviews.
Overall, I do not recommend interviewing for this company if you’re looking for a competitive salary.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Describe your experience and what you have done in your roles.
I have interviewed with Alarm.com for 3 separate PM roles over the past 6 months. Every hiring manager was full-time remote while I was expected to be in-office in Tysons Corner 4 days a week. The base pay for DC-metro area is HORRIBLE - less than a 6-figure base salary. When I asked about career progression in product in the company, I was told there was no set career progression. I was also told that they aren't looking for someone who chases impact and is able to share responsibilities with stakeholder teams which blurs the lines of a PM's role. Everyone at the company seems to be... older which is fine, but everything is just so old-fashioned. I declined further interviews and the on-site panel interview.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Normal "tell me about a time when" questions, how many unpainted cubes are in a 10x10x10 cube with exterior painted, can a stack of pennies the height of the Empire State building fit in my office, etc. Lots of "brain games" questions that had nothing to do with how a PM thinks or processes information.
