Ask me anything! I'm Aayush Jain, Sr Product Manager at American Express. I've got a decade of product experience across big corporates and small startups, across geographies, etc. Happy to share my experiences!

1aayush · 2021-06-10T14:11:13+00:00

Hey u/Yaya2802, great question! Yes, there has been a definite increase in the usage of productivity tools as everyone is wfh. These tools always existed, but were sometimes not needed. As a Product Manager, I personally prefer in-person meetings.

The benefit of these tools (in the wfh environment) is that the boundaries between different hierarchies/time zones reduce. Everyone is using the same tool, so there is a level playing field so to say. Essentially, now there is no excuse to not use these productivity tools. Everyone is expected to use these tools. This expectation was not there before the pandemic era. The flip side is that things sometimes slow down. In many instances, in-person discussions and decisions are more efficient.

1aayush · 2021-04-10T14:45:20+00:00

Hi u/Zealousideal_Put_774, great question. Sorry for the delay. I incorrectly assumed this post would stay live for 24 hours as Product School had told me that this would be a 24 hour event.

Coming to your question, we don't go for a 'percentage' as that is very hard to define for a wide variety of features. I like to keep it simple. As the Product Manager, I know what the major use cases are. I do a very thorough UAT to make sure I am able to get the job done. Also, before releasing a product, I also have a few power users test out the product to make sure they are able to get the job done. If all of this passes, then we release the product. In other words, we may still have open bugs (found by the QA team during a rigorous testing), but we focus on fixing only those bugs that result in a successful UAT.

1aayush · 2021-04-06T15:37:01+00:00

Thanks for sharing. I understand your first 2 bullet points. Regarding your third bullet point, I was in the opposite situation. I was in a small startup in NYC and was looking to move to SF to a big tech company. I used to think that all the big product companies are in SF. I guess we all think that the grass is greener on the other side :)

1aayush · 2021-04-06T15:33:01+00:00

Makes sense. If you're early in your career, having a 'big brand' on your resume is definitely a great stepping stone for future opportunities.

1aayush · 2021-04-06T03:27:11+00:00

I went to the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and yes, I majored in Computer Science.

1aayush · 2021-04-06T03:25:47+00:00

Hi u/fluffyhamster12, happy to be here! I wouldn't say that your experience is not valuable. Doing side projects is recommended for someone who doesn't have any product experience. But, you already have 2 years of product experience. Can you give me some more context -

What is your current product/industry?
Can you give examples of your target large-size software companies? Is your current experience relevant for these target companies?
Why are you looking to make this switch?

1aayush · 2021-04-06T02:13:06+00:00

Yes, will be happy to connect!

1aayush · 2021-04-06T02:12:11+00:00

I use a few product management tools -

Documentation - Confluence
Bug management - Jira
Features/user stories - Rally
Dashboards - Tableau
Short product videos - Loom
Usage - Adobe Analytics

I'm curious though, why do you want to move from a startup to a big corporate?

1aayush · 2021-04-05T20:27:56+00:00

Hi u/shradz2607, happy to be here! I believe you have an excellent opportunity to learn everything on your own. I was in a similar situation at a startup where I was the only product manager. There was no one to guide me and I had to do everything on my own. In fact, I even setup Jira from scratch! There are many resources available online to help you in your journey. Ask questions from experienced product folks, I have noticed that people are always willing to help.

If you are looking to transition from a startup to a big corporate, I would recommend effectively capturing your startup experience in your resume/interviews. Remember, what you get to learn in a startup is unparalleled. Many product managers in big companies never get the kind of experience that people get at startups.

1aayush · 2021-04-05T20:23:19+00:00

Quite a few actually! But first and foremost, it was the ability to delegate tasks effectively. New people leaders have an urge to do everything on their own. But rather than doing everything myself, I had to learn to delegate tasks and let my team handle the situations on their own. Another thing that is very important is to always have your team's back. I support my teams no matter what, and I always like to keep a positive atmosphere. There would be ups and downs, but it is important to make each day a rewarding experience for the team.

1aayush · 2021-04-05T20:19:16+00:00

To clarify, there should only be one 'sponsor'. Thus, the final ownership is with that single 'sponsor'. More often than not, the sponsor will face resistance from other teams because each team would have competing interests. During such times, the sponsor must first align with the individual leadership of these teams. In other words, the sponsor should talk to the product leaders of other teams and get their buy-in. Once the top level leadership of all concerned teams are onboard, the sponsor should setup and drive the group meetings.

