Sourcing Jobs for PM 101: Tips, Resume, LinkedIN, Networking 101, websites to follow
Proven and tested Tips and Strategy to get that PM job fast and efficiently !
Ok so you have decided to be a product manager and looking to get that interview and finally convert it !
This is a no nonsense guide to widen your funnel for your Product Manager job and use it smartly to get that job faster and efficiently !
I will walk you through following in a concise way
Product Manager skills required
Important books for reference before PM interview
Resume
Cover Letter
Portfolio Site
Sourcing PM Jobs | Job Sites
Networking 101
Interview readiness
Target Companies
During the PM interview
Your takeaway
Leverage tips and strategy to create your resume, cover letter, proof of work faster
Use mentioned strategy to get, source and apply to jobs increasing your chances of selection
Save your time on internet , read it here !
Product Manager skills required
Note the important PM skills expected from Product manager’s in the job.
You should highlight the ones you have and try to build the others (no one can be 100% perfect in all imo !)
Product Execution: Work with developer, designer to get the product shipped/released
Product Analytics and success metrics: Pull and analyse data, Define Success metrics for products
Prioritization: Given n number of backlog items , prioritise based on ‘impact and value’
Technical Knowledge: Great to have, can be acquired by reading on things (API, Cache, Redis, Load balancer, database etc blah blah)
Stakeholder Communication: Communicate and escalate things often and early (as an APM/PM to high ups)
Written Communication: PRD, BRD and Mail writing,Minutes of meeting, strive to write well
Business Sense: Know your business and environment you operate in SaaS, Enterprise , B2C, B2B etc
Product and Product Design Sense: Able to think and critique flows, features and design
Raw Skills
Low ego, humble hustle
Low maintenance (can figure out things on own) and curious
Sense of urgency
Takeaway: You are clear with expected PM skills
Important books for reference before PM interview
Go through these at-least once or twice to internalize the mental models they are presenting
How to crack PM interview: Read end to end as interviewers have referred to this book
Inspired by Marty Cagan: Read and re-read.
Decode and Conquer by Lewis Lin: PM Questions and Answers, frameworks
Product School Hired Guide
Takeaway: Be familiar with idea in these books. Re read if necessary
Resume
Resume: Customised resume based on company/position(use JD)
Example: Have finance certifications, highlight for fintech PM jobs
Have a Master Resume:
Larger version of resume with all points (even minor ones)
Drag and drop to create tailored your resume for each company/position
Resume Review: Get your resume reviewed and critiqued
Generally One pager: Quick to glance and review, pdf and Readable by ATS (Applicant Tracking System)
Whitespace between sections to increase readability
Careercup has a good format which you can re-use.Resume Example:https://www.careercup.com/resume
Keep it simple to be read for hiring side and simple to edit for you also (fast turnaround)
Resources (resume section): https://www.gayle.com/career-advice
Resources: Product School
Resume Checklist
Be Selective on what to include in resume
Tailored for company/position
Examples of your contribution (data and metrics prefer % , avoid company secret numbers in general)
Provide enough context but not be excessively technical
An example: (Increased 10% lead generated in 2020 using CMS, SEO and web search)
Tech product built: Include link, great way to show proof of work
Hobbies and extras achievements where you have moved metrics
Great Checklist read
Resume Structure
Educational Qualification: Include
GPA: Show if stellar, else can be skipped. Can be skipped if exp> than 3-4 years
Work Experience: Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y] by doing [Z]
Work Experience @companies: Include major work~3-4 points per company, be coherent and work you can justify and answer questions
Tie Work Experience to some metrics(its possible): NPS/CSAT/revenue/moving some metrics of company
Product Certifications and courses: Include(Heypm, Coursera, Udacity etc)
Tools: Important, include: Heap, Google Analytics, Figma, Balsamiq, Mixpanel etc
Technologies worth highlighting
SQL,Data products, iOS/Android experience, Identity
Personalisation, Advertisements system, APIs, SaaS payments, Crypto
Tip: Leave some white space between the sections to ease readability
Takeaway: Prepare your master resume and resume in target companies
Cover Letter
Cover Letter: Generally not required these days, but can be required
Should be personalised for each company, short and highlight things apart from resume
Cover Letter Format: Follow ‘Cracking the PM Interview’ Cover letter chapter and Format (Page 137-143)
Follow this cover letter resource and iterate over as per your need
Takeaway: Prepare your cover letter now
Portfolio Site
Maintaining Portfolio site is a great way to
To showcase your tech side of skills
Hint technical fluency
People can discover and reach out to you (awesome stuff)
How to build one ?
Build a quick mvp page using WIX.com, Webflow, Google sites, https://carrd.co/ (awesome) or Use Any no code tool
Use Linktree to put all links together and add in resume(https://linktr.ee/)
What to Include in Portfolio Site?
Put Resume link, Skills, Courses done, certifications, work ex, contact info
Must include any app/site/working prototype if built
Start doing product critiques, suggested improvements in existing products, write ups regularly and show case them.
