5 Phases of a Product Management Career
I’m not here to write another “here’s my path to product management” article. We already know that everyone’s path is different and there is likely no one best way to end up here. What I do want to write about is five phases one can go through in their product management journey. I’ve named these phases Hungry, Imposter, Comfortable, Senior?, and Crossroads.
Each phase is full of questions and not all of those questions are easily answered. I have experienced some of these phases, observed some of these phases, and inquired about some of these phases. While I may not be able to answer all of those questions, I do want to provide a bit of honesty.
Hungry
The most important thing to do in this phase is to understand what product management is and start looking for opportunities to do it wherever you can. The best place to start is your current job. If there is a product management department start talking to Product Managers about how you can help.
Product Managers are always looking for feedback and information to help direct their decisions. Become a go to person whom Product Managers will look to for input in your area. Ask them what they might need help with. Product Managers always have things they wish they could get around to if they had more time. Much of what product management consists of is deciding what needs attention now and what can wait.
In my opinion, if you haven’t been a Product Manager before, one of the best things you can do is know your company’s product or industry better than anyone else. If you truly understand your customers’ needs and frustrations, then you are in a great position where you only need to strengthen your product manager muscles, and you can lean on your existing knowledge to get you started.
Working on a side project is another way to get firsthand experience. With your own project you can run through many product exercises like talking to prospective customers, doing market analysis, and even building prototypes.
It’s not uncommon to see Associate Product Manager positions within certain organizations. This is always a great place to start because you will likely be working with an experienced Product Manager to learn the ropes and should have a path to becoming a bonafide Product Manager.
In the end, you’re trying to get experience you can sell in an interview. I’ve heard of people doing case studies on companies or products as part of the interview process. Whatever it takes, start doing some sort of product management. Be product adjacent as much as you can.
Imposter
You’ve convinced somebody to take a shot on you. You’ve got what you’ve been chasing, but do you really know what you’re doing? Can you actually do this? Is this really what you want?
The first step is make sure you know your product. Spend time with other departments (sales, support, etc.) and learn the ins and outs of what you are looking to improve.
The next step is get to know your customer, the industry, and competition. Allow yourself some time to learn and get up to speed, be patient with yourself, and realize you’ll get there eventually. Talk to your customers, ask them what they like about your product, why they bought it, and how they would like it to improve.
Don’t rush to build what everyone is telling you to build. Use your input sources to understand problems. Solve problems, don’t just treat symptoms. What someone is telling you they want can be different than what they actually need. Providing real solutions will help you feel validated and less like an imposter.
Comfortable
You no longer feel like you’re fighting to stay above water. You are delivering results and have launched products. You can call yourself a Product Manager without reservation or hesitation.
It’s easy to get complacent. You may ask yourself “Am I still as hungry as I was when I was trying to break in?” How do you keep learning and avoid plateauing? Is it time to look for a new job? The Comfortable phase is a double edged sword. You finally fit in, but where do you go from here?
What happens when you’re bored with what you’re working on? It’s okay to admit that you’re bored. Talk to your manager about switching teams. Switching teams can be a jump start to help you feel more engaged and can be beneficial for the company to get a fresh perspective on a product and its challenges.
How do you keep advancing? Find a mentor who is at a phase you want to achieve in your career. Build a personal board of trustees that you can consult with when making career decisions or want to vent. Make sure to stay in touch with product peers at different companies. Keep tabs on what works for other people and other organizations. Look for opportunities to learn from those outside of your organization.
Senior?
Am I at a level where I am considered senior? Do I get to decide this or is it something that is bestowed upon me by my company? What if another company wants to give me that title? Are titles transferable across companies? How much does the job market play into this? What does the title “Senior” actually mean?
Senior titles tend to be pretty common in most organizations, but Senior requirements seems to vary. If you want to call yourself senior you should have a track record of not only shipping things, but tracking their success and iterating on them. You should feel comfortable tackling initiatives like preparing products for new markets, leading up new teams, and helping struggling teams.
Look for opportunities to mentor others, internally and externally. Use the experience you have gained to improve your organization. Help product managers who are starting out. If you feel your co-workers don’t need mentoring look outside your company.
Organize team improvement activities. Look at case studies together. Get everyone involved to tackle issues that span multiple teams. Look for teaching opportunities and share your experiences.
Crossroads
Eventually you may ask yourself some of the following questions: Do I want to keep being a product manger? Do I want to manage product managers? Do I want to manage partnerships and key stakeholders? Do I want to work on the grander vision of my company?
You’ve probably spent much of your career aspiring to be a product manager and from what I’ve seen being a product manager can lead to other great opportunities, opportunities like:
Join a smaller company looking for product leadership. Tap into your network, reach out to nascent companies about what you can offer. Take your experience and build your own product organization.
Start your own company. That idea you’ve had for a while isn’t so unfathomable with your experience. Take a chance on yourself and learn new things by being your own boss.
Work with your manager to progress in your current company. If you don’t know what possibilities exist, find out. Any good manager should support you in your career aspirations, get them involved in where you want to go.
Once you’ve decided what you want to do then make it known. Don’t assume anyone knows where you want your career to go, let them know and take control of your destiny.
Conclusion
Everyone has a unique product journey, but I can guarantee you most Product Managers will, or have, encountered these phases. What’s important to know is they are phases. You will pass on from one to the next. Don’t worry too much about how long you might spend in any one phase, just make sure you know what to do to move towards the next one.
