LinkedIn · Product sense · Entry · 45 to 60 minutes

Increase LinkedIn engagement in the US

LinkedIn is a professional networking platform where people manage profiles, find jobs, share content, and connect with colleagues. Answer this product management case and get it graded line by line against a weighted rubric.

product sense
user segmentation
prioritization
metrics design
risk assessment

The situation

You are an associate PM on LinkedIn's Jobs team. Your director and a growth PM want a recommendation for how LinkedIn should increase user engagement in the United States. The request sounds simple, but engagement on LinkedIn can come from many behaviors, browsing the feed, messaging, creating content, or searching and applying for jobs. Recent layoffs have made the job seeking experience more important and more emotionally charged, yet any change aimed at job seekers could also affect recruiters, who depend on a steady flow of applications. Leadership wants a focused proposal, not a long list of ideas. They expect you to define the goal clearly, choose the right user segment, identify the biggest pain points, recommend one feature to test first, and explain how you would know if it worked. The challenge is to avoid jumping to a shiny solution without showing disciplined product thinking, especially because a feature that increases time spent could still damage application volume or marketplace health.

What to produce

Write a 1 to 2 page product brief.

Your answer must

State the product goal, scope, and any assumptions you are making for this recommendation.
List 3 to 5 plausible LinkedIn user segments relevant to the goal, then choose one primary segment and justify the choice.
Identify 3 to 5 pain points for the chosen segment in enough detail to show where engagement is breaking down.
Recommend one MVP feature, explain why it is the best first step, and briefly mention at least one alternative you considered but did not prioritize.
Define 2 to 4 success metrics, including at least one primary metric and one guardrail metric.
Describe a simple launch plan and name 2 major risks, with a mitigation for each.

Constraints

Scope your recommendation to users in the United States only.
Focus on one primary user segment, even if you mention others.
Recommend one feature or MVP, not a broad multi quarter roadmap.
Stay within existing LinkedIn app and web experiences, no acquisitions or external partnerships.

Format

Use clear headings such as Goal, Segments, Pain Points, Recommendation, Metrics, Launch, and Risks.

How LinkedIn actually played it

Presents a seven step method for product design questions and applies it to growing LinkedIn engagement. The worked example covers goals, segments, pain points, an editable resume idea, metrics, launch and risks.

A repeatable structure keeps you from jumping to solutions
State the risks of your own idea out loud
Pair each solution with a measurable success signal

Built from Google, Microsoft PMs on product design interview questions by Valentine Eke.