Share these on LinkedIN and Twitter to let people discover you (distribution is very important and you gotta hustle if you really want to be lucky this way !)
Examples of Portfolio Site
Ways and points to create great portfolio Example
Example(generally simple and to the point: https://mprogano.com/
Takeaway: Your portfolio site is ready and well distributed
Sourcing PM Jobs | Job Sites
Extensively use Linkedin Job Search
Search on Linkedin, e.g. “hiring PM”, “hiring APM” to see posts
Set up daily reminder from companies and locations sent as mail(APM/PM/SPMJobs from Delhi/Hyderabad/Bangalore/Jakarta/Singapore)
Use Linkedin Premium to reach out to recruiters/hiring folks
Tip: How to create great linkedin profile
Naukri.com
Surprisingly still good for getting APM/PM interviews.
Lot of recruiters are here
Update your information often on site (freshness)
Set up daily job reminders sent as mail from locations/companies
IIMjobs
Great for Indian PM jobs, responsive and good conversion
Since recruiters post active jobs here
Can consider paid plan
Hirist
Good for PM jobs, can consider paid plan, part of IIMjobs(naukri now).
Angel.co, Indeed, Cutshort, Instahyre, Tophire:
New aged job site where resume is screened and access is provided
Sign up and get inside for auctions
Tip: Keep on updating your resume and profile on these sites, recently updated is a signal to appear in recruiter search
Glassdoor and Indeed:
Aggregates jobs, hence ok since job may be filled.
Set up email notifications.
Product community slack groups: Join them
Product School
HeyPM etc
Third Party Recruiter
Great since they lookout for candidates on active mandates from companies.LinkedIN and Naukri has many Third Party Recruiters
Follow product management schools (PM School, Product folks, HeyPM etc) posting pm jobs on LinkedIN and Twitter
Follow product influencers on Twitter and LinkedIN
Search for posts on LinkedIN and Twitter to reach to job poster directly
Example: Search for ‘Product Manager’ and go to content, you may find jobs posted by hiring manager directly
Example: https://twitter.com/search?q=hiring%20product%20manager&src=typed_query
Angellist
Create profile on AngelList to connect https://angel.co/
Apply to 100s of start-ups/great companies +plus Salary range is mentioned.
Apply > feedback on next steps > If you and company accepts, then an email is sent to both of you cc’ing each other and a meeting is set.
Make sure you mention in the Heading that you are looking for a Job and tune your profile settings accordingly on Angellist
Tip: Angellist works great
Your Current Company
Move upward in your current company: If PM position in your current company, Set up 1:1 with your manager and express your intent
Apprentice as PM intern/PM help within the company
Help with product analytics and product research for senior PM
Important Tip: Make your interest known to your manager and get involved in PM things at the company.
VC Firm websites
Track recently funded companies on tech sites like Inc42, Techcrunch,Entrackr etc and visit their career page
Example: Koo, Kutumb etc
Check sites like Sequoia Surge, their career page https://surge-jobs.belong.co/
Venture Capital site has a career page (https://www.sequoiacap.com/india/jobs/)
Look at Southeast Asia now
Just like India, Southeast Asia has vibrant tech ecosystem
They are hiring for product roles and raiding Indian talent.Few have offices in India also. Example: Pasarpolis, Bukuwarang etc
User Linkedin and Angel.co to apply for those jobs, by selecting filters
Example Companies: Pasarpolis, Go Jek, Grab etc.
An example: https://sg.indeed.com/Product-Manager-Asia-Pacific-jobs
Middle East
Just like India, Middle East has decent tech ecosystem
They are hiring for product roles and raiding Indian talent. Example: Careem, Talabat etc
User Linkedin and Angel.co to apply for those jobs, by selecting filters. Use following sites
Remote Jobs and Freelancing
Consider great remote jobs.
Consider fully global remote jobs
Or in UK/Europe time zone
Example companies: Paysend, Gitlab, Socialpilot
Use Linkedin, Angel.co[filter=remote]and remote job site To apply for remote jobs
Consider Remote work job site
Toptal
Consider Toptal for contractual jobs also.
Freelancing but great companies and compensation
High bar to get in
Upwork
From India apply for first world country PM freelancing
Good earning and learning potential if utilized well
Takeaway: Your profile and resume should be live on these sites. Also now you know where all to source the interview and PM job.
Networking 101
Cold Emailing
Cold Emailing: Identify the target person and company
Write a simple introduction with as much context as possible asking your ask and attach resume
Remember if done well (and not spammed), it has zero downside risk.
