AMA: GitLab Group Manager, Product Management, Melissa Ushakov on Product Management Career Path

Contributing myself and supporting my team can be at odds with each other. Coaching and supporting my team is always my number one priority. There are times when I simpl...

It's important to be transparent with your manager about your career aspirations and then align on the criteria for a promotion. Create an actionable plan to close any ga...

There are a couple of things that make some candidates stand out from the rest: User-focused: The most successful product managers are those that think deeply about peop...

Domain experience is not at the top of the list of things I look for in a candidate. I have changed domains a couple of times in my career and it has helped me get a rich...

TL;DR - Be clear about what you want to learn and then ask for help. You'll find most people are eager to help others grow. Before finding a mentor, it's critical to thi...

Working at GitLab for the last three years has shown me that fully remote teams can work and be highly effective. Teams at GitLab are remote and highly distributed and wo...

Before gaining influence, you have to gain your team's trust. One question I love to ask when I join a team is: "What are the biggest challenges the team experiences? How...

The answer here is extremely nuanced and will vary from situation to situation. There's a phrase from Graham Weston that has stuck with me from my time at Rackspace: “Wh...

One very common frustration is not being able to make everyone happy. As a product manager, your job is to hear many perspectives, which may be at odds with each other, a...

One question I love to ask is: "Tell me about a time when a conversation with a customer made you realize that your product direction was wrong." I have heard so many g...