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Seek and you shall find - hiring and getting hired in product management
The document discusses challenges faced by both product manager candidates and hiring managers in the recruitment process, including a lack of interview preparation and difficulties in identifying key candidate qualities. It emphasizes the importance of understanding must-have skills, company culture, and the necessity for candidates to prepare specific questions for interviews. Additionally, it suggests engaging in proactive recruiting strategies and clear communication about role expectations to improve the hiring process.
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Seek and you shall find - hiring and getting hired in product management
- 1. @markuswinkler* SEEK AND YOUSHALL FIND
- 3. PM Candidate HiringManagers Not well positioned Not well positioned Lack of interview preparation Struggle asking the ‘right’ questions Lack of recruitment process preparation Struggle asking the ‘right’ questions @henrikkedue*
- 4. CANDIDATE Unsure what Iwant from next role What is important to me Unsure about how to best prep for interviews FEEL MORE CONFIDENT Consider opportunities and problems Identify your must haves Prep your ‘Why, What, Who, How’
- 6. PM Candidate HiringManagers Not well positioned Not well positioned Lack of interview preparation Struggle asking the ‘right’ questions Lack of recruitment process preparation Struggle asking the ‘right’ questions @henrikkedue*
- 7. HIRING MANAGER Unsure whatI need to look out for in candidates What is important to me How do we stand out from the many other companies recruiting? What problem are you looking to to solve with the role? Identify your ‘must haves’ - technical and human skills Do your homework, all the time FEEL MORE CONFIDENT
- 8. CANDIDATE Unsure what Iwant from next role(s) Consider opportunities and problems FEEL MORE CONFIDENT
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- 10. Problem Company Product What problem doesthis role need to solve? What does success look like? Why? What is the company’s vision? Where is the company is in its lifecycle? What problem does the product solve? For whom? Where is the product in its lifecycle?
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- 12. People Diversity Safety Who will Ibe working with? What are they about? What can I learn from them? Who will I be working with? What are people’s perspectives and backgrounds? How do people collaborate and ideate? When was the last time you were challenged?
- 13. Ask your interviewerquestions that are harder to prep for and trigger authentic responses “What is the most recent or major launch failure you had and why did it happen?” Such a question will give you an idea of blame culture, approach to test and learn and acceptance of failure KUDZAI MANUNGO Product Manager BlackRock
- 14. Salary Bonus Equity How critical isthe salary for you? Do you know the industry benchmark? Is there an annual bonus? Based on company and individual performance? (When) Will you be eligible for shares or options? What are the company’s growth plans? Financials?
- 15. CANDIDATE What's important tome? Identify your 'must haves' FEEL MORE CONFIDENT
- 16. ARJUN MISTRY Product Manager Gousto Applyyour ‘what is non-negotiable to you’ question across each parameter of any role you apply for Create a list of must have/should have/nice to have questions Answers to these questions you can get from: • Job description • Talking to interviewers • Hiring manager • Current employees
- 17. PM Candidate HiringManagers Not well positioned Not well positioned Lack of interview preparation Struggle asking the ‘right’ questions Lack of recruitment process preparation Struggle asking the ‘right’ questions @henrikkedue* @saltsup*
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- 20. CANDIDATE Unsure about howto best prepare for interviews FEEL MORE CONFIDENT Prep your ‘Why,What,Who, How’
- 21. Conflict Tradeoff Value Tell me abouta time you disagreed with a senior stakeholder about product direction? Tell me about a time where you had to make a hard tradeoff between business and customer outcomes? Tell me about a time you delivered customer and business value. How did you identify and deliver it?
