How different is it to be a Product Manager than it is to be a Senior Product Manager?

Is it just a matter of time before getting promoted?

Here's what I've learned 👇 There has to be a change in how you approach problems to get promoted in the Product World, and understanding what makes each role different is key to making it happen.

Here's the difference between each role in Product (before becoming a manager).

Most people struggle to get their first Product Manager job because they get overwhelmed, not because they don't have the skills or experience.

Here's how I've helped 1,000s with this problem 👇 We believe that more options to choose from means that we'll have better odds of succeeding.

Instead, with more options to choose from, it becomes harder to make a decision and it becomes stressful.

This is called the Paradox of Choice.
For example...

I've talked with >100 Product Manager interviewers and these are the top 8 reasons why candidates get rejected in an interview 👇 1/ Don't talk about Customers

Whether it's a Product Design or Behavioral questions about your previous experience, never forget that products are created to solve customer problems.

Surprisingly, many candidates forget about it and don't mention customers in their answers.

If I only had one weekend to prepare for a Product Manager interview,

Here's what I would do and how I would study 👇🧵 Friday: Understand the role

If I only had 3 days to prep, these would be my assumptions

Focus on 2 dimensions to make a study plan.

1. Company
2. Role Level

Here's each one in detail:

Do you need a coding Bootcamp to be a Product Manager?

No

But there are some technical courses that can help you be a better PM.

These are the 6 FREE ones that I recommend 👇🧵 1/ The Basics of Computer Science

Harvard has their introduction to Computer Science class for Free.

If you are starting your journey into Tech, or just want a refresher, I definitely recommend this one:
pll.harvard.edu/course/cs50-in…

This is the resume I used to get my job at Microsoft in 2019.

While it's certainly not perfect, there are a few things that helped me in the process and I'll show them to you, using colors 👇

A 🧵 with 7 tips to improve your resume and stand out [1] Format

Don't worry about searching for fancy, and colorful templates.

A black&white plain old boring template works.

Recruiters & hiring managers care about your accomplishments and about you, not about the colors you chose for your resume (unless you are a designer)

Most people waste the last part of their interview by asking questions that they can Google.

It's a waste of time because:
- You don't care about the answer
- Your interviewer knows that you don't care about the answer

Instead, you should ask these 5 questions:

🧵👇 1/ The 'Red flags in the role' spotter

Question: What was the last feature your team worked on and who made the decision to build it?

This will tell you
- Does the team work on a product or a service area (no product)?
- Who really owns the roadmap?

"Please let me know if you have any open positions".

This is one of the most common messages I receive, but I can't help in these cases.

Instead, here's how to find and message hiring managers on LinkedIn to get an interview the next day👇 [1] Searching the right keywords

People/teams who are hiring tend to write some form/variation of:
hiring + "[Role]"

If you are looking for PM roles, search for:
hiring "Product Manager"

(I tried this in Spanish and it works as well)

Landing a PM job is not an easy task

But there's one thing you can do every day for 5 minutes to improve your Product Sense and get you ready for your next interview

The goal is to look at products you've never seen before and answer 3 key questions.

Here's a 🧵 on how I do it The goal is to answer 3 key questions that can give us a rough idea of whether the product is really a good idea

-Who is the product intended for? (Users)
-What Problem is it trying to solve? (Pain-Points)
-Is the solution proposed better than alternatives? (Value proposition)

B2B and B2C Product Management are very different.

I worked for 5 years as a Product Manager in B2B and for 9 months (so far) in Consumer.

While this will likely not be an exhaustive list, here are the 8 biggest differences I've seen.

🧵👇 Before jumping into the differences, a few things to consider...

All your soft skills are transferrable.

B2B here assumes you have 100s or 1,000s of customers, not Millions (e.g. you are not selling Office 365).

Product culture at the company influences how things are done.

Networking is like sex...

- Not everyone does it
- Most of the time it's awkward
- No one teaches you how to do it
- And someone usually ends up disappointed or frustrated

I'll show you a smooth way to make your Networking experience way better 👇

Google the other topic 1. Don't go for the DMs yet!

Instead, lurk in the comments section from content creators.

We create communities.

For example, if you are interested in Product Management, you'll find tons of PMs to connect with in the comment on my posts.

