Career Advice for Product Managers
How do I become a PM? all the way to How do I know I'm ready for a promotion?
I was recently on a panel of Product Leaders sharing career advice with Product Managers. From breaking into product management to interviewing to creating impact and getting promoted, here’s what I shared (with some added thoughts).
Happy to jump on a call with anyone and answer specific questions!
How do I switch from a different career into product management?
Previously, it was more difficult to break into product management because there were no Jr. PM or Associate Product Manager roles. You had to have 2-3 years experience minimum to be hired in but no one was hiring true entry-level PMs. There are more companies now who have programs to help entry-level Product Managers gain traction quickly for their career in PM. We’re also seeing more PM internships and Associate Product Manager role openings listed.
But if you’re transitioning after five, ten years in one career, you can’t go through a personal “downround” to take an internship or be an Associate Product Manager at <$100k base salary.
So for most, it will be a lateral move at your current company. You have to get your foot in the door and this is the easiest path. I have hired in or helped people transition from nearly every role in a company, including sales engineering, design, QA, customer support, and finance. And they’ve been some of my best hires!
There are three steps to transition into product management within your current company:
State your intention. Then state it again. You need to tell the people who can make it happen that you want to be in Product. Tell your direct manager, the Head of Product, a Director of Product, a Product Manager, HR. Anyone who can help you make moves. This isn’t a one and done. Keep at it. Be sure to stay top-of-mind for when there is an opening.
Befriend a PM. I recommend you become friends with the Product team. (Also, we PMs need friends because it’s kind of a lonely job!) Go over there and say “Hi!” or Slack them. Ask them what they’re working on and why. Ask them to show you the roadmap. Ask to do an informational interview. Take them to lunch. Offer to help (get your current manager’s approval). Again, let them know that you want to get into Product and ask them for advice on how to do that at your company.
Do the job you want, not just the job you have. Let’s say you’re in Customer Support and you want to get into product management. You have a unique vantage point because you are seeing all the customer issues come through everyday, all the trends and themes. So go to your PM friend, ask for access to the PRD (Product Requirements Doc) or the epic or a feature requirements template. Write the requirements for a new feature that would solve a customer pain. Then sit down with the PM and say, “Hey, I know this may not be on the roadmap, but I think it would help our customers if we built X. I wrote the requirements, then I talked to a few people internally about it and made some changes.” Do the job and show, don’t just tell them about, your interest in becoming a PM. It also highlights that you’re listening to feedback.
Product leaders can benefit greatly hiring someone from an internal, customer-facing team. These hires already have deep product knowledge; familiarity with the industry, market and competitors; relationships with customers; a network of internal partners; and problem-solving skills. Basic product management skills can be taught more quickly sometimes than the above list.
As a Product Manager, I’m shipping features nonstop. How do I show the impact I’m having? How can I demonstrate that in interviews?
For your resume and in interviews, three things matter:
You made $$ for your previous employer.
You saved $$ for your previous employer.
You kept $$ for your previous employer. (E.g., You made customers happy > they stayed.)
When you start a job, be sure to “clock the current state” of these three things and the overall growth stage of the company. Document the baseline metrics for number of employees (total and for your department and team), revenue, net and gross retention, NPS/CSAT (buyer and user), product adoption/usage; whatever the KPIs are for your business and product.
Then create a calendar reminder for yourself to update them every quarter.
After you leave a company, if you don’t have the KPIs of the business or a specific project, ask a friend who is still at the company or compare notes with former co-workers.
Keep in mind that if the company is private, not public, use percentages instead of actual numbers. E.g., “25% CAGR for three years” or “20% increase in NPS”
If you’re a Product Owner*, Associate Product Manager, or Product Manager, your main job may be to work with Design and Engineering to ship new features. So use that on your resume and in interviews. Document and talk about how many and the impact of the features or epics you shipped. You can say, “I shipped [these many] features across [these] areas of the platform, contributing to X% revenue growth.” Talk about what you did to increase effectiveness of shipping features, like improving velocity, volume or adoption/usage.
In addition, don’t be too concerned about exact numbers for every single bullet point on your resume. Use some qualitative aspects of your role’s impact as part of the stories you tell. E.g., Increasing customer engagement in product discovery or improving team culture.
* If your title is Product Owner, I highly recommend speaking with your manager and having it changed to the appropriate Product Manager level. More on that here.
Designers have a portfolio of their work. Should Product Managers have one?
I’ve never been asked for a PM portfolio in my career. I’ve also never asked for one as a Hiring Manager of PMs. So it may be a new trend I’m unfamiliar with.
I think it would be challenging to create a PM portfolio. The product management role is so varied. You’re working on many different levels, with many different stakeholders. You collaborate and create tangible outputs as a team, never really as an individual PM. There might be >50 artifacts at the end of a large strategic initiative. So what would you include that showcases your PM skills—that’s also not proprietary?
