Q&A: Building A Career In Product Management
Answering questions about changing jobs, acquiring useful skills, etc., as a PM
Recently, I’ve done a Q&A session, answering a number questions about breaking into the Product Management field, growing your career as a PM, successfully navigating tech recruiting, and a number of other related topics. I also took some notes, and since a lot of these questions tend to come up quite often, I thought it’d be useful to share some of the questions & answers from that session (heavily edited for readability) here.
For reference, you can learn more about my personal journey here, or on LinkedIn.
Q: What’s more important / more effective for career progression: getting better at interviews, or becoming a better PM?
A: I don't think this has to be 'either / or' choice — instead, you should focus on getting better at both. Good interview performance won't be worth much if you can't do the job after you are hired, and vice versa, staying at one company for too long trying to exclusively focus on becoming a better PM can harm you in terms of both the speed of career advancement & the learning curve (switching teams / companies can be quite important to keep learning).
Q: In which domains did you work in your career, and were your roles primarily B2B or B2C?
A: I worked on both the B2B & B2C products at various times in my career. Domain-wise, I’ve always worked as a PM for technical products & my work usually revolves around AI/data/optimization problems of various kinds.
My general take, however, is that while it's important to develop some level of specialization over time, you don't have to go too narrow as a PM, especially at the beginning. In fact, doing so might harm you in the long run, and so it's good to seek a variety of experiences over your PM career.
So, if you are interested in AI or data, you can absolutely make it your focus (and benefit from having that sort of specialization) — but don’t go more narrow than that, and also make sure to try out different types of products/ environments, if you can.
Q: Is there a level / compensation amount that you would want to stop at?
A: I believe for a lot of people (myself included, at least for now), L6 & L7 are that sweet spot (using Google leveling ladder for reference here; if you want to learn more about how leveling in tech works, check out my previous post on this topic: Levels in Tech: how to make sense of them).
At those levels, you will typically make $500k-$900k TC at top-tier companies in the U.S., while keeping a sane work/life balance (that often deteriorates beyond those levels) & staying 'close to the ground', where you are either still an IC or are an M1 manager (which can be important if you actually love doing product work, and don't want to move to a pure people management track).
That being said, those things are rarely static, and what one wants to do at 2 YoE vs. 10 YoE vs. 25 YoE can change quite a lot.
Q: How did you find a role that is a good fit for you? Also, what is a good recruiting strategy in the current market for someone with few connections to other tech PMs?
A: The current market is indeed a challenge, there is no way around that, unfortunately. There are still jobs out there (e.g., at startups), but for many people, the best strategy might be to wait it out until the market improves (or at least not to get discouraged if you can't get offers in this market).
As for the rest of it, my advice to people is always to apply wide (like, really wide, 50+ companies wide) & see what happens. That's what I personally always do every time I choose to change companies, and it has always worked out so far.
Also, in my opinion, it's no good to stress too much about fit until you have offers in hand. You might think that a particular job is a perfect fit for you, and still get rejected without interview, simply because tech recruiting is both random & unpredictable to a significant degree. Conversely, if you apply wide, you might get offers for teams/products that you didn't even know existed, and some of those might turn out to be a great fit for you.
Lastly, I don't think connections with other PMs are too important. Assuming you're already working as a PM, you can just start applying to positions you’re interested in (again, making a mental note that currently we have a bad job market, so you might have to adjust your expectations accordingly). Referrals are always useful, if you can get them. Also, if you can figure out how's the hiring manager is for a particular job, reaching out on LinkedIn to introduce yourself & have an informal chat is often a good strategy.
But above all, always apply wide!
Q: Can you describe the interview process at Two Sigma and offer recommendations for preparation?
A: PM interview process at Two Sigma is not that different from other big tech companies (e.g., Google), in my opinion.
It typically includes multiple rounds (expect 5-6 interviews in total), consisting of a mix of product sense/product strategy cases & behavioral interviews focused on your previous background.
Preparation-wise, again, it's no different from preparing for interviews with Google/Meta/Microsoft/etc. You should plan to do some mock interviews, learn how to solve various product cases you might get asked, make sure you can speak about your past work with confidence & at the right level of granularity, and so on.
If you're fairly new to PM interviews, I personally really like Product Alliance materials — but there are a ton of other good resources you can leverage to prepare.
Finally (and this is very important!), don't over-focus on any one company (be it Two Sigma, or any other company) when recruiting — instead, always apply to a lot of places, and then see how it all shakes out.
Tech recruiting is a big numbers game, and so you goal should be to get a well-paying position on an interesting product at a good company — but NOT to get a specific position or get into specific company, since this is too hard to ensure, and just leads to disappointment in many cases.
Q: How did you break into hedge funds/HFT space, and how does it differ from traditional tech product management?