You will most probably end up getting the job/fast forwaded
Tip 1: Cold email decision makers/hr business partners recently funded startups, they are under the radar and chances of landing the job are high since they want to hire actively to fill folks
Cold Emailing channels
Linkedin messages
Twitter replied and DMs (when open)
Emails
Cold Emailing Hacks:
Offer as much information about you to them for making decision
Offer some critique/Suggestions etc
Understand Networking in PM Jobs context:
Sharing knowledge
Update your knowledge
Meet Incredible people
Get opportunities
Where to network:
Online events
Offline Meetups
Company events online or offline
VC events (Pi ventures sessions, Lightspeed etc)
Grabchai
Lunchclub
Prodcut community (Slack, Linkedin, Whatsapp etc)
Resource:https://www.productplan.com/learn/product-manager-communities/
Takeaway: Should be able to reach out for help, job
Interview readiness
Research the company thoroughly
Company research: Go to their site, try their app/website and offerings.
Understand well what, why and how (if possible) of their offerings (Example of an identity as a service)
Products (offerings, Competitors, Market etc)
Strategy (mission, values,Strength, Weakness, Threats, Competitors etc.)
Culture (People in the company, Key people, Interviewers, glassdoor review)
Blind: Must , employees post important info on comp, culture etc
Be ready with frequently asked questions
Define Yourself Questions :Write down answers in google doc and practice before mirror .Record it and get it critiqued, will be asked often
Tell Me About Yourself
Why do you want to work here?
Why we should hire you?
Why leaving your current job?
What do you do in spare time ?
Where you see in 5/10/15 years?
Strengths and Weakness etc
Tip: Keep answers to these questions handy:
Behavioral Questions Centres around Leadership, Teamwork, Success ,Challenges Mistakes/Failure (example: how you resolved conflict, project failure, shown initiative etc)
Estimation QuestionsEstimate Gmail revenues in India, apple phone user in India
Case Questions Fb buying whatsapp, Instagram , Amazon entering India, Fb investing in Jio etc
Product Questions Alarm clock for blind, microwave for old etc
Favourite Product: A Physical(Cycle, Medicine box etc), A Digital (Twitter), A digital hardware (Kindle, Your Phone maybe)
Polish basic technical skills
Basic technical stuff like how internet works, what happens when you hit enter in google, Cache,identity and authentication etc
Refer to Department of Product for basic technology skills https://www.departmentofproduct.com/blog/technology-skills-product-managers/
Google and learn new technical terms, technology and summarise from product perspective
Important: Inculcate this habit of googling and figuring out things
Eg. Imagine applying at Confluent as PM (you should brush up Kafka skills then,similarly applies to other company)
Subscribe to Technically
Takeaway: Basic PM questions are documented and practiced well
Target Companies
List your target companies
Tip 1: Based on my learning, Try to join a well funded or funded companies in growing sectors (SaaS,edtech in India, b2b,e-com etc) apart from FAANG
Tip 2: Look who your mentor/manager will be, if someone is investing time in grooming you,can be good place to join (gauge from interview vibes)
Tip 3: If founders are not maniacal, and you get a chance to work with them , take it. Learning is better than your average managers !(more skin in the game)
Tip 4: Bonus points if you get to launch 0-1 an 1-100 products from scratch
Think owning one feature end to end-exposed to FE, BE, API, design etc, not just optimisations on existing
Stealth mode startups (a bit risky, learning and esops reward)
Just funded (risk and reward in compensation and success)
Y combinator, Sequoia, Accel, other funded
Well funded (~10-20 million dollars, Koo, Kutumb etc)
Funded and doing very well: Razorpay, Browserstack etc.
Indian Unicorns: Zomato, Swiggy, Ola, Nykaa, Unacademy
MNCs: FAANG, Salesforce, Uber, Expedia etc (huge stock upside)
Smaller MNCs like Sprinklr, Khoros,Chegg etc (*Tip: great target)
Well funded and breakout companies: Frontrow, Koo, Classplus,WinZo etc
Excel sheet of target companies: Create an excel sheet of companies you are targeting, with status columns (applied/ moving ahead etc). Example here
Not all product management companies are kinda equal, so check the space they operate in.
If you know a space well (payments, SaaS, crypto etc) use it to your advantage by highlighting it and targeting companies
Example:
Enterprise companies are sales and marketing driven
B2B are sales and distribution driven
E-commerce has buyer and supplier side logistics side etc.
Banks and Fintechs have their regulations to deal with
Growth PM is fast and number driven so is Gaming ones
Takeaway: You are clear with company list and kind of companies you want to apply
During the PM interview
Apply to many companies
Reflect on Interview experience
Prepare for Long interview cycle
Getting first PM job can take sometime so patience !
Apply to companies/position where you may not meet all qualifications. Apply anyway
Don’t be dejected by
Resume not selected
Sometimes companies ghost for reasons outside your control
Learn from interviews and iterate upon. Have fun !
Get clarity on Salary expectations from company
Suggest your expectations too, so both of you are aligned.
After few probing generally (not always) reveal comp range
Have multiple interviews lined up if you want to negotiate
Move fast and close the interview
Schedule interview ahead
Move fast on interview to close the offer quickly
Company Assignments:
Try to complete well ahead of time and submit
*Be careful to not do too many for free
*These are based on my experience, so feel free to iterate and share what works and what new things could be added this to the list
This is a great list ! Highly recommended !