If there is an optional field for a portfolio or a site on the job application, this is where you might want to consider starting a newsletter or podcast so that you can include that. Something that helps future employers see your experience, knowledge, and thought leadership.
On LinkedIn, you could add Links in your Featured section or media within your different roles to highlight your work.
How do I ensure my resume stands out so I get more interviews?
My #1 tip to get more interviews? Hire a resume writer.
You need someone to market your product. And for job-seekers, your product is You. You cannot market You effectively.
I fought this personally for a long time. I thought, I’m an English major. I’ve helped 100s of people improve their resumes. I’ve personally reviewed 10,000+ resumes. Of course I can write and update my own resume!
But I’m so glad I finally hired someone. When I worked with Upword Resume, it consisted of sending my current resume, sharing a few job descriptions that I was going for, and a call with the writer. The call was me venting for an hour about all the ups and downs of my career. All the crazy moments of being blindsided immediately upon starting, role shifts, manager changes, political nonsense, re-orgs. I left thinking, There’s no way she’s going to be able to turn that into anything!
What came back was a resume I was finally proud of. The writer also updated my LinkedIn profile. I loved the result! And I started getting more interviews after applying. My completed application to scheduled recruiter interview success rate more than doubled.
Why is it so difficult to write your own resume? Because no one likes to brag about themselves or their accomplishments. And, you’re too close to your own career. It’s difficult to zoom out.
A resume writer will zoom out and focus in on the right things, crafting a cohesive career narrative.
Also, be as specific as possible about your skillset and experience on your resume and especially on LinkedIn. When recruiters source candidates, they are using keywords from your profile.
For example, I was recently hiring for a Data & Analytics Product Manager. We tried to source the role from LinkedIn, but most Product Managers don’t have any details within their LinkedIn about the types of products they worked on or what areas of a technology platform they managed or their skills. So the recruiter had to complete dozens of screening calls just to ask basic questions about experience. If you’re lucky, you’ll get the outreach. But more likely, you’ll be overlooked.
Should my LinkedIn profile be the same as my resume?
Mostly, yes. Your “About” section on LinkedIn might be more informal than your resume. Be sure it is in the first person (definitely not in the third person). Within each role on LinkedIn, you may have just a few bullets as opposed to all of the ones from your resume. LinkedIn also allows you to attach documents and work samples within each role. This could be a lightweight way to create a “PM Portfolio” if you choose to do so.
Your resume will be up to two pages, never more. You can include more details than on LinkedIn. A good resume writing service will update your LinkedIn profile as well and add the right Skills.
LinkedIn is also a great place to highlight Recommendations. Be sure to request several from former co-workers every time you transition between roles or companies.
How much does the format of my resume matter? For example, should I use color and include my profile picture?
Formatting does matter for a resume, but mostly for scannability. I’m not looking for something really well-designed for a Product Manager. (For a UX Designer, I am.)
Above all, I’m looking for substance. If a PM’s resume is too well-designed, my (unfiltered/biased) thought is, Are you hiding behind the design? It makes me slightly question the depth of your experience and skills.
Do not include your profile picture.
Keep colors to a minimum.
Let your accomplishments and skills shine over everything else.
What skills should I highlight on my resume and in interviews? What are PM hiring managers looking for?
The skills you highlight on your resume depend on the PM role for which you are applying. What skills are relevant? Highlight those. For example, if you are a Data PM, I would expect you to know SQL. There are many AI-based tools for comparing your resume to JDs and determining if there are keywords you need to add: Teal, Jobscan, ChatGPT.
This isn’t about cheating or lying! It’s about being smart.
Here’s a (kind of silly) example:
You write on your resume: “Created customer documentation and hosted quarterly update calls attended by >25% of customers.”
But the JD states: “Publish customer-facing roadmaps regularly. Hold webinars that inspire customers with a strong product vision.”
So you update your resume (still accurate): “Published customer roadmaps and hosted quarterly webinars to share product vision; attended by >25% of customers.”
The three general skills I look for when I’m interviewing Product Managers are:
Context. Being intellectually curious and having the ability to bring together large amounts of input: qual/quant data, business, market, customer, competitive as well as opinions, perspectives, politics and HiPPO (the highest paid person’s opinion).
Clarity. Continually providing and communicating clear decisions that allows teams to focus with a compelling product vision & strategy, roadmap artifacts, and customer/user discovery insights.
Co-creation. Working with a team or cross-functional group, driving product delivery. This requires exceptional communication and collaboration skills. I’m also very interested in understanding experience in the end-to-end product lifecycle: Ideation through Design & Build and Launch & Growth.
Remember to ask your interviewer, “What skills are you looking for?” Or “Thinking beyond the Job Description for a moment, what makes a strong Product Manager for you as a leader [or as a cross-functional partner]?” Understand your interviewer’s perspective so you can better align your S.T.A.R. stories.
How do I prepare for case studies as part of an interview?
