Product Manager Career Coach | I help ambitious Product Managers transform into highly respected Product Leaders making 50%+ income in a dream role WITHOUT working more or getting certified | Free Breakthrough Session⬇️
There is a common, fatal mistake that most product managers make without realizing it. The other day, I spoke with an accomplished product group product manager who was looking to advance to the director level. He possessed all the relevant skills and experience. He had the opportunity to participate in numerous interviews, a testament to his marketability and the demand for his skills. But he failed to convert them into offers. He had been through five of his "top tier" target companies and not landed a role. Why was this case? He had joined our program, and after some mock interviews, we dug into the feedback he had received from our coaches [who are often product managers and leaders at these target companies], and I helped him see this pattern. He was interviewing for the job that he had rather than the job he wanted. Interviewing for roles you have held vs. the ones you want is a fundamental mistake that I see many product managers make repeatedly. They are telling the story of their experience, but the framing is entirely wrong. See, the hiring managers and other interviewers really have no interest in your past. They only care about it if it's retold from the perspective of "Why are you a clear fit for the role that you are applying to?" There is no silver bullet to fix this, but there are many lead bullets. Your words matter, as does how you shape the interview and move from one question to another. How you tackle product design, execution, metrics, and leadership interviews also matters. Our coaches understand the difference between the different levels of interviews and can help you reshape them. This approach enabled us to help a Senior Product Manager land a Director role recently (more on that in the next few days). But for now, remember - interview for the job you want, not the job you've had.
I've seen this play out dozens of times over the years. It's a challenging mindset change to go from past-oriented to future-oriented, but it makes a big difference in interviewing.
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Product Management Career Coach | Ex-Tripadvisor, Trello, Google
2moWay to give away all our secrets haha. But seriously this is a key insight across the board. One of the difference between those who get offers and those that don't is: - people who figure out how their past job can help them show their experience for the next job vs. - people who describe their last job and expect the HM fill "figure it out" They won't "figure it out."