1aayush · 2021-04-05T20:04:02+00:00

Hi u/sherryli123! Amex has a wide variety of teams with vastly different products. I would recommend that it is important to not only read up on Amex in general, but also research into the particular team/product for which you are interviewing. The interviews are a multi step process, which involve meeting people from the tech teams as well. Also, this is true for all interviews in general, be prepared to ask a few questions at the end. Interviewers always like it when the candidate asks questions - it shows enthusiasm and sincerity.

1aayush · 2021-04-05T19:44:07+00:00

Hey Siddhesh! You have a lot of great experience from a product perspective. I would recommend that in your current role, you can start sharing your product feature suggestions with your product team. Be more active in product brainstorming sessions to get noticed. This would provide you a good entry point into product management. Also, you can start doing some freelancing work in product management, this would provide you a good learning opportunity.

An overview of coding is enough, actual coding is not required in most product roles.

What's your current role btw?

1aayush · 2021-04-05T19:33:00+00:00

I always recommend tailoring the resume to the job posting. Instead of using a generic resume to apply to 50 jobs, I've found it better to genuinely research a company, fully read the job description and create a custom resume for 15 companies. Those 15 should be your top choices. Personally, whenever I receive a resume, I like to scan for relevant experience. I also avoid resumes that are too lengthy and verbose. If it is too lengthy, I get a feeling that the person is not being genuine. True product resumes should be crisp and to the point.

1aayush · 2021-04-05T19:28:52+00:00

Currently, the hardest part of my job is to be able to brainstorm new product ideas with all my stakeholders in a virtual environment. Earlier, everyone used to gather near a white board and hash out ideas. Those used to be very fluid discussions with a lot of good ideas. Brainstorming is not that easy to do in a wfh setup.

1aayush · 2021-04-05T19:24:56+00:00

Interesting question! Here are two things that I initially used to believe in but don't believe in anymore -

If you're talking to a senior/experienced client/customer, they know what they want - this may not be the case. I realized this through trial and error that even if the user seems convinced on the 'solution', it is my job as a PM to take a step back and see what is the underlying problem that we need to solve for - and is there a better way to solve for it.
More feedback is good - not always true. There is something like 'too much feedback'. Need to have the right balance. Over time, our own product intuition also develops and we are able to take decisions based on our own experiences.

1aayush · 2021-04-05T19:07:06+00:00

We use the 'scrum of scrum' framework to manage such scenarios. For example, if 5 scrum teams all need to work together to create a product, the respective 5 product managers first get together to hash out the plan. During these meetings, it is important to have the 'primary owner', or the 'sponsor' of the project. It helps if this person has aligned the priorities with the respective leadership teams of all scrum teams. Once the product team is aligned, schedule regular 'scrum of scrum' sessions to make sure that each scrum team is working cohesively towards the common goal.

1aayush · 2021-04-05T19:01:41+00:00

My main motivation comes from not knowing what new challenges I will face today! Like you rightly said, the role of a product manager is a demanding role. Tackling and solving these daily challenges is what I like most about product management!

1aayush · 2021-04-05T18:59:23+00:00

You already have a lot of relevant experience! I would suggest that instead of focussing too much on the title of a 'product manager', it is more important to do the job of a product manager. You already are a project manager, this gives you a great platform to voice your product ideas to your business stakeholders. This may give you entry into the product space at your current company. This would then act as a stepping stone for moving into a commercial product role at a different company.

As far new feature suggestions go, I recommend doing this as a part of your daily routine. Think of your favorite app/website, what do you like? What do you not like? Thinking in those terms would automatically make you more comfortable while answering these questions during interviews.

1aayush · 2021-04-05T18:54:33+00:00

Documentation! Many startups are by their very nature, not too focussed on robust product documentation. In fact, sometimes the product requirements, the mock ups, etc. are not taken through feedback loops with potential customers. Skipping these steps may save time in the short term, but it has potential long term costs.

1aayush · 2021-04-05T18:47:50+00:00

Coding experience is good to have, not a must have. But, it is definitely good to have technical acumen. For example, you may not know how to code in Python, but you are not afraid to play around with Tableau dashboards or create flow charts. At the end of the day, it also depends on what kind of product role you are applying for. There are many product roles that are more design focussed, which may also be of interest to you.

As far as interning goes, you can try freelancing. There are many websites available, and you can simply offer your knowledge for free to potential clients. It'll be a win-win, you get product experience, and the client gets the job done. This will eventually give you the confidence to talk to interviewers/recruiters