For case studies with larger companies, for example a half-day or full-day case study, keep a few things in mind:
They have these case studies down to a science. With years or decades of data to decide what makes a candidate the best fit, every portion has purpose. The case study moderator(s) will be highly skilled.
This means the cases studies are structured without much ambiguity, making them easier to prepare for.
It also means they will prepare you very well. Almost to the point of giving you the answers. (Don’t overthink it!) You’ll be given written or video examples of past case studies.
Ask questions. You will have the opportunity to ask questions before and during. Take advantage of this!
The person administering the case study wants you to be successful. They are not rooting for you to fail.
The most important thing is your thought process. Think out loud and use frameworks and structured thinking where possible.
For smaller companies that I’ve hired for, I don’t do case studies. And I don’t do take-home assignments. Take-home assignments are biased for people who have more free time outside of work hours.
What is more interesting to me is sitting down with someone and showing a potential Product Manager elements of our product vision and strategy. Then having a conversation, ideating together, working through a problem related to the role, and seeing how people think in real-time. Because that’s what we’re going to be doing together daily, weekly. When I’m down to the top 2-3 candidates, what I really need to know is if I will enjoy working closely with you as a Product Manager. I do not need to know if you can sit at your desk and prepare slides or analyze data using AI and write me a report using AI.
Another option I’ve used real-time in an interview is to ask the candidate to teach me something. Something they’re passionate about or a product they love and how they would improve it.
How do I find the right company for me?
You can find the right company for you in a few different ways.
Here’s one place to start (a go slow to go fast approach that is best done regularly; not only after you’ve just been laid off):
Write down 10 companies you would love to work at. Companies you admire, companies whose products you use, whose mission resonates with you. Don’t worry about whether they are hiring or not.
Look at your list and see if there are any common themes.
Similar industries?
Similar growth stages?
Similar missions / cultures?
Similar products?
Research additional companies where you’ve found some intersections that appeal to you.
Look up the companies on LinkedIn and find connections or connections of connections who you can reverse interview. You’re still not concerned about whether they are hiring; you’re looking to connect with people who can possibly get you in touch with someone who is.
With this approach, you’re learning more about the type of company that really lights you up and deeply interests you. Now you know where to look instead of applying to every job that you are semi-qualified for. And you may be surprised … someone you talk to may have (or even create!) an opening for you.
The other approach is to ensure you backchannel the company. Yes, you are not just being interviewed by the company, you are interviewing them. But in interviews, everyone is on their best behavior. So for a standard question of, “What’s the culture like at your company?” they are not going to put someone on the interview panel who will say, “The culture here is awful. I’m looking for a new job myself.” You need to find friends, connections, former co-workers and the company’s former employees to talk to. People who will give you the unfiltered view of the culture and working at the company. For more on this, check out this post.
Some may say “Join the company based on your future manager. They make all the difference.” This is true, and … I’ve had 33 managers in 20 years. Once I join a company, my manager changes within 6 months (usually <3 months). So make sure you are committed to the company as a whole—their culture, their mission, the CEO/executive team leadership, and your peers—not just the hiring manager.
How do I know I’m ready for the next step of growth in my PM career?
Let’s start with what’s available. In general, here are the levels and titles for Product Management roles.
Individual Contributor:
Associate Product Manager
Product Manager
Senior Product Manager
Principal Product Manager
(I have also seen Sr. Principal Product Manager)
People Manager:
Manager of Product Management (I’ve seen this one less often)
Director of Product Management (then Sr. Director)
Vice President of Product (then SVP and EVP)
Chief Product Officer (also starting to see more Chief Growth Officer or Chief Growth & Product Officer)
One outlier or hybrid role is the Group Product Manager, which is generally someone who is the connective tissue between strategy and execution. It can be a good stepping stone into full product people management. Of course, most Product leaders are player-coaches at companies <$1B in revenue. So if you’re looking for a cushy management job in Product, don’t go to a smaller company.
First, decide if you want to lead people or continue on the individual contributor track. Then talk to your manager and find ways to do portions of the next step and “try before you buy.” See if you enjoy managing people or an expanded scope of your IC role.
This is similar advice to what I received when deciding whether to use my English degree and become an English teacher. A friend said to me, “First decide you want to teach, then decide what you want to teach.” I took my first teaching course that required me to create a curriculum and full lesson plan down the minute—not just wing it—and I said, “Nope!” I did not want to teach. (That friend became my husband of 24 years.)
Especially if you're at a larger company, the individual contributor track and the management track should be equally attractive up to a certain point, with similar compensation bands. The point being, don't just assume the next thing for you is people management, because it’s not for everyone.
Here are my personal pros/cons for being promoted into people management. Most people only think of the “Pros” bullet #1. People leadership is stressful and higher stakes but can be higher reward, especially in the long run.
Hopefully this Q&A is helpful to job-seekers and those wanting to become a Product Manager!
Happy to jump on a call and answer specific questions you have.