How to Prepare for a Product Management Job?
A Job Hunting Course 201
Preetam Nath
Product management jobs are tough to crack with no clearly defined path.
Every company has a different expectations from a prospective product management professional. As a result it is a herculean task to reach out to hiring manager, scheduling interviews and ultimately landing a job.
In this article, Preetam Nath who is an ex Unacademy product manager, talks about the steps he took to land a PM job.
STEP 1
Best job hunting is you being laser targeted and precise about what you want (broadly, can’t be too generic else you won’t get any job).
Skip applying on Naukri.com/LinkedIn/Monster/any channel that makes you AVERAGE.
You must stand out to get noticed!
STEP 2
Look for companies that imbibe the values you resonate with.
Find them on Google or LinkedIn or Twitter. Browse their websites, articles/content posted by them, employees you know.
Anything that gives you an idea about the company and their values.
STEP 3
Once you have narrowed down to a list of companies, do laser targeted Twitter/LinkedIn/email outreach to the most relevant person to pitch yourself.
Talk about
1. How you found them?
2. Why you want to work with them?
3. Why they should hire you?
4. How will you help?
WHY YOU?
STEP 4
Remember the law of averages.
Repeat this process for 100 companies. You’ll get 20 replies. 5 interviews. 2 job offers.
Congrats, you now have a new job and you’ve graduated the Job Hunting 201 class.
BONUS TIPS
Tip 1
Use a basic spreadsheet CRM to manage the madness. Doesn’t have to be fancy, it should just WORK FOR YOU.
Here’s something I used back in 2017.
Tip 2
Be realistic about timeline from START to END. This is not an endless process.
You should aim to start and finish within 3-6 weeks.
Tip 3
Save all your scripts in one place.
Templates for LinkedIn outreach, email outreach etc.
Don’t try typing each and every one of them.
However, do make sure to personalize every message for the recipient/company.
Tip 4
Rehearse commonly asked questions before the interview.
Research on the internet. Write those questions down. Write answers. Practice them in front of a friend/mirror.
Ask for feedback. Repeat!