Many show up frequently

Nothing worse in Product Management than having the title of "Product Manager" but not really doing the job of one.

Unfortunately, this is much more common than we think.

When I look for new roles, I always check for 5 things that can help me avoid roles that are not PM 👇 5 Things I check to avoid bad PM roles

Job Description:
- Job should match title
- Focus on the impact, not level
- PM and PO are not interchangeable

During Interviews:
- Authority over backlog
- Succes is not # of features

Let me explain each one of them...

Found a post like this on LinkedIn where someone is hiring?

Here's exactly what to do to get an interview the next day 👇 Before we begin, the most important thing you need to know:

The more you match the requirements, the better your chances of succeeding

Priority matching the job description
1. Required Qualifications
2. Preferred Qualifications
3. Skills related to the Responsibilities listed

The 7 Ted Talks that any current and aspiring Product Manager should watch!

A list that includes topics on:
- Influencing others
- Inspire actions
- Simplifying things for customers
- Making better/faster decisions
- How to deal with rejections

And more in this🧵 1/ Influencing others

Influential people are not born with unique traits.
Instead, they work on improving these:

- Context: Understand the environment
- Breadth: Understand the organization
- Choice: Balancing decisions
- Connection: Trusting others

Here's a compiled list of frameworks that you need for a Product Manager interview.

I've helped 100s through 1:1 chats and 10,000s through my content.

All the frameworks, tips, and best practices that you need in one 🧵

+ some freebies at the end! General recommendations

1. Always ask for time when you need it
2. Clarify questions, don't jump into answers
3. Use frameworks as guidance, but be flexible
4. Interviews are a dialogue, check in with your interviewer

5. Smile, it's more powerful than you think ☺️

4 things I wish I knew before finding my first Product Manager role

1. Books teach you the "ideal" job for PMs
2. Not every PM job is Product Management
3. Many flavors of Product Management exist
4. Learn SQL, Storytelling with data, and copywriting

I'll dive into each one 🧵 [1] Books teach you the "ideal" job for PMs

Books show everything PMs are supposed to do on the job.

Reality is very different.

Typically, in larger organizations, your job will be more specialized.

👉 Network as much as you can to understand what PMs do

Side projects are one of the best ways to gain Product Management skills and even start a business.

The most challenging step: finding problems to solve.

Our heroes:
- Search Engines
- Communities
- Social media

Powerful tools to find problems to solve. Let me show you 👇 1. Search Engines

When we need solutions to a problem we go online and search for the phrase "How to [solve a problem we have]"

"How to's" is one of the most popular categories on YouTube.

Tip: Type "How to beginner" to see the basic problems people have

Side projects are the best way for you to learn about Product Management and gain skills.

If done right, your 'side project' can become a side business.

Entrepreneurship is a good path into Product Management.

All side projects have 8 steps in common 👇 8 steps to any Side Project:

1. Pain Points
2. Gathering Data
3. Creating Prototypes
4. Defining your Strategy
5. Setting a roadmap for MVP
6. Working cross-functionally
7. Creating a Go-To-Market Plan
8. Launching and continuing innovating

Let's look at each one 👇

Looking for a new job?

You need to shift how you think about building your online presence.

You are making the same mistake everyone does:
- You are building your profile for yourself.

5 things you need to do immediately on LinkedIn to attract recruiters

(A 🧵) 1. Update your photo.

Your photo is the first impression online.

How to have an amazing profile photo:

1. If you need a new photo, take one in front of a white wall
2. Upload your photo to pfpmaker.com
3. Select a background that makes YOU stand out

Over the past 5 years, I have interviewed with most of FAANG(M) companies, worked in 3 different industries I didn't have experience in, and got offers for jobs I was not technically qualified for.

What most people don’t know?

I use the same 4 techniques every time.

🧵👇 1: Don't wait until others find you

What’s the fastest way to get noticed?

Be proactive. Connect with the right people.

Success here 100% comes down to:

• Research extensively about individuals
• Find ways to help them/others
• Be targeted in whom you reach out

5 truths about being a NEW Product Manager that will sting

A 🧵: 1/ You'll have little to no impact (at first... for a while)

You don't code, you don't build, you don't drive teams, you don't set visions and strategies, and you don't make big decisions.

🤔 So what do you focus on at the beginning?
→ Learn everything
→ Build relationships