This reminds me of an interview question I got a very long time ago: "Is it
better to have a bad team or a bad manager". In both cases, you'd rather not
find yourself in either extreme. In both cases,
Product Management Skills
1 answer
Sr Director II, Product Management - Marketing Technology at Walmart • June 10
2 answers
Group Manager, Product Management at GitLab • March 8
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 people and want to understand them
Director of Product Management (Confluence) at Atlassian • March 29
- Soft skills such as communication, teamwork, adaptability, and a willingness
to learn are also important for any product organization. - Work with
Engineering on a day to day basis to help build a p
8 answers
VP of Product at Shopify • February 9
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 c
Product Management Area Lead at Asana • May 18
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: They have a sense of what t
Senior Product Lead at Shopify | Formerly Salesforce, Google, Nest, Cisco Systems • July 27
They teach you something in the interview I once interviewed a woman who had
extensive experience working for a telecommunications company. I have zero
experience in telco – aside from being a custo
Senior Director, Product Management at Headspace Health • August 24
A few things: A very deep understanding of the problems they are looking to
solve. This gets reflected in how they speak about past experiences (why did you
choose to work on a specific problem, what
Director of Product, Fulfillment at ezCater | Formerly Wayfair, Abstract, CustomMade, Sonicbids • November 8
I'll speak to commonalities in IC PMs since I have less experience hiring other
product leaders. It's really just 4 things in my view: A clear ability to break
down complex, multi-faceted problems in
Head of Product, Enterprise Agility at Atlassian • November 10
Best product management candidates craft compelling, concise and inspirational
narratives when they interview. They demonstrate clarity of thinking, knowing
both the facts and the "why" behind their a
Product Leadership - Ads, Personalization & ML/ AI at Meta | Formerly Stripe, Flipkart, Yahoo • January 18
The best Product managers combine curiosity with structured problem solving
skills. Being curious helps them look at problems as opportunities to learn &
grow. Ability to frame & structure a p
Director of Product Management (Confluence) at Atlassian • March 29
The best PM's have: - Strong leadership and communication skills. To be able to
talk to customers, stakeholders, and leadership with the right context. They are
good at leading teams with ambiguous pr
2 answers
VP Product and GM at Upwork • April 28
Ability to communicate well - Someone told me early in my career: The single
most important PM skill he looks for when hiring a PM is communication.
Communication is really a proxy for building trust
Director of Product Management at Carta | Formerly Salesforce, MuleSoft, Apple • March 15
My top soft skills: Storytelling: As PMs, we must communicate complex ideas
clearly and concisely to a range of stakeholders, including developers,
designers, executives, and customers. Personally, I
3 answers
Director, Technical Program Management at Meta | Formerly Microsoft • August 11
I’m assuming the question is about setting a ‘team’ vision/mission and one
doesn’t exist yet. The mission statement is the “What” and the vision statement
is an ambitious future state of what the worl
Vice President Product Management at Momentive (SurveyMonkey) • February 28
Every new job I've taken has had a pretty specific challenge I was hired to
solve, and I was fortunate to have that clarity (at least at a high level).
When I start in the new role, I focus on the f
Director of Product Management at Carta | Formerly Salesforce, MuleSoft, Apple • March 15
I like to start by understanding the historical context and how teams arrived at
where they are. What decisions were made and why. What worked well and what
didn't go according to the plan. Starting
4 answers
VP of Product at Shopify • February 9
It likely depends on the type of role you are entering into, the focus and phase
of the product. It also will likely depend on whether the company has invested a
lot in building out an existing UX tea
VP, Product & Operations (WooCommerce) at Automattic • July 28
I'm actually curious if this is widespread, as I've not seen in current or
previous Product roles analytical skills being considered more valuable than
UX... While analytical skills are important fo
Vice President Product Management at Momentive (SurveyMonkey) • February 28
The awareness and impact UX plays on the success of a product is probably the
most underrated and underdeveloped skill set in the product management function
today. UX plays a critical role in product
Director of Product Management at Carta | Formerly Salesforce, MuleSoft, Apple • March 15
Usually, tech companies organize their teams so that there is a fully dedicated
UX designer accompanying each PM. I can't say the same about data teams. Almost
in every company, PMs own KPIs for the
3 answers
VP of Product at Shopify • February 9
I am very much a systems thinker and like to understand the whole. I started my
product career focusing on product management but quickly was exposed to the
different facets of product management incl
Sr Director II, Product Management - Marketing Technology at Walmart • June 10
The two disciplines are very different, despite some intersections on
go-to-market, outbound communications, and occasional blurred lines between the
roles in some companies regarding strategy and cus
Director of Product Management at Carta | Formerly Salesforce, MuleSoft, Apple • March 15
This might not be the answer you'd expected ;) I'm a first-generation
immigrant, and I didn't really have a choice early in my career. I simply needed
a company to sponsor my visa. After changing fo
2 answers
VP of Product at Shopify • February 9
1. Understand what about product management is interesting to you 2. Research
roles and opportunities that speak to what you find interesting 3. Identify the
gaps in your skills or experience 4. Fill
Director of Product Management at Carta | Formerly Salesforce, MuleSoft, Apple • March 15
[If available] Intern as a PM before applying for a full-time position would put
you ahead of other candidates. Read Cracking the PM Interview by Gayle Laakmann
McDowell and practice, practice, pract
3 answers
VP of Product at Shopify • February 9
I like to look at feedback as a gift and approach it with an open mind. How I
would approach this is: 1. Do some soul searching :) understanding your own
communication style. How do you communicate? H
Vice President Product Management at Momentive (SurveyMonkey) • February 28
This is a fascinating one to investigate! The first thing I can say is that I
understand your plight since I've been there before (probably on both sides) and
I know it's not an enjoyable or enriching
Director of Product Management at Carta | Formerly Salesforce, MuleSoft, Apple • March 15
This is a challenging one, as people's problems could be mentally draining and
less exciting to deal with. Tactically, I'd advise speaking with your HR
business partner and seeking their advice by s
2 answers
VP of Product at Shopify • February 9
I personally have been teaching at The Product School and have seen
benefits/value from those coming out of the course. It is really going to come
down to your own learning style however. You could al
Director of Product Management at Carta | Formerly Salesforce, MuleSoft, Apple • March 15
I usually recommend starting with the following books: Cracking the PM Interview
by Gayle Laakmann McDowell On Design Thinking by Tim Brown The Lean Startup by
Eric Ries As for the courses, I hear g