How to Get Shortlisted for Product Management Interviews
I recently transitioned into product from a consulting background. I had my reasons why I wanted to transition, and I’m sure you might have your own reasons you’ve decided to make a move.
This post will be beneficial to people who are having a hard time getting shortlisted for product management roles. People from multiple backgrounds can move into product, but the underlying principle should be that you are passionate about technology and a people-oriented person. I’m going to list some of the things that worked for me.
Soft referrals: Don’t hesitate to talk to people. Talk to your inner circle first. These are the people who would walk the extra mile for you and help you in connecting with any product manager in their network. Make sure you talk to a few product managers to understand their roles and responsibilities, and ask them what they would have done if they were in your position.
Fine-tune your CV: Someone is going to decide within 20 to 30 seconds if they are going to reject or shortlist your CV. Have a look at the CVs of other product managers to get a perspective on what is lacking on your CV. Your CV should, ideally, be a one-pager or, at max, a two-pager. Get your CV reviewed by any experienced product manager, and keep working on it.
Turn responsibility into accomplishments:
Example 1: “Served as a transition manager for a diamond client for my company” vs. “Spearheaded client engagement by transitioning X number of applications, thereby saving $$ annually.”
Example 2: “Headed email campaign for my company” vs. “Created X number of campaigns that resulted in $$ of revenues, or X% in retention, etc.”
Meet People: Start attending meetups. Become part of social media communities on Twitter, WhatsApp, etc.
Create your brand: Start writing about products you use and ways in which you would improve them; post them on social media channels.
Build a product: Nothing works better than this. Just think of a problem you would like to solve. Use the following lenses before going after it:
- Would it be a challenge to get real users (e.g., enterprises)?
- Is your solution unique (just don’t think of building a cab-hailing, food-ordering app)?
- The product should not be operationally cumbersome (such as a marketplace for cooks and maids).
Remember you’re not building a startup; you’re just making a portfolio. The outcome of a project should be that you should be able to define what problem you tried to solve, how you measured the impact and what steps you took to improve your product. Hiring freelancers is super-easy these days; you can try Freelancer.com, Fiverr.com, etc., for help.
Shadow a product manager: This is not an easy one, but if you can crack this, then nothing will improve your profile more.
LinkedIn superpower: First, make sure you connect with every person you have ever known in your entire life. Who knows if your childhood classmate is working in a company where you want to apply?
Wish you all the best in your job search.