- 22. DEVARIS BROWN Co-Founder &CEO Meroxa “What is your product process?” “Tell me about the last thing you shipped?” Think about the last time you’ve shipped a product or feature Diagram this process or simply write it down before the interview Explain the steps taken (and rationale)
- 23. JOHN ROBINSON Director ofProduct Management Expedia What I love to see when I see candidates: • Preparation, preparation, preparation. Be prepared for me to ask how you prepared for this • Enthusiasm. Show me you want this job, not a job or this company • You. Not the practised you, the actual you. The you that will turn up each day
- 24. PM Candidate HiringManagers Not well positioned Not well positioned Lack of interview preparation Struggle asking the ‘right’ questions Lack of recruitment process preparation Struggle asking the ‘right’ questions @henrikkedue* @saltsup* https://www.kateleto.com/ @karlahrnndz
- 25. Task Action Result I had tomake a decision about next steps and timings redeveloping and launching the feature Worked through the different options with the team, identi fi ed pros & cons, calculated cost of delay Situation Facing a tough tradeoff where we had to weigh up time, cost and customer impact of a speci fi c feature Presented the options to the exec, and gave my recommendation. Executed the recommended option in time and delivered the promised value
- 26. CANDIDATE OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS ‘MUSTHAVES’ FOR NEXT ROLE YOUR ‘WHY, WHAT, WHO, HOW’ @markuswinkler*
- 27. HIRING MANAGER FEELMORE CONFIDENT What problems are you looking to to solve with the role? Unsure of what I need to look out for in candidates
- 28. PM Candidate HiringManagers Not well positioned Not well positioned Lack of interview preparation Struggle asking the ‘right’ questions Lack of recruitment process preparation Struggle asking the ‘right’ questions @henrikkedue* @saltsup* https://www.kateleto.com/ @karlahrnndz*
- 29. Market Development Growth Maturity Need toestablish product market fi t, test and learn often Make tough tradeoff decisions, say “no” Safeguard the product experience / value for customers, optimise Decline Decide whether to terminate a product, transition customers
- 30. HIRING MANAGER Identify your‘must haves’ - technical and human skills What is important to me? FEEL MORE CONFIDENT
- 31. JOHN ROBINSON Director ofProduct Management Expedia Emphasise in job spec and to recruiter: • Personal attributes. The best candidates demonstrate (e.g. curiosity, grit, humility) • Types of organisations / industries to look out for where we’ve found good people before • Look beyond the job title; the best product hires often don’t come from product! • CVs which emphasise value delivered over effort invested
- 32. PM Candidate HiringManagers Not well positioned Not well positioned Lack of interview preparation Struggle asking the ‘right’ questions Lack of recruitment process preparation Struggle asking the ‘right’ questions @henrikkedue* @saltsup* https://www.kateleto.com/
- 33. What work isdone? Creating a product vision Driving strategy & roadmap Writing user stories Influencing others Dealing with conflict Ability to adapt Creator vs Editor Cognitive diversity Strategic mindset TECHNICAL SKILLS HUMAN SKILLS TEAM MAKEUP How the work is done? What does the team need?
- 34. DEBBIE JAMES VP ofProduct Feeld Consider the skill set and background of team as a whole and look at areas to complement Irrespective of PM background or interests, I look for the following: • Insights led • Autonomy • Problem focus • Pragmatic approach • Lean
- 35. PM Candidate HiringManagers Not well positioned Not well positioned Lack of interview preparation Struggle asking the ‘right’ questions Lack of recruitment process preparation Struggle asking the ‘right’ questions @henrikkedue* @saltsup*
- 36. EMMA VAN DIJKUM VPProduct & Technology Multiverse Hiring great candidates starts with being laser focused on what you're looking for from the CV Look for people who've succeeded at companies and who've demonstrated stand-out results Then when you're interviewing, look out for 4 characteristics of success: • Character • Intelligence • Track Record • Coach-ability You want people who have the right mindset and experience, but who want to learn
- 37. What work isdone? Creating a product vision Writing User Stories Dealing with conflict Ability to adapt Creator vs Editor Strategic mindset TECHNICAL SKILLS HUMAN SKILLS TEAM MAKEUP How the work is done? What does the team need? Driving strategy & roadmap Influencing others Cognitive diversity
- 38. Influencing others Cognitive diversity Dedicate apart of the interview process to a real-life stakeholder issue and do a role play in a safe space Start engaging with diverse communities, learn from different of people, build a talent pool. Use “Applied” for job specs Strategy & Roadmap As part of the interview process, ask candidates to create a product strategy & roadmap for a fi ctitious company
- 39. HIRING MANAGER FEELMORE CONFIDENT How do we stand out from the many other companies recruiting? Do your homework, all the time!
- 40. PM Candidate HiringManagers Not well positioned Not well positioned Lack of interview preparation Struggle asking the ‘right’ questions Lack of recruitment process preparation Struggle asking the ‘right’ questions @henrikkedue* @lshphoto*
- 41. PM Candidate HiringManagers Not well positioned Not well positioned Lack of interview preparation Struggle asking the ‘right’ questions Lack of recruitment process preparation Struggle asking the ‘right’ questions @henrikkedue* @lshphoto* @avidrotimi*
- 42. Hygiene Clarity about roleexpectations Communicate interview process - stages + timings Appoint ‘decider’ Public sharing of your org’s approach to product and people Develop your personal brand Build relationships, ‘proactive recruiting’ HOUSE IN ORDER STAND OUT Differentiate
- 43. HIRING MANAGER PROBLEM TOSOLVE ‘MUST HAVE’ SKILLS DO YOUR HOMEWORK! @markuswinkler*
- 44. PM Candidate HiringManagers Not well positioned Not well positioned Lack of interview preparation Struggle asking the ‘right’ questions Lack of recruitment process preparation Struggle asking the ‘right’ questions @henrikkedue* @lshphoto* @bamin*
- 45. *all images canbe found on https://unsplash.com/ marcabraham.com @MAA1 on Twitter and Medium