I browsed 100 google product managers on LinkedIn. 95 percent of them went to Stanford, Harvard, Columbia, etc. Or had led well-known products previously. The exceptions were successful startup founders, niche profiles... Is LinkedIn data accurate? #pm #product #productmanager
Ivy Leagues are common in G, FB just because you compound experience quicker (better companies recruit from those schools, so better internships and more experience coming out of college). While that may be true, that doesn't mean it's impossible to get to where you want to be coming from a state school, or even a lesser known college somewhere. You just have to market yourself well and know your shit.
This
Definitely not a requirement, but the correlation makes sense - ambitious top performers tend to self select into ivy league and then into companies like g & fb. I'm a director of pm and I didnt take that route
I mean what do you expect? Google is top notch, so they admit/attract top notch people.
Well, I thought BAIDU was top notch in China
Your ID name doesn’t sound right
Are you only looking at US. Might be a good idea to add ppl in other locations as well. Would be an interesting study. You could even talk about it in your interviews, patterns you saw etc. Could be a great conversation starter.
I have seen same in India. Most product managers come IIM/ISB/SPJIMR
Hopefully not from reservations
Grow up
It seems like people like me from Midwest got no chance with Google! ☹️
You can be from the Midwest or from Malaysia - you are judged on your interview performance. The fancy school just makes it slightly easier to get an interview.
I think entry level positions are hard to fill this way because of that integral relationship with chosen schools and their co-ops , etc. For other levels, you aren't excluded, but given attention if hr or hiring manager is an alum of those schools. They're told not to, but it would still happen. Existing employees that extoll the awesomeness of their schools may anchor those biases.
There's definitely an archetype that the FAANG companies like to hire and many come from those prestigious institutions. Fear not, state school grads can still get hired and prosper at those companies.
Does Google have Remote roles?
All roles are remote after Covid
Pm at google/ former fb pm here. It’s true that a lot of pms come from top tier colleges and consulting companies. I personally came from an average state school but studied for the interviews like a madman. One thing I can say is alot of people from these programs work really hard and smart. Many of my peers are from hbs and gsb. My advice is instead of saying the system is unfair just prep for the interview. There is ton of relevant info out there you just need to put in the work. In the interview we are not looking for unique snowflakes. We are looking for basic skills of being able to structure an ambiguous problem, come up believable estimates, and be able to listen and adapt to feedback If you don’t like figuring out systems and cracking them just wait until you get inside and start performance reviews. In general passing the interview is reflective of basic skills to be successful in the job. You’ll be tossed crazy ambiguous problems from execs all the time. If you can get the interview you can get the job. You just have to nail the interview which has little to do with work experience or schooling.
Hi, I like your approach/comment on this thread and it seems like you have a lot of experience being a PM. I am trying to break into product management and would love to discuss some questions I have with you only if you don’t mind. Please let me know if I can dm you.
No. There are a ton without MBAs
Op didn't mention MBAs