Launching Your Career in Tech & Product Management ??

Really enjoyed attending my first audio event on LinkedIn - Tech & PM Foundations AMA hosted by Jae Taylor yesterday.?

Thanks Jae for organizing it, providing us with lots of golden nuggets, and for sharing your time with us! ??

Here’s a rundown of the topics covered (I learned a lot in an hour), and I sprinkled some memories from my journey in tech?? Let me know what you think ??.

1. The importance of building your network

Memory: In 2018, during Hispanic Heritage Month I had the opportunity to co-host the Hispanic Heritage Foundation team and a few mentors and friends as well at Meta 's HQ in Menlo Park for a fireside chat. Some folks pictured here are Tiq Chapa , Antonio Tijerino , Cheyenne Van Cooten, BBCC , & Marisela Villarubia . We had a fun panel and lunch including members of the Diversity & Inclusion team and several members of the Latin@FB ERG (Employee Resource Group).

• When networking, sincerely care about the people you are engaging with and try to help them, and naturally, people will reciprocate.
• Time is money, spend it wisely: focus on building a public reputation, get to know people, and build your network so that hiring managers and recruiters can find you, the other option is submitting 300 job apps to find your next opportunity.?
• Remember the importance of being seen, and building relationships. People that you meet can introduce you to their network.?Be an active participant in your community.
• Most hiring managers will reach out to their network first when they want to hire (referrals) because they’re people they've worked with and they know their work ethic
• Always play to your strengths when going into tech, and choose careers that cater to your experience and knowledge.?

2. Finding happiness at work

Memory: November 2021 - Pictured here are members of one of the funnest product teams (WePay) I've been part of. We had a great time eating dinner in Redwood City filled with many laughs. Kamilla Pinel , Salil Telang , Eswari Sure , Alberto Avalos-Cervantes , Natasha Dsouza , Saron Fisseha , & Chioma . Fun fact: our product team doubled within a year after I joined - talk about the speed of the tech industry.

• Happiness in a role has to do with your immediate team. It boils down to getting along with your boss and your team. In tech companies, you can’t control who your boss is.?
• Big companies move really fast, they re-org, so maintaining happiness by staying with your team is not always possible.?
• Instead, focus on being financially independent and on your career growth, and not working for one tech company for several years (companies don’t last 30 years, they fade in and out).?
• Pro Tip: think about your end goal and work backward. Ask yourself: “what is it that I want to do long-term?”

3. Building a personal brand

Memory: In August this year I had the amazing opportunity to share my story launching MentorRoom in partnership with OZY Media and Gold Peak Tea. Big shoutout to Beverly Watson for leading this creative initiative and for inviting me to be a part of it! You can check out the video here. To students reading this post, I encourage you all to apply to the OGAs here.

• There are no rules or laws on what we have to put on our LinkedIn profile. Instead, we get to tell our narrative and story and emphasize what we want.?
• In your LinkedIn profile highlight the relevant information that makes sense, you don’t have to input every single job you’ve had.?
• Think of your profile as your marketing page.?
• When trying to apply for a job recruiters and hiring managers will look at your title and they may say he/she is not a PM, even though you’ve been doing the job as a PM without the title.
• To address this in your job title you can put the work that you did:

Here’s an example: Product Support Associate / Product Manager        

• On the left side (Product Support Associate) you can say this is what my official job title is, and on the right side (Product Manager) this is a reflection of the work that I actually did.

4. Layoffs?

Memory: This was a picture of my desk during my first day at Airbnb in November 2019. Airbnb's culture is really unique and its focus on belonging can be felt throughout the interview process, all the way to how experiences are designed and built to serve hosts & guests on the platform.

• Layoffs can be a very cold and crappy experience, especially because you give a lot of time, effort, and care to your job, and then when the layoffs come it all suddenly goes away.
• It happens so quickly that you don't even have an opportunity to say goodbye to your teammates.?
• Even though it feels very personal when you are laid off, know that it doesn't mean you are bad at your job.
• We need to think about our careers as a journey - even if we are in a good position today it doesn't mean that is always going to be the case. Things can change tomorrow because tech evolves so quickly and companies need are evolving all the time and adapting to the market, competitors, and changing consumer needs.
• Aim to always be prepared - we can do this by constantly looking at the job marketing and our skillset and asking ourselves, "Am I still in demand?"
• The good news about being prepared is that it creates opportunity - if you are paying attention and you are keeping up with skills in demand opportunities will come your way.
• Layoffs are part of the tech industry (reorgs, acquisitions, rising costs, etc.) and we need to factor that in, we can’t think of just getting a job, instead, we have to constantly pay attention and we will end up on top.
• Even if you're a good employee you are still subject to layoffs.
• Embrace the fact that by working in tech you will have to transition?and make it part of your career plan. Build a personal brand, help people, and this will prepare you for any transition.

5. Navigating internships?

Memory: Back in 2019, I had the opportunity to work with my awesome teammates pictured here ( Nebo Iwenofu , Vidyun Sood , Shiva S Dhandapani , & Florian Kaiser ) to launch an internship program at Facebook for students to work on impactful initiatives as part of the Product Support & Operations (PSO) org. Our two interns pictured in the middle ( Emma T. & Emily Yang ) did a fantastic job, and we also learned a lot from them!

• Anytime when you are doing an internship - one of the biggest opportunities you have is to network, show your worth, and build relationships with people.?
• Essentially in your internship, you want people to trust you that you work hard and that you are dedicated to getting things done. In doing so, they will see that you are somebody worth investing in.?
• Ask yourself: "what can you do to prove that you are somebody that is trustworthy?"
• Focus on getting to know people, build a public reputation, and do that instead of applying online - proactively build relationships with people without knowing them physically

?? Closing Thoughts

Before we wrap this up, I'd love to hear from you. If you found this post helpful, please drop a comment down below and let me know what other topics you'd like me to cover in future posts.

Back to closing remarks: It may seem obvious, but I hope the one thing you take away from this post is that the best part of launching a successful career in tech, product management, or any other field is meeting, collaborating, and learning from amazing people from diverse backgrounds so invest in relationships and build many awesome memories along the way.

As Jae best put it, "Mentorship is leadership - make people around you better," let's continue helping one another so that together we can all create a better world for everyone.

If you are interested in learning more about Product Management, Careers in Tech, Resume Tips, & accessing practical career advice, please check out our YouTube Channel here (30+ videos to help you thrive & succeed in tech).

I highly encourage you all to check out and participate in an audio event on LinkedIn. These are great opportunities to network, learn, and get mentorship from amazing people - check out upcoming events here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/events/.

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