Product Manager roles in FB
I’m a PM with 3+ years of experience at Amzn, working on product concept strategy through launch, working with different teams of design and engineers. What I don’t have is an engineering background, but I can understand basic technical concepts explained to me, I know what questions to ask and challenge solutions when necessary, and translate them to non technical audience. My strengths are in influencing cross functional stakeholders, deeply understanding customer needs and translating them to requirements, earning trust with engineers and designers, and strong written and oral communication. What are the basic technical 101s I should know and learn if I want to be a successful PM at FB? With my current skill set, would they even take chances on someone like me?
All you are describing is the right traits of a good PM. I worked alongside several PMs who came from liberal arts backgrounds. I think you should apply.
Thank you for the encouragement!
I came from Amazon and joined FB in the last 6 weeks, not a strong tech background, similar skill set to you. Wasn’t asked a single tech question during the interview process.
"I deal with the goddamn customers so the engineers don't have to. I HAVE PEOPLE SKILLS!" https://youtu.be/hNuu9CpdjIo If FB PMs don't have tech backgrounds, do FB SWEs still respect their product design recommendations? Or just pay the PMs lip service, snicker behind the PM's back and proceed on their own way? I thought out of all the FANG, Amazon's PMs have the most power and potential to make an impact.
I think the assumption here is that engineers don't care about the end user experience. I don't buy that at all. A good product/UX lead should unify the team to care about the customers. Speaking technical language is just a means to get there. You don't need to show off your coding skills, but you should be able to ask intelligent questions to understand the engineering stacks and the overhead cost of implementation. At the end of the day, regardless of the stack you are in, we all try to build good products.
It’s not that the engineers don’t care about the end user experience.. many do. It’s just that without any product/UX input, the solutions they come up with tend to not make sense from a business or user perspective. I’ve seen an engineering driven culture at FB in which individuals ship code without consulting their team members about product / user impact.
Here is what was a good summary from one of my LinkedIn contact: As a PM you should know: 1. Basic programming. Take an online intro to Python course. 2. How technology works. Especially web/mobile apps, trending concepts like AI, ML, self-driving cars, etc. 3. How to work with engineers and gain their trust 4. How to make tradeoff decisions between engineering, design and product needs Some of this will come from reading and studying. A lot of this will come from experience. A larger percentage through curiosity and asking the right questions.
Nope, I interviewed for FB TPM, 80% is technical,20% other stuff.
TPM is not PM though.
Sorry I read Project manager, no comments on Product management. apologies