I've been a Product Manager for a bit over 3 years now after getting my MBA. I've had 2 full-time roles over that time, both of which have been pretty dysfunctional: - My first gig role was an Associate PM role at a BNPL startup (sort of like a B2B Affirm) that was pretty much a shitshow from Day 1 of my time there. I would go to my immediate manager and ask him what I should be working on, and he would literally shrug. Things got a bit better once he left and I started reporting to *his* boss, but the only product that I ever got built never got implemented because *another* team's product that we built ours around turned into vaporware. - My second (current) role has been at a healthcare analytics firm that has been hemorrhaging technical talent both high and low. We've had high turnover, and most of our remaining engineers (including the managers) don't understand our own process or tech stack well enough to maintain it, let alone improve or document it. Our roadmap is basically a fiction, because half the time my devs are getting pulled away to put out some fire, and the other half of the time leadership is telling us to drop whatever we're doing to satisfy some new client request that Sales has dumped on us. The ship is clearly sinking. I'm looking around for a better place to work, but between the two experiences above, I'm feeling hamstrung by what I feel is a lack of actual, tangible success stories to put on my resume. I want to believe that I'm personally doing quality work, but the vast majority of effort I've put in and value I've added has been moot. It doesn't seem to matter how many requirements I gather and document, how many user journeys I map, how many wireframes I make if the end product never actually ships because the winds changed and priorities shifted again. Add to this that I've had basically zero decent mentorship, and I feel like I'm completely stuck at the shit-end of the industry with no clear way out. How can I overcome this? How can I demonstrate that I'm actually competent in a role when I never seem to have the support that I need to succeed? #pm #product #productmanager #careeradvice
I used to be a 2x FAANG senior PM, turned YC backed founder currently. From what you’ve described here, your roles sound more like IT project management than product management. I see little product strategy and analytics work which tend to be the more meaty and interesting parts of PM anyway. I never write a user story or touched JIRA at meta or Google. I would shoot for some better FAANG or equivalent (think Uber, Lyft, Pinterest) ASAP and just fluff up your resume with numbers to show impact. The jobs there will be far better than what you’ve described. Another path to consider will be to take a more MBA friendly job like MBB consulting. I had some peers at former non FAANG companies who tried PM for like a year, realized that the grass wasn’t greener, then joined MBB with better pay and work that was more suited to their personality and skills
Can I DM regarding your experience as a founder?
RE: shooting for FAANG, I have no idea how that can be attainable for me unless I straight-up lie on my resume. Everybody and their brother wants jobs at FAANG, so how can I possibly compete with people that are coming from other companies in that sphere, often with more solid backgrounds in tech than mine? As for MBB consulting, I'm not sure if that will be much easier; coming from an MBA background helps, but those places tend to be absolute pressure cookers and usually recruit people straight from school. There isn't as reliable of a pathway into consulting post-graduation, and where there is there's usually greater experience requirements than I can meet unless I take a massive step backwards in my career.
Glad I’m not the only one who feels this way!
Very similar story to me. Mock interview like crazy and say whatever you need to say in interviews to get hired - yes I’m saying lie. I’m much further along in my career now, and I’ve interviewed so many candidates who gave very polished answers and end up joining a company only for them to be completely terrible (I am always no hire but I get vetoed). I’m convinced that most of what people say is completely fabricated. Make sure you do have 1-2 references who are in your corner in case you do get to offer stage.
Any tips to elevate answers during interviews ? I’ve had a decent career with Amazon and good growth but tired of it now so want to finding something else in the next 6 months
Dude, TC and YOE!!?⚠️
What the fuck is it with this website and everyone's raging boner for knowing how much money everyone makes? Also I said I had 3 years of PM experience in literally the first line
Because there are people aspiring to be where you are, and it makes sense to understand what situation you really are in. Still don't get ppl who fail to understand the basics of a community and still expect their support.
I had a similar experience buddy. And I see a couple of others too, shows how dysfunctional organisations and PM roles in particular be. Coming to my story,I thought I was working in a great company, with over 70BUs, presence in all the continents, but within 3 months I understood that it’s a shit hole. Similar reasons to yours. Architects were non existent, EM never inspired confidence. All I had were a couple of good engineers. And I used to be pulled into customer calls, sales calls, leadership calls where PMs were pointed out for inefficiency. I identified one of the key gaps in the product, thanks to all my sales and customer calls. Worked my ass off to build a beautiful roadmap for the same, and used it as selling story in interviews. You have to know the problem in and out and practice a little bit. Make sure you only go to a better org with good processes. Hope this helps
Is building out the roadmap "enough" to satisfy interviewers if you never actually get far down it enough to ship anything? Because I can make plans and strategies and document them and communicate them all day, but actually seeing them through is another story. Half the time my devs get pulled away to put out some fire, and the other half of the time we build what we intended but some other team drops the ball on one of our dependencies so the project is dead in the water.
Sounds like you are in a situation where your product leadership isn’t doing the actual work that they are supposed to do which is develop product strategy (read how they want to differentiate themselves) and coach the team that they manage so that junior PMs can take higher meatier work due to coaching that they get. Trust me, I am in worst situation and similar to yours but I am in the later stages in my career and hence I probably know how can I get out of this shit. Also, I have done meatier work in the past when things were better in my org. I can point you to right resources but to your situation, I can suggest just this 5 minute video that sums up what you should do right now. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=onYLDdqUGWs&feature=youtu.be In this video, you need to just execute the last point that Shreya’s says! I hope you follow him but if not you are early PM and wondering what’s the right resources and that’s where I can help you. Good luck in your career!
Find a better place I have been there, took me 2-3 shift to find right org where I fit in , I am valued and am making an impact Rest let not bad experiences define your PM career Learn some of the things that are good and bad things you dont want to repeat and find a gig where you find yourself fitting in
UI path is Romanian right?
Yup
TC?
Can you explain why that matters?
Because this is Blind and not reddit. Blind culture has long dictated that you share your TC before asking for advice as Blind is founded on pay transparency.
Cheer up, this stuff happens. Sharpen your skillset in your free time and keep chugging along. Unfortunately you have to be patient with this stuff, which you probably don’t want to hear but it is what it is. The only way out is through. Try to manage your mental predisposition and make the best of it. Eventually you’ll get there. We all go through this in this field. Esp when working for startups or smaller places. Unfortunately it is pretty common. Try finding a mentor.
Bro do you even TC?
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Spin and bullshit your way into a new job. As a fellow PM, I'm in the same spot.
Please educate with some spinning techniques in an interview.
I do not know your situation, but spinning is a skill to learn. For example, PMs guide a project and help with troubleshooting (i.e. collate resources to achieve a beneficial outcome). Use big words like collate and achieve and resource management as much as possible.