The 5 Step Guide on How to Land an Associate Product Manager Job – Issue 3
Transitioning to product is hard, this article makes it easy.
Interested in the Product Management career, but don't know how to break in?
These are the top pieces of advice I have seen throughout my career.
Don't start by taking an online course in product management.
Courses are a good idea but they are not sufficient, because applications for Product Management positions are a lot and 98% of CVs already took an online course on Product Management. To grab attention and become in the 2% you need to plan the process end-to-end.
How can you grab attention?
This is what a product manager would do 💡
#1 Target one Company 🏦
This is the first step of your plan to land a job at this company.
A Local company
Local companies are easier to jump in as your first move. Make sure they already have a successful web/mobile app.
Has an Established Product Team
Learning Product management is similar to the process of becoming a Chef, it’s learned by Apprenticeship. Make sure you choose a team that will guide you.
#2 Research the Product + Industry ✍
Product
Understand their product suite in detail.
Signup
Try a demo
Book a sales call (you would be surprised how easy it is to book one!)
Call Support
Read the documentation and watch their educational videos
If SaaS: Understand their pricing points compared to other players (do they have a freemium plan Vs Enterprise only)
If DTC/B2C: Buy something small to understand the workflow.
Industry
Read Blogs/Quora and Watch Youtube videos on:
How the industry works?
Who are the main players in the market?
Acronyms used by the industry?
Latest trends/problems with X?
Learn how to use Twitter’s Advanced Search
Follow important Industry thought leaders on Twitter/Medium
Search for “Who are the top thought leaders for X”
Get rough market numbers of top players (how many customers, traffic ..etc)
#3 Sit with One Customer 👩
A 30min meeting to listen to the customer's feedback on the company's product.
Learn how to ask customers the right questions (read this)
Reach out to people on Linkedin, Facebook or Friends who tried the product
Share something like “I want to have a 30min zoom meeting with anyone who uses X frequently, in return for your time I will offer a gift card from Starbucks/Amazon. Please DM if you’re interested”
#4 Choose One Problem 🎯
This can come from:
The customer Interview that you just did
Your personal usage of the product.
Online Reviews
App/Play store reviews
Twitter’s advanced search (e.g this query will help you find problems with Slack’s voice notes )
Don't overthink it, just choose one problem. Demonstrating your thinking process matter more, there are no right answers.
#5 Think about the Solution 🧠
It doesn't have to be a) an innovative solution or b) a product redesign.
Think of a small feature that has a big impact. It’s ok to copy good ideas from a competitor’s product.
Redesigns are not recommended in business case studies because:
You don’t know all the inputs.
Most redesigns of popular products would simply just not work.
You are not a designer, you are a product manager who should be concerned with trade-offs, risks/numbers and business viability.
For Example:
Problem: In Google Images It’s hard to find animated images.
Wrong approach: Redesigning Google Images
Correct approach: Thinking about solving this problem without changing a lot in the current layout.
For the solution, write down:
Pros/Cons of your approach
How will you avoid product cannibalization
You’re Done my Friend🎉
Summarize what you’ve learned in a 3-page doc or a simple presentation:
The problem and how solving it will impact the company.
How you identified it (customer interviews, competitors..etc)
The solution you thought of.
Don’t forget to Share it 📢
Share the case study on Linkedin/Twitter and tag the company.
There's a very high chance that Product Managers will reach out to you whether from this company or other companies.
Clarifications:
The whole purpose is to show people your way of thinking, make it simple
Don't spend too much time on it, one full day is more than enough.
Bonus Inspiration
Case studies & Research
Design Exercises
Check the initial part of how the person approaches the problem and their thought process. The solution here is a complete redesign which is not what’s expected in a business case study.