A: I didn’t explicitly focus on breaking into hedge funds / HFT space (in fact, Two Sigma was the only company from this space that I applied to, and interviewed with). Rather, I was looking for a new PM gig, and Two Sigma was one of the companies that I was curious about, since I knew they had a PM org there, heard good things about the culture, and was generally interested in the space — so, I interviewed there (among other places) & got the job.
The work itself isn't that different between big tech firms & Two Sigma — sure, the firm is smaller (~2,000 people vs. 20,000-100,000+ in big tech), you have to pick up some industry-specific context (a lot of it, actually) & adjust to building products for a few hundred users, but at the end of the day, it's still your typical Product Management job.
Q: What do PMs do at Two Sigma, and how does it differ from a role at a company like Google?
A: It's not that different from e.g., Google (or any other big tech company), actually.
The key difference is, you are working on building products to support Two Sigma businesses (chief amongst them, the quant hedge fund). As such, your users are Two Sigma quants, and the product you are working on is typically some part of the investment platform Two Sigma uses.
Beyond that though, you still do user research, trying to understand your users’ needs, pain points & workflows of your users, build roadmaps, negotiate trade-offs between various options, partner with other teams to build cohesive products, and so on.
In effect, this is still your typical PM work, just for a somewhat unusual set of customers/users. As such, most PMs at Two Sigma come from a variety of tech companies (Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Palantir, etc.), and some might go back to big tech or startups after a while.
Q: What are your top tips for new PMs with less than one year of experience?
A: First of all, congrats! You’ve already got the job, and that’s perhaps the most difficult part — breaking into Product Management field is tough, but once you’re in, it gets better from there.
For the first 1-2 years, focus on learning as much as you can about what it means to be a PM, and how to do your job well. There are a ton of materials you can find online, but it’s also good to find an experienced mentor (or two) to coach you, and, of course, learn as much as you can on the job.
If you already work at a top company, consider sticking around for a few years — it takes time to learn the context, and get productive, esp. when you are new, and switching jobs always has some overhead in that regard. If not, try to network with folks from big tech (go to meetups, ask someone you know to be your mentor, etc.), and eventually plan to switch. Remember, maximizing TC shouldn’t be your top priority at the beginning (focus more on what the job helps you learn) — it’ll pay off later.
Finally, spend some time figuring out which parts of the job you like vs. what you don’t enjoy. It’s very useful learning those kinds of things about yourself, to know what to focus on when improving your skills — but more importantly, it will help you on the road to figuring out what kind of PM you want to become eventually (there are many different types, and what they do can differ widely).
Q: How can someone who recently graduated from a bootcamp gain relevant experience, especially in a market that may not favor junior PMs or career changers?
A: To be honest, it's hard for me to advise here.
Breaking into Product Management is tough, and there is no way around that, unfortunately. Typical paths to do that typically include:
Switching to a PM role internally at your current company (usually by volunteering to take on some typical PM functions in addition to your day job, and then doing those things very well)
Going to a top business school to get an MBA, and then making the switch
Networking your way in, by finding folks that you can somehow convince you’ll be a good candidate
Depending on the person’s previous background & the nature of the bootcamp, this might be helpful for either 1) or 3). Developing an interest in a particular area, and clearly demonstrating it by taking courses, building a few small products, etc. might also be very helpful with 3). Beyond that, it’s hard to say.
Overall, breaking into PM isn’t easy, but it’s definitely doable — the industry is full of people who did something else in their careers before becoming PMs, so with sufficient determination, it can be done.
Q: Which hard skills have proven most beneficial to you, and have you learned those on the job, or independently? Also, have learning any skills not directly related to your role proven to be particularly helpful?
A: To be honest, I don’t actually think hard skills matter all that much, at least not the things like knowing specific tools, etc.
Having CS degree (or another engineering degree), or being technical in general certainly helps both for getting interviews & performing well on the job, especially if you want to work on technical products / work closely with engineers. Having a working knowledge of things like applied statistics (just the basics) can also help a lot, depending on the job.
Beyond that though, most skills that really matter are typically soft skills: e.g., communication skills, the ability to write well, negotiation skills, etc.
A capable person should be able to learn specific tools, etc. in the matter of weeks, but developing good communication skills, for example, can take years.
Q: Is it worth being a PM if you're not incentivized to improve business value, such as through stock options?
Note: Hedge funds only offer cash compensation (no equity), which is why this question came up.
A: This is a very interesting question, although I would argue its premise is flawed. Let’s dig a bit deeper here.
If you are working for a small startup where your work presumably creates enough impact to influence the future of the entire company, I agree, not getting any stock would be a very bad deal.
If we look at big tech though, one’s actions will have little to no material impact on the company, so getting stock compensation isn’t really about your personal impact — rather, it’s a convenient way for companies to provide you with additional upside ‘locking you in’ if the entire company does well (since your unvested stock value will go up, incentivizing you to stick around).
