How to Become a Product Manager without Product Management Experience

With the ever growing popularity of product-related jobs/positions, many people want to transition into product management to achieve their personal career aspirations. While it is no doubt a VERY competitive industry to break into, transitioning to product management even without a prior PM-related job title is definitely possible and is more common than what some might think.

In fact, 92% of product managers did not have prior product-related job titles before they transitioned to product. This surprises many as they have the notion that due to the competitiveness of the industry, breaking into product might require loads of product management experience.

If you’re one of the many people who’s curious on how to become a product manager without experience, we’ll share with you tips and tricks successful product managers today used to break into the highly sought after industry.?

1. Have a side product management project

The number one challenge you might face when trying to break into PM is how you will translate your current experience into product-related experience. It’s likely that you are having difficulty finding product-related experience from your current job.?

If your current job role does not have plenty of projects that can be your foundation for PM-related experience, here’s a little tip: find a side product management project to work on. This can be a product simulation or even an actual product project that you work on the side.

We suggest checking out Hackathon events where you can work with a team to work on a problem, make an MVP, and launch a product. This is a very interactive event which will also give you the opportunity to build your network as well as “create” product-related experience. If you’re worried about the time as you’re juggling this with your full-time job, the event is usually only 2 days and happens over the weekend.?

1. Develop Your Product Sense?

As cliche as it might sound, to be a product manager means you should “think” like a product manager. Product managers are always looking for ways to develop and improve products. It’s crucial to have this “mindset” and have very good product sense otherwise, product might not be the right career for you.

For example, if you really like a product like let’s say an Apple Watch - ask yourself why you like it. Then, give it some criticism and think of ways the product can be improved. As product managers, this will be your day-to-day life - and when employers look into your application, they will look out for those who have a good product sense.?

1. Help with a Product Launch in Your Company?

Regardless of what industry you are in, your company will most likely have a product they want to launch (either a new one or an improvement on a current product). Get your hands dirty by volunteering to help with the product launch. Through a product launch, you’ll be able to work with different teams and experience the start-to-finish stages of building and launching a product.

This will serve as an important addition to your portfolio and also help you build your product resume.?

1. Understand the Challenges of Product Managers

Another important aspect is understanding the pain points and challenges of product managers. This can be done so by observing or shadowing product managers. The simple gesture of shadowing a product manager allows you to digest the day-to-day activities of a product manager and understand as a whole the product management job.?

1. Study Software Architecture

We strongly recommend aspiring product managers to study software architecture. This is a technical skill that you must learn in order to become an efficient PM. Product manager jobs will always deal with APIs, containers, AWS platforms, integrations on different SDKs, etc. We believe that learning the business aspect of PM is a lot easier as compared to learning the technical aspects so equip yourself with the understanding of software architecture before applying to product management roles.?

1. Join a Product Community and Practice Your Pitch?

The best way to sharpen your soft skills and prepare you for interviews is to do live practices and interview simulations. Employers will be flooded with applications once they open a product role position and standing out is your key to breakthrough and be noticed.

Prepare and sharpen your 30 second elevator pitch and test them out through a product community to get constructive criticisms on how you can improve your pitch.

Our program also offers elevator pitch workshops where we teach you how to structure your pitch to really stand out and attract the attention of potential employers. You can join and register through here.?

1. Create a Product Manager Resume?

You might already have a resume ready on hand and ready to send out to your job applications but it might not be tailored for a product management position. If you want to get into product management with no experience, a strong PM resume will be your key.

A strong product resume means that you are using specific keywords and relevant work experience to present yourself as a viable candidate. We have available resources on how to craft a killer PM resume.

1. Crack the Product Management Interviews?

Once you have all the relevant experience and after you create your killer product resume, your next step is to prepare for the PM interview. Product management interviews can be challenging, thus preparing for it is crucial to effectively answer the questions properly and land that dream product management role.

Luckily for you, we already have a video on how you can ace the product manager interview.?

1. Join a Product Management Bootcamp

Lastly, joining a product management bootcamp will help you jumpstart your career through a tailored strategic approach. Lots of product managers came from diverse backgrounds and finding the perfect approach might be difficult as resources online could be overwhelming and limiting at the same time.

Through a product management bootcamp, you can create a unique approach on how you will prepare for the whole application process all the way to landing that job offer.

Product Management Career Coaching?

Some people want to become a product manager with no experience fast and ASAP. Regardless of your reason on why you would want to transition to product quickly, your best bet would be to join a program and to have a product management coach.

By joining a program and having product management coaching sessions, you will be able to fast-track your transition and be able to do so without too much worrying as the coaches will help you create an approach specifically tailored to your background.

We’re proud to have produced multiple successful and talented product managers that now work for FAANG+ companies and unicorn startups. If you’re interested in joining our program, you can do so by visiting: https://www.drnancyli.com/masterclass

If you want a more in-depth guide on how to become a product manager with no experience, you can watch the full video here:

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