Early Career PM
I am recent graduate who joined a start-up for a product management role but the project got scrapped out after the MVP (in 2 months) and I have been been acting as the project manager for two small web development projects. I am looking to move to a bigger org for better learning opportunities/job stability but the biggest obstacle is a lack of significant industry experience as a PM. How can I make up for that? And how do I prepare to qualify for entry to mid-level PM positions?
Start as a junior PM at a small company/startup, grow there, get some successes, and then apply to a bigger company. It’s really hard to get a PM job there without experience.
Totally agree! I’m already at an early stage startup but the main hurdle is a lack of process. There are no defined standards or format to do things. Sometimes I’m creating user stories and tracking projects & then I’m doing testing with the QA and then I’m handling marketing to some extent. Basically there are no defined boundaries and so I’m not really sure if I’m improving my profile or just doing random stuff.
Find a mentor. Ideally a woman from the same org
Unfortunately for me, I’m the only female in my org other than two developers stationed at a different location.
I saw in a previous comment that you mention a lack of process or formality in your current role. I’d recommend being proactive and working to create process where you think it’d be helpful. That kid of initiative and work will look good on a resume and will be great experience at leading without authority.
How long have you been working with your current employer? I’ve seen PM roles that require 2+ years of PM OR PjM experience and say undergrad required but grad preferred. It’s great that you have an MS! Don’t be afraid to apply to something that says 2+ years of experience if you only have 1 year. I agree with the above comments—start applying to Jr PM roles and document your procedures. I also work in a PjM role that includes user stories, QA testing, etc. Make sure to include those in your resume as well! You can reframe the diversity of your current work as a positive in cover letters. It’ll show potential employers that you’ll be able to relate to and work with “cross-functional teams.”
What degree/s do you have? Can you code?
MS MIS I’ve experience with SQL, Tableau (Academic Projects). Never really been into development.