The downside of this is that if the stock price goes down, your TC decreases, and you might be forced to switch jobs, or accept lower pay for a while, even if you like the team / work (that’s exactly what happened to most of big tech companies / employees in 2022). This issue can be eventually fixed by getting equity refreshers at lower prices (due to market declines), but that takes time.
Now, with cash compensation, companies still have plenty of ways to incentivize you: bonus is still variable (and e.g., at hedge funds, esp. at higher levels of seniority, the bonus accounts for most of your compensation), so there is that — plus you won’t get promoted without showing impact (and might even get fired if you are performing poorly).
Ultimately, whether to join an early-stage startup vs. big tech vs. a hedge fund is a deeply personal choice. Having tried both big tech & hedge funds by now, I’m personally not a huge fan of the equity compensation in big tech — I think having a high & stable cash comp that allows you to invest savings in a diversified set of assets & then focus on your work without having to stress over the company’s stock price, is generally a better deal for most — but again, it’s largely a matter of personal preference.
Q: How would you classify most of PM jobs at hedge funds? E.g, are those internal tooling PM jobs?
A: Again, this is an interesting question. Re ‘internal tooling’ piece, I am inclined to say ‘no’, since ‘internal tooling’ typically means a very different thing in big tech, compared to what I (and most of the other PMs at hedge funds) do.
At a high level, you can classify most PM roles as:
Platform PMs: building the foundation for other Engineering teams to build their products/services on
Internal tooling PMs: building for internal stakeholders, far removed from revenue generation, e.g., building better HR tools, etc.
Customer-facing PMs: building products that bring in money for the company
Using this classification, most hedge funds’ PM jobs will be in the third bucket (‘customer-facing PMs’), since the products that you are building are tied to revenue generation & are immediately used by your customers (quants) to earn money for the firm.
The nuance here, of course, is that your users are working for the same company, so there is no sales org that has to sell your product after it’s built, etc. However, that doesn’t really change the fact that the products you are working on have direct impact on the ability of the firm to make money.
Q: How much of your success so far would you attribute to being in the right place at the right time?
A: The short answer is, ‘a lot’. Moreover, I’m convinced that anyone who tells you otherwise & tries to downplay the role of luck in their career progression isn’t being honest with you (or themselves, for that matter).
You still have to hassle to get there, of course, and there are a lot of things you can choose to do to maximize your chances (be open to change, apply widely whenever you are interviewing, learn how to negotiate, and, most importantly, learn how to do well on the job), but luck will always be part of the process (as it is part of most of life in general).
Q: How valuable is an MBA from a top school for a product manager?
A: I believe having an MBA from a top school can be quite useful, but it certainly depends on what you plan to use it for.
For example, if you already have a job as a PM in big tech, you certainly don’t need an MBA — you can acquire most of the knowledge you need on the job or in your spare time (and since you are already a PM, you don’t need to worry about how to break into the industry either).
In fact, perhaps the best career path in PM starts with becoming an Associate PM at a place like Google or Uber right out of college (if you haven’t seen it, check out one of my previous posts that touches on this topic: Breaking into Product Management: key 'entry points' into the field).
At the same time, if you are looking to do a career switch from some other field to working in tech and want to break into Product Management, an MBA from a top school can be super-helpful.
A lot of companies hire top business school graduates as PMs these days, and business schools can help a ton with recruiting (a lot of companies come to recruit on campus, there are a lot of things in business school that can help you prepare for the interviews, etc).
Top U.S. MBA programs are also usually 2-year degrees, which gives you an opportunity to intern somewhere during the summer, and thus make it a bit easier to break into the industry.
Finally, most MBA programs are quite flexible these days, and have a lot of classes that can be useful for aspiring PMs (data analytics classes, basic software development classes, dedicated PM classes, etc.).
Oh, and for international students, getting an MBA in the U.S. can get you a 1-3 year working authorization (via OPT / OPT-STEM route), which gives you sufficient time to figure out U.S. immigration.
That being said, getting an MBA is a huge commitment & it’s expensive, so:
I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone
You should really focus on the top schools — and MBA from a place nobody knows about will very likely be a waste of money
Q: What are the two most important factors for successfully changing jobs as a PM?
A: It's a bit hard to narrow it down to just 2 things, but if I had to do that, I'd say the most important things are:
Focus on doing interesting, impactful work (preferably, at a top-tier company) that you can then confidently talk about (learning how to discuss your work is almost as important as doing the actual work)
If you decide to switch jobs/companies, always do it from a position of strength; this means starting interviewing when you are actually happy to stick around at your current company, and focusing on both applying wide & setting your terms upfront (e.g., people often let companies determine their level, whereas it's a much better idea to set the expectations upfront, etc.)
Those are 2 things that I would say are most important, in my experience.
Specific skills are also important, but more so for doing well on the job, rather than for being successful when interviewing/switching jobs.
Hopefully, this was helpful!
If you have other interesting questions worth answering / have any other feedback you’d like to share, let me know in the comments section below!