Guide to Transitioning into Product Management Role

As more organizations realize value creation through dedicated functions driving growth and adoption of their products, Product Management as a coveted career choice has grown at a phenomenal rate.  Whether fresh out of college or having experience in non-PM roles (be it engineering, business analyst, project manager etc.), aspirants are trying to figure out how to get a job as PM.

The challenge many people face is - How to become a Product Manager or How to transition into a Product Management role? While there are many aspects to cover like skill-sets needs to become a good product manager, scope of product manager, types of product management, etc. in this blog, we will talk about some of the ways in which you can transition into a product management role.

Different Paths

Broadly, for people working in non-PM roles already, we believe there are 3 different but significant paths that they can take to move / transition into product management:

1. Transition into a Product Management role in your current company
2. Entry level / Jr. Product Management roles in early stage start-ups 
3. Do an MBA or a Product Management course/certification

We will talk about each of these paths in detail. But before we detail that, it's important for you to understand what a product manager does and why exactly you want to become a product manager. What exactly fascinates you about PM as a role? Is it the broad spectrum of this role? Is it your ability to understand & think like an actual user? Is it the thrill of influencing a product? Once you have an understanding of why you want to become a PM, that's when you should start exploring more. There are tonnes of content available on the internet, books like “Cracking the PM Interview'', blogs by Lewin Lin etc. - read them. Talk to product managers in your own company, talk to product managers in your network. Try to figure out the day to day responsibilities of a product manager and the career path each have depending on their organisation. Understand about their interactions with various stakeholders, what challenges they face, what is that they like and what is that they hate about their roles. Once you have an informed opinion and idea of what a Product Manager does, then start exploring the transition routes mentioned below.

Route 1: PM Role in Current Company

Transition into a Product Management role in your current company

• If your current role has interactions with product managers, utilize those opportunities well. Get to know more about their work, how is it they operate, what exactly are they building, how do PMs go about executing their roadmaps. Once you have a fair bit of idea, try impressing them by adopting their approach and give them a hint of your interest to do something similar.
• Depending on your comfort and relationship with your manager, it's always good to let them know of your interest in your 1-1 sessions. Subsequently, keep looking at “Internal Job Portals'' / Job Opening sections. Once you see a relevant PM opening,  reach out to the respective hiring manager and express your interest to apply for the same. A good approach here is to research on the team, talk to other members to get a perspective on the type of problems the team is trying to solve, and assess if their vision aligns with your aspirations.Get to know as to what kind of skills & experience he is looking for, and try articulating your skill-set and get a fair assessment. 
• In case you have built a good rapport with some PM, offer to do a project or co-work on a feature with them such that you get a chance to dirty your hands and get the actual feel of being a product manager. Make sure that you take your manager in confidence that this additional work will not impact your current work & deliverables.
• Once the feature is implemented, be involved in the feature lifecycle. This is your opportunity to impress the hiring manager with your transferable skills from your current role
• When an opportunity comes, prepare well for the interview. Discuss with PMs in those teams as to what kind of questions / approach they like. You have an insider advantage, when compared to an external applicant. There are a lot of materials available online - read them. Participate in mock interview sessions and take feedback from PMs within your company or your network
• Remember: You have been part of the current company for some time and are already an asset. If the company sees the potential in you and your desire to go the extra mile, they will be happy to enable this transition for you. If you fail, seek feedback, improve and keep trying.

Route 2: External PM Opportunity

Look for Product Management roles in very early stage start-ups where prior PM experience is not required

We strongly believe that route 1 is the best route & comparitively easy. Sometimes you will find it difficult to make the transition within your current company. Either because of lack of such opportunities or the opening might require a certain domain knowledge or skill-set or experience. Instead of feeling disappointed, start looking out for opportunities at an early stage start-ups. Reach out to angel funded, pre Series A companies. Angel list (https://angel.co/), LInkedin is usually a great place to start for such a job hunt. Or explore job portals like IIMJobs.com

• Browse through various entry level PM jobs and go through their description in detail
• Assess the expectations from the role, and try to map it to your skill-sets
• Edit / modify your CV to highlight relevant skill-set / your approach towards problem solving
• Always submit a good cover letter. A stand-alone CV might not convey your passion, but a good cover letter can help you highlight your passion and why you feel that you are suited for the role (in spite of no prior PM experience)
• In case you get a shortlist, prepare well for the interview. Go through the profile of some of the existing Product Managers. Read a lot about the company and product. Visit their play store APP and read the user's review to get some directional ideas. Browse through the Glassdoor company page to get a sense about their culture etc. 
• Be prepared to let go of designation and some cash components (if such a situation arises). Change in career track can come with a cost but think of this job as an investment in your long term career (similar to doing a course or an MBA).
• Once you get an opportunity, make the most of it. Read a lot about Product Management, reach out to your network to help you grow and succeed in the role. You may not always find good product leaders in such a small set up and even if there are, they might be really occupied, which is what an early stage startup is about. They may not be able to always guide or mentor you.

Route 3: Relevant Course or a Degree

Do an MBA or a Product Management course/certification

This could be a good route for someone who anyways is planning to go for higher studies and at the same time wants to switch to product management as a career. For those, who have already done an MBA or are not planning to do one, this is the least preferred route and they should give route 1 and 2 their best shot. So far, I am yet to find a certification course in Product Management which is well recognised and respected among the hiring community. Hence, the recommendation is to do a full-time MBA course (or similar masters course like MS). Doing an MBA only will not help you land a PM job. You will need to do few things ‘right’ while doing your MBA:

• Look for courses specific to Product Management skills or evaluate yourself against required Product Management skills and plan your optional courses accordingly
• Start networking as soon as you start your MBA. Reach out to people in your network working in product companies to understand what it takes to be a PM at their company
• Look for internship opportunities as a PM at a Product company. Doing a PM internship while doing your MBA will strengthen your case for a transition to a PM role
• It's good to do a few certifications & product management courses outside of the MBA curriculum. These ad hoc courses / certifications definitely can help you outline your intent and that you want to become a Product Manager.

For freshers or people with no significant prior experience but willing to get into Product management, here are some of the things which you can do:

• Prepare well for the interviews whenever you get an opportunity to interview for a PM role
• Read more about product management, what does a PM do on daily basis and try to match the opportunity with your strengths and highlight the interviewer as to why you will do well as a PM
• Try to work on your problem-solving and analytical approach and build your case. Become part of product management communities and interact with seasoned folks to learn
• If you are not getting opportunities as a PM, try to get into a role which works closely with the PM depending on your strengths - Engineering, Sales, Operations, Product Marketing, Customer Success etc. Look for such roles in a Product company where there are frequent PM interactions. This will give you enough opportunities to make a case for your transition. Follow the steps mentioned above for the working professionals to transition into a PM role.

PG Tip: Most of our mentors had 3-5 yrs of diversified experience (consulting, operations, business development etc.) and they got an opportunity to transition into a PM role within their company and grow. Route 1 definitely is more easy and gives you a complete perspective on where you stand in terms of skill-set. And that is one of the reason we have started productgurukul.com, to give an insider’s view on what goes on in the world of “Product Manager”.