👀 Uber PM Internship: Application to Offer – iykyk

Exploring Software Engineering and Product Management

Hi there 👋 — Who are you and what’s your background?

Hi, my name is Andres Lam! I'm a rising junior at UC Berkeley, studying Computer Science. I grew up in Seattle and have an associate's degree from Bellevue College in Arts and Sciences. Before university, I worked in education as a debate coach for a small company in Seattle called DebateAble LLC. I went into university thinking I want to be a Software Engineer, but I'm still exploring and pivoted a little. I ended up interning as a Product Management Intern at a healthcare startup, called Ro, last summer, and now I’m interning as a PM again at Uber

12 Week-Long Project

For those who are unfamiliar, how is the program structured and run?

Uber has a variety of internships, primarily in software engineering, finance, product management, data science, as well as machine learning. The internship takes place in the summer for around 12 weeks. Interns usually have an internship project or are embedded in a team. In terms of structure, it’s comparable to other tech internships.

End-to-End Project and Fast-Paced Culture

Is there anything the program landing page doesn't tell us about the APM program?

I was surprised by how fast it moved, but I really aligned with my mentor on what I wanted to get out of the internship. I wanted to see a project from end-to-end, from ideation to experimentation. There are also only two UberSTAR Product Management Intern this summer, in the United States. This is the first year UberSTAR has had PM interns. More broadly at Uber, there have only been a few PM interns in the past 2-3 years.

Treat Your Interview Like a Conversation and Prep A Lot Through Mock Interviews

What do you think made you stand out as an applicant and is there a recruitment strategy that nobody is doing right now, but should be?

I’m not entirely sure what made me stand out, but my mentor said I did well in the case interview during my last round. Because I’ve done a lot of behavioral interviews, I know about the STAR format, where you structure your interview answers in a very precise way. But personally, I’ve found that being more genuine and speaking off the cuff, while still maintaining some structure, has been the most effective to me in interviews. So, my advice is to treat the interview like a conversation. As for product sense interviews, practice makes perfect. I definitely practiced a lot of Product Management interview questions beforehand and if they throw anything new at me, I’m able to give a reasonably polished answer in an organized way because I’ve prepared a lot prior to the interview.

My best advice is to do as many mock interviews as possible. They can be with friends, people you meet online, or even yourself.

Three Rounds of Interviews

What was the interview process like?

I recall having a call with the recruiter, then I had a behavioral and product sense interview with a Director of Product of the team that I’m working on now. After that, I had another product sense interview with my current manager and mentor. So, three interviews in total and there weren’t any written assignments.

Salary Expectations

What is the average starting salary for program participants and what does the salary progression look like once you’ve graduated from the program?

On the job listing, it says $46 an hour and a $5,000 housing stipend. It’s probably on the lower end for internships at Uber though.

Future Plans

What’s your next play after graduating from this program? Has this program impacted your 5-10 year career plan?

The next play for me is really focusing on my own projects. I found a really good team and we're working on a medical interpretation software this summer.

Explore to Find What’s Right for You

Do you have any advice for people who want to pursue Product Management or a career in tech?

Being a PM gives you a lot of ownership and visibility. However, there are a lot of unsexy parts of the job, especially earlier in your career. My advice would be to try different things and not be so set on just one specific role.