As a hiring manager, what do the best product management candidates have in common?

Question

Mamuna Oyofo, MBA · Accepted Answer

My personal take is that when I am speaking with strong product candidates, I can see a few qualities shine through in their story. For me, those are:

1. They are constant Learners/curious

They are constantly asking questions and actively listening. They are readers and constant consumers of information. To me, this shows that when they come on the team, they will bring fresh ideas forward. Ask the team questions that others may not consider and bring new information to the table.

2. They are persistent and don't stop at 'no'

In this, they are contantly trying to understand constraints and find alternatives. They want to address a problem and flexibly driving towards a solution that will do it. They do not get discouraged when someone says no. Maybe they will flex their soft skills and coax a 'maybe' out of the person saying 'no'.

3. Understand how to balance the art and science

Often times when we talk about product management, we talk about the science. Your frameworks, how you manage backlogs, understanding data and tracking metrics and all of those fun items. You'll find a lot of books on these topics because they are measurable and easier to write about. On the other hand, we often forget about the art. The way things get done. How you communicate, show empathy, tell a compelling story and inspire others. How you connect with your customers and their problems, lead individuals without authority. Normally when a PM fails, it's because not enough attention is paid to the art.

4. Focus on problems not solutions

Often times when someone is describing a problem, you want to jump to a solution. Technically product management is helping to solve a customer problem... but to truly solve a problem, you must really fall in love with the problem.

5. Able to represent multiple POV

They are able to advocate wearing different hats. So they can speak to engineer, executives, marketing, the customer, you name it. They can comfortably devils' advocate ideas and not settle for the first answer suggested. Often in the interview process, you are meeting with different stakeholders and really they are each approaching you with a different lens (or hat) to evaluate your ability to breakdown a problem.

Rodrigo Davies · Answer

For me the biggest differentiator is having a growth mindset. This doesn't just mean they want to make an impact and improve as a PM. For me it comes down to three things:

1. They have a sense of what they know and don't know, and are always eager to learn more. They question their own assumptions.
 2. They're humble and curious in trying to figure out what they don't know and leverage the expertise of others.
 3. They frequently seek feedback from others and try to challenge themselves, not just to achieve more but to be a better colleague and partner to others.