Part I: An Overview The job of product manager is definitely unique. In many situations, it is evident how to travel from A to B. In order to get a job in the programming industry, you must acquire programming skills. You either enrol in a computer science degree programme or teach yourself to code. The same may be said about becoming a doctor, lawyer, accountant, etc. How does one go about becoming a product manager? Product management is not taught at any formal institutions. There is no schooling for this. This is also not the kind of position one generally advances to. Then, what are the best practises for being hired as a product manager? This book’s purpose is to educate you on just that. Over the years, Jackie and I have helped numerous product managers and those wanting to become product managers acquire the necessary expertise, refine their professional branding, and ace job interviews. In this book, the author compiles the many hours of coaching and related dialogues into text form.
Just how important is this, exactly? Those who are fortunate (and well-connected) enough to have someone explain what product management is all about shouldn’t have an unfair advantage. The convenience of increased accessibility benefits both potential employees and companies. You, the applicant, will be in a stronger position to get the job if you are aware of what will be required of you. It’s not about making things up; if you recognise your lack of relevant experience, you can go out and get it. You will be better prepared to answer their queries in interviews if you read this article ahead of time. You will develop the skills to articulate what makes you special and what you’ve accomplished. You will acquire the skills necessary to solve problems in test questions. Having a user-centric mindset will become second nature to you. Finally, you’ll be able to hone your technical expertise. As a result, more qualified applicants are available to hire by businesses. Candidates who are less anxious and more well-prepared tend to provide responses that are more in line with their actual abilities. They may steer the discussion toward the achievements that are of greatest interest to and important to potential employers. When they understand the problem-solving focus of the inquiry, they may provide evidence of their competence in that area. In this way, they may get the tidbits of information necessary to address individual queries. With this level of practise, a candidate’s abilities will more accurately reflect what they can do on the job. The elimination of chance and uncertainty in the interview process benefits all parties involved.
Exactly who are we to be taking this position? Our qualifications are listed in the book’s backmatter: Apple, Microsoft, and Google. Startups. Staffing group. Lots and lots of meetings and trainings. Same old, same old. Writing a book on getting a job in product management is great and all, but it won’t teach you anything about who we are or how we got here. Although I have a strong engineering background, I have also spent a great deal of time working with candidates, including interviewing them for development and project management roles, conducting mock interviews, coaching them to improve their answers, explaining concepts they don’t understand, and learning about their goals and passions. This experience taught me two new things. To begin, I saw how much room for growth there was in the interview process, even for strong applicants. Second, I found out how difficult it is to get details on entering the product management field. The topic of how to become a successful product manager was discussed at length, but how to enter the industry was hardly addressed. Except for my fantastic writing partner, Jackie. On Quora, the question and answer site, I found Jackie’s blog. As I shadowed her, a few things immediately stood out to me. First, she had had experience working for numerous top organisations and was confident in her ability to handle these interviews on her own. Second, she gave solid, practical suggestions. Finally, she showed concern. She was concerned enough to start a blog aimed at assisting newcomers to the PM field. Both Jackie and I feel strongly about the need to democratise entry into the product management sector. Since we think this is beneficial for everyone, we decided to put our thoughts into a book.
Now what? No amount of faking your way into a project management role will assist you with this book. On the other hand, it will lay out an approach you may follow from the very start to the very finish. We’ll define “product manager” and demonstrate how that term is used in different contexts. The perspectives of various businesses on the recruitment procedure will also be discussed. To learn more about how different product managers entered the business and to obtain their thoughts on what qualities make for a successful product manager, we will conduct interviews with a wide range of professionals. We will discuss the varied experiences that PMs bring to the table, as well as how you might make the shift based on your own unique set of skills and interests. Learn from us how to craft a winning application package. While some of this guidance will be applicable to those not working in product management, the vast majority of it will be aimed squarely at those who do. We’ll give you tips on how to prepare for an interview, including what kind of study is necessary ahead of time and how to anticipate inquiries. We’ll cover all the bases, explaining what an interviewer is looking for and how to ace every sort of question they may throw at you, from behavioural to estimating to product to case to code. Let us assist you in presenting yourself in the most favourable light possible. Read this material and think about how you may better articulate your strengths and experience during an interview. We’ve got your back. Visit us at crackingthepminterview.com to learn more and get involved. Finally, we hope that this book, like software, will never be finished. Feel free to contact us at gayleandjackie@careercup.com with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have. I appreciate it; best wishes! A. Gayle L.
