PDM #2 - on finding a job in 2023 and getting great career advice

Over the past two weeks, three friends and former colleagues have messaged me, asking for job recommendations after being laid off. It's a stark reminder that large layoffs continue to affect many people, with around 200,000 employees laid off since the beginning of the year, according to https://layoffs.fyi/. I, therefore, decided to focus on posts about finding your new PM role, as well as career and learning tips.

This week, I will mention articles about:

1. How to automate your job search by Lisa Zane
2. How to Become a PM in 2023, by Ankit Shukla
3. How to transition into product management without PM experience by Sid Arora
4. How to nail your PM Interview by Ankit Shukla
5. The best resources about resumes, LinkedIn, networking, and interview prep by Diego Granados
6. How to write a killer resume by Diego Granados
7. How to Sell Yourself on LinkedIn by Eugene Segal

1) How to automate your job search

Lisa Zane shares practical and effective techniques to streamline your job search. Among her insightful suggestions is utilizing Google Alerts to receive notifications when companies that match your preferred criteria raise funds and are likely to have job openings in the near future.

One source that could be added to the post is signing up for the Talent Network, which specializes in PM roles. On those platforms, you can answer questions about your skills, expertise, job preferences, and criteria to find suitable matches.

Personally, I have found success with Welcome to the Jungle UK , a platform that delivers customized job opportunities aligned with my requirements and skills straight to my inbox. Think of the Tinder of job search.

2) How to Become a PM in 2023

Ankit Shukla tells us how to become a PM in 2023.

His post provides valuable tips and explains how to create a deck for a company you're applying to, showcasing your passion and ownership. Here's the process:

• Select a company you're interested in working for.
• Build a case study about how the company could improve its product in a presentation.
• Find decision-makers or hiring managers on LinkedIn.
• Contact them to get their thoughts on your presentation.
• Hopefully, it leads to an interview.

While this technique requires a lot of effort and is not scalable, it's worth trying if your "LinkedIn Easy Apply" spam isn't getting any response.

3) How to transition into product management without PM experience

Sid Arora provides tips for aspiring product managers without any experience. He mentions one tip that I always give to friends: gain experience by transitioning internally within your company. This means asking to be assigned to projects that work closely with product managers, which will give you a better understanding of the role and make you more equipped to take it on. Hopefully, from there, you could transition within your company to the product team.

4) How to nail your PM Interview

If you manage to get an interview,? Ankit Shukla also provides tips to help you prepare for product management interviews. He covers the eight key skills that companies look for in a PM, such as communication and analytical thinking, as well as the types of questions you might encounter, including product design, strategy, and guesstimates.

The one I would always get asked is the Product Design Question," which is a variation of “Tell me about a product you like, why it’s good, and how it could be improved”. Like most of the product questions, the interviewer doesn’t care which product you enjoy; they just want to test your ability to think and communicate like a product manager.

To answer the question effectively, take a structured approach that involves defining the problem, identifying the user persona, proposing solutions, prioritizing with an impact vs. effort framework, defining success metrics, and summarizing.

5) The best resources about resumes, LinkedIn, networking, and interview prep

Diego Granados provides a list of amazing resources about resumes, LinkedIn, networking, and interview prep. The best part? Most of them are free! For example:

• An article on how to create a LinkedIn profile that attracts recruiters.
• A YouTube video on how to find and network with recruiters and hiring managers to get your resume reviewed faster.
• A clean and simple resume template to showcase your skills and accomplishments.

6) How to write a killer resume

Diego Granados also gives amazing tips on how to write a killer resume. The best advice is on how to rewrite your CV bullet points. Instead of describing what you were hired to do (things you can find in a job description and that every other PM would do as well), describe what you accomplished and how you accomplished it. Use the X+Y+Z formula: Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y], by doing [Z]. I did this exercise for a friend who was re-doing her CV, and what she told me was, “How the h%&l should I remember metrics about things I did 5 years ago?” which is a fair point.

There is not much you can do for past experiences where you did not track your accomplishments; however, what I highly suggest is to keep a Google doc of your weekly accomplishments, like nailing a presentation or creating a crucial report. This list will come in handy during performance reviews to have arguments to justify a promotion and when you have to update CV.

7) How to Sell Yourself on LinkedIn

Eugene Segal 's guide to improving your LinkedIn Banner is a must-read. The banner is the first thing people see on your LinkedIn page, so optimizing it can boost your profile page conversion and your visibility to recruiters.

Eugene outlines five guiding principles for optimizing the LinkedIn header experience (LHE). Here are some key takeaways:

• For maximum impact, your banner needs to work in conjunction with other elements like your profile picture and title.
• Your banner should answer key questions: Who are you? What problems do you solve? Who do you solve those problems for? How do you solve those problems? Why should we believe you? What is your call to action?
• Canva is a great tool for creating a banner template.

While Eugene's banner example is helpful, I would challenge the idea of including "Open to work" in it. As someone who has worked with recruiters before, I know that it's difficult to sell an unemployed candidate (no matter how skilled they are) to a client. To avoid this, I suggest keeping the "Open to work" visible only to recruiters on LinkedIn, rather than everyone.

Bonus section:

• The 9 soft skills that can accelerate a product manager's career, along with the top resources to build these skills, according to Sid Arora
• Top 12 books about product management by Victor Billette de Villemeur . Marty Cagan is not mentioned, which is very refreshing. In my case, if I had to recommend one book for an aspiring PM, I would say The Lean Product Playbook by Dan Olsen. It’s part of the mandatory reading for CodeOp Product Management Bootcamp, where I teach.?
• The technique and message that Diego Granados uses to find hiring managers and recruiters to get interviews and skip the ATS line.

I hope this post was helpful. Follow for more.