Why you should become a Product Manager (and 3 ways to get started)
I’m a born and raised Calgarian, a city of over 1 million heavily entrenched in the oil and gas industry. Growing up, Product Management wasn’t on my radar — or anyone else’s that I knew of for that matter. This isn’t different than for most Product Managers outside of Silicon Valley and other high tech hubs. People tend to just fall into it. It typically comes from one of two directions:
- Software engineers with a strong business acumen.
- Business specialists that are tech or design savvy.
It’s less frequent that designers and artists become product managers, and that’s a crying shame. The best products today are often those that are the most well design.
So with all the fantastic career paths out there, why become a Product Manager?
You want to become a strong generalist
The main role of Product Management is to set out a compelling vision and then navigate their teams by acting as the voice of the market. To be able to do this, Product Managers need to comfortable “wearing many hats”. Product Managers by definition are “T-shaped”. They collaborate across multiple disciplines while being able to apply expertise in a given area. Generalists have a lot of fun not being tied into a specialization and are hugely valuable as routers of knowledge across organizations. Generalist are highly employable and are well-suited to come up with innovative solutions with diversity built into their skill set.
Breeding ground for the C-suite
Many VCs, boards, and executives see Product Management as a trial for future CEOs. The cliche (with debatable accuracy) for Product Managers is that they have all the responsibilities of the CEO, but none of the authority. Because of this, Product Managers must execute and deliver based largely on their ability to persuade and lead. These are certainly desirable traits for any top executive, but the cross-functional exposure and immense pressure for Product Managers is a great gut check.
You’re infinitely curious
Because Product Management spans so many different functions, you have the latitude to do something different everyday. Feel like revising the business plan? Do it. Want to craft pixel perfect experiences? Start prototyping. Interested in the latest trending tech? Lead the way. There is virtually no limit to the Product Management role because Product Managers will do almost anything for their product and business to succeed. That isn’t to say there aren’t core responsibilities — there absolutely are. But there isn’t a Product Manager worth their salt that is ever “done their job.” There is always more to learn, to build, and to grow.
I’m onboard. What now?
Getting started is easier than you might think.
Compete at a Hackathon
Find a local startup competition like Startup Weekend, a 54 hour speed run to give you a taste of what it’s like to build a technology business. Short term hack and pitch events force you to go through at least a few iterations of the lean product cycle that is core to most modern product teams. There are few better ways to know whether it’s the right career path for you. You’ll also meet like minded people that will likely be able to help you in your journey. You might even take it one step further and become a full-fledge entrepreneur.
Immerse in the craft and culture
There is a smorgasbord of Product Management resources online to help you get started. Sign up for Mind the Product’s mailing list and see if you’re near one of the local Product Tanks. Listen to the This is Product Management podcast. Product School offers lots of free content and events. Grab a copy of Marty Cagan’s Inspired. Take a course from Pragmatic Marketing. Join the massive Slack community at ProductManagerHQ.
Whichever discipline you start from, try to pick up the other skills required for the job. Brandon Chu over at Shopify has a fantastic blog post on the Minimal Viable Product Manager (MVPM).
Find product companies, keep in touch
Hiring cycles come and go. Target the companies that you want to work for the most and connect with the PMs on those teams. Learn about what problems they’re facing and how you might be able to contribute to those teams. If you’re already in an organization and want to move into a product role from another position, persuade leaders to mentor and sponsor you into those teams. Pick up the work that no one seems to want to do. People notice.
Product Management is one of the most challenge career paths you can take, but it is most definitely one of the most rewarding.
If by chance you’re in Calgary and are interested in becoming a Product Manager, feel free to hit me up! 👋
