How to become a product manager
Experienced PMs, I’m leading a 1-week workshop on product strategy, starting October 24th! Jump to the bottom for details.
How can I get my first product manager job?
I’m excited to start off this newsletter with such a common and important question. There are 8 (eight!) paths into product management that I know of. If you find another path, please tell me!
And for all of these paths, Cracking the PM Interview & Cracking the PM Career can help you get the job once you get the interview.
Associate Product Manager
If you’re currently an undergraduate in university, this is a straightforward, but competitive path. You’ll need multiple signs of excellence to stand out.
Here are some examples:
Major or minor in Computer Science (a requirement for some APM roles)
Double major or minor in a field like Economics, Business, Psychology, Design or Cognitive Science
Starting an entrepreneurial side project or business
Leadership roles such as Residential Advisor (RA), Teaching Assistant (TA), varsity sports, or club president
Attending a top school
Achieving a High GPA
A referral from someone who works at the company
This video has more information for undergraduates, including my hot take on parliamentary debate:
Internal Transfer
The most common way people transition into product management is with an internal transfer. You get to lean on your existing credibility, relationships, and product knowledge.
Here’s how:
Take on PM-like tasks alongside your current work. If your team has a PM, ask them what you can do to help. You can pitch new features or help the team with prioritization. Look for internal projects that need some product help–they’re often understaffed.
Talk to the PM hiring manager. Let them know that you’re interested in product management, and ask if they have any advice or opportunities for you. They can help you focus in on what skills you should be developing. They might even let you sit in on some PM meetings if you’re lucky!
Ask for the title change. If you’re already doing the PM job, ask your manager if you can change your title to product manager.
Get advice from coworkers who have made the move. Internal transfer processes differ by company, so make sure to learn how they work at yours. Be especially careful if your manager might hold a grudge and try to block your transfer.
As you take this path, be warned that it probably requires taking on extra work in addition to doing a great job at your current role.
From a well-known tech company to a smaller company
It can be really hard to get an internal transfer at the top tech companies (especially Google). Luckily, if you have another job at those companies, you can sometimes be hired directly as a product manager at a smaller company who values your experience.
Try to absorb your company’s product best practices:
If it’s an option, move to a role where you can work closely with product managers.
Learn your company’s product process. How does an idea become a launched feature? What documents or prototypes are created? What are the reviews or checkpoints?
Attend meetings with PMs, especially product reviews and product teardowns.
Read the documents and email that PMs send. Are there templates or common patterns they use?
Ask a friendly PM if they’d help you develop your PM skills. Let them know you’re interested in becoming a PM and see if they’ll talk to you about their work.
Then, look for a company appreciates your knowledge.
MBA
You don’t need an MBA to become a product manager, but it can help. If you’re having trouble getting PM jobs at the caliber you want, an MBA from a great school can open doors for you. In addition to the career fairs, alumni networks can help you discover job opportunities at any stage of your career.
As a hiring manager, I’ve tended to have a slight bias against MBA candidates, especially within the first two years of graduation. I’ll tell you why so you can hopefully avoid the pitfalls:
Lack of a learning mindset: Many MBA candidates talk like they know it all. They feel like they’ve learned the right way to do things, and it doesn’t seem to occur to them that the real world is more complex. This makes it hard to have a collaborative conversation.
Over-reliance on frameworks: I’ve seen people try to solve problems by applying an existing framework, while missing the deeper point of what’s actually going on. Some stop trying to answer an interview question if it doesn’t fit one of their frameworks.
Distaste for the day-to-day PM work: Some people with MBA’s seem to think of product management as just a stepping stone on the way to people management. I have nothing against ambition, but I hire a PM because I need a good PM. I want to manage someone who wants to be good at the job.
Pursuing business school can be expensive and time-consuming, but many people have found it to be a good path into product management.
Specialized expertise
If you have important industry experience, you can sometimes leverage that to get a PM job. Look for a company that values your experience.
Here are some examples:
From doctor to health startup PM
From lawyer to PM at a company that happens to be founded by a lawyer
From teacher to educational technology PM
A benefit of this path is that you don’t always have to start as an entry level PM.
Networking and Friendships
Most companies are reluctant to hire someone without PM experience. However, if you’ve build up relationships and credibility with someone, they’ll sometimes hire you to their company. This approach works best for small startups, although at any size company it’s helpful to have someone internal submit your resume.
Cold outreach
This is a very tricky path, but some people make it work. It can be a reasonable approach if you’re a power user of a product that doesn’t have a PM. You’ll need to find the hiring manager, figure out the best way to contact them, and have a compelling enough message that they’ll be willing to meet you.
This is one case where it can be helpful to write up your own analysis of the product and your ideas for improvement. If it’s good enough, you might convince them to hire you! In most other cases I don’t recommend sharing your own product ideas unprompted, because without all the internal context your ideas are usually obvious and low-impact compared with what the team is thinking.
Founder of acquired startup
For completeness I’m including this path, but I don’t recommend starting a company with the hopes of it being acquired and you becoming a PM. Starting a company is hard! That said, many great PMs started this way. When a company is acquired they need to find a spot for the founders, and PM is often a natural fit. Facebook is well known for having many ex-founder PMs.
In closing
There are many paths to become a PM:
Associate Product Manager
Internal Transfer
From a well-known tech company to a smaller company
MBA
Specialized Expertise
Networking and Friendships
Cold Outreach
Founder of acquired startup
Some people find a quick route into product management, while for others it takes several years. I hope this guide helps you find the best approach for you!
Product Strategy Workshop
Starting October 24th I’ll be leading a product strategy workshop: Cracking the Product Strategy.
Come join if you'd like to learn how to move from delivering a list of features to creating a product strategy that inspires your team and helps your product succeed.
We'll cover discovering your strategy (how to go from your user insights to strategic insights), drafting your strategy (Vision, Framework, Roadmap), and driving strategic alignment (draw out people's best ideas and get them onboard).
Join here: https://maven.com/jackie-bavaro/cracking-the-product-strategy and you can use promo code 35OFF for a 35% discount.
If the course seems like a great match but the price point doesn't work for you, apply for a scholarship.