I’ve been helping a lot of techies and accidental PMs to understand the scope of Product Management. So many times that I was able to put most FAQs and basics in this short course. So while this covers the basics, people do come up with more questions on the role, some real challenges they are facing and also about getting the job of a product manager.
One guy from IIM took up a BA role and was looking to get into PM. But he wasn’t getting any calls for job interviews.
Here’s what I suggested. I believe it is also the checklist for anyone looking for product roles:
1. Not sure if your Resume clearly indicates you are a good fit for the role. That could be an issue. Look for all relevant JDs on Linkedin and tweak your resume to use all the keywords. Make a 1-page resume. If you have more than 10 years of experience – you can think about a 2 Page as well. Not more than that.
2. Where can people find you? Better places for a PM role are Linkedin, Hirist,Instahyre, Angellist, Cutshort, Belong, and Naukri. Keep all these profiles updated. In fact, if you are applying for consumer profiles also keep Twitter, Facebook and other social profiles active and updated.
3. Patience: Keep at it. It may take 3 to 6 months if you are doing all the right things, for relevant opportunities to open up.
4. Not just what you know, it is also about who do you know. Network! Networking is not just about sending LinkedIn requests. Attend good startup and product related events, join PM communities on FB, Linkedin, Meetup, Whatsapp. Meet people, learn from them, connect at different levels, ask questions, find out what people are looking for. This will help you understand where you stand and how you can position yourself correctly. Look for ways in which you can help people. That’s the best way to network.
5. Prepare better. The chances you get will be limited, don’t mess them up. If you haven’t read some of the books like Cracking the PM Interview, Decode to Conquer your preparation may not be complete. At least read one of them. In general, as a PM you should be reading a lot of good books on the business, startups, and product design. You are expected to know about Blockchain and Machine learning even if it is unrelated, also a bit about your domain. There are a lot of lists available – here’s one of mine.
I was sure he’d get a job soon. He was placed at Zynga Bangalore.
Update: A More updated deck from a recent workshop I took for Upgrad.
