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Discover the strategies and tips to break into the field of product management and land your first role. Explore the different types of companies, prepare your CV, ace the interview process, and thrive in your first few months as a PM.
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Breaking into Product Simon Curran simoncurran.com
Background What’s my story?
University Founder @ Stageville • Event-ticketing meets crowdfunding Co-founder @ PledgeNotes • Note-sharing platform for students Growth Intern @ Skyscanner • App Store Optimisation
Product Career Product Management Intern @ Shazam • Shazam for Mac 2.0 • iMessage V2 Associate Product Manager @ TripAdvisor • TripAdvisor Experiences • Payments & Security
Breaking in How to land your first Product role
Against the Odds • Where development happens • 1 to many • Not all types of companies need PMs • Catch-22 – “Product Management experience preferred” • Positive note: more and more opportunities
Positioning • Identity your weak spots • Upskill yourself to fill gaps
CV Preparation Show the following things: • Proactive • Able to work with others • Impact-driven Skills: • Technical • Analytical
How to find PM roles? • Junior Product Manager • Associate Product Manager • Product Management Intern • Rotational Product Manager • Junior Product Owner
Types of Companies: Size & Space Multinational company • Best-in-class practices • Stakeholder management • Impact at scale Start-up • More responsibility • Closer to product / users • Less process Space: B2B SAAS B2C B2B2C
Types of Roles More technical? More UX focused? Find your sweet-spot
Interview Process Round 1: • Screening with recruiter Round 2: • Interview with hiring manager Round 3: • PM Exercise • Onsite interviews
Surviving & Thriving Your first few months as a PM
Learn from those around you Specs • Don’t start from scratch Tickets • User stories & acceptance criteria Meetings • Take a step back
Working with stakeholders Engineering • Know what the next priority is • Don’t lose sight of the end-goal Design • Make it visual Remember that you’re dealing with experts
Working within the Product org • Get feedback early and often • Be able to back-up your decisions • Identify dependencies • Get comfortable presenting • Be on top of results • Voice ideas for process improvements • Build a learning community
Learn to juggle • Get organized • Prepare for meetings • Prioritise • Make time to upskill yourself
Mission: Become a full-stack PM • Understand code • Understand design • Own your analytics • Deliver like a boss
Thank you @simonalexcurran simoncurran.com