Switching back to product management

While I am not familiar with Cisco in particular, I would say that my biggest concern as a hiring manager for someone that hasn't recently worked in the Product Management capacity is the ability to work cohesively and collaboratively with Engineers. While I value the core skills of Product Marketing (and have a belief that these skills make the BEST Product Managers), there's the tactical pieces of getting work through the build phase that can be difficult for those that aren't practiced in it. For example:

• Building alignment not only on the overarching "why" of the solution but also the approach including making fast decisions about what are "must haves" vs. "nice to haves" in order to balance scope, quality, and speed to market

• Communicating effectively with technical counterparts who are often interested in the "how" or "how long" and can often struggle to articulate the trade-offs they are making

• Oftentimes having to play a project management type of role where you must rally the team to both a deadline and an outcome

My suggestion is to demonstrate examples of times you have displayed these skills, if not with an Engineering counterpart, but in your role as a Product Marketer. And if you haven't actually had to demonstrate these skills, understand and articulate what you would do in these types of instances.

As one who has switched back and forth between product management and product marketing, I thank you for your question!

The first question I would ask you is why you wish to change to product management.  Eight years in the same function is a significant investment in time, and so what is it that is driving you to go to product management?

Once you have your why, resistance to your taking on a product management role is likely coming from that time you’ve spent in role to date.  While I have no knowledge or experience of working at Cisco, in general the more senior you become, the more difficult it can be to switch between functions.  It’s that expectation that the more senior the role then the less coaching the individual will need for that role.

That said, it’s not impossible to switch, and I’ve seen many former colleagues make the transition both ways successfully.  What you must do is instill confidence in the hiring manager (and their team) that you are able to do the job successfully. 

What may be on your side is that, while there are often distinct differences between the product management and product marketing functions, there is often overlap in certain disciplines.  For example, engaging with customers, market research, development of business cases, and more. In many cases you’ve likely been exposed to, or even participated in, activities with your product management counterparts and so it’s good to think through those experiences.

I would approach this in a pragmatic way, not unsimilar to any job application:

1. Understand the roles and responsibilities for your target position.  I like to use the Pragmatic Framework here (see Product Management Framework | Pragmatic Institute) which is a good overview of things covering product management and product marketing.  If your company has a framework they use, then I would refer to that. 

2. Identify areas where you have strong competence, and list out how, when and where you could give an example of meeting the expectations of that area. For example, maybe you’re strong at market research or helped interview customers to bring problems to light.  Using Amazon’s STAR mechanism is a good one to prepare your answers and ensure you can highlight these experiences.

3. Identify areas you need to develop, and go off and learn more about expectations here, whether through colleagues or a mentor. 

4. Continue to learn and stay informed!  If there is training available, or even a certification you can take, then taking that path shows your aptitude to learn.  Listen to blogs or podcast series like Lenny’s Podcast (see https://www.youtube.com/@LennysPodcast) or Melissa Perri’s Product Thinking (see https://www.produxlabs.com/product-thinking). Or you could join a forum or local product management community, where you may even make some great connections!  But the key here is learning.

Finally, you may have to be honest with yourself and it may take longer than anticipated to get to where you want to be.  But if you’re not successful the first time, try to get feedback as to why you weren’t successful, as this can help hone your approach.  Key is that if product management is your dream, don’t give up on it!

While I do not have context to answer what hurdles you are encountering in your interviews for the role, here are some aspects to consider that might help you:

8 years is a long span to move away from a specific career path and want to switch back - are you able to articulate the rationale of why you transitioned to product marketing when you did and why you wish to switch back to the product management path?

Are you able to articulate what perspective, skills and knowledge you gained during this transition away, that will help you bring an unique perspective, as you transition back into product management, and how does it apply to the specific role/position you are interviewing for?

At the end of the day, getting accepted into any role is dependent on finding a good match between your goals and aspirations and the skillset and knowledge the position demands. If you are convinced and are able to convince the interview panel on these aspects, hopefully things will fall in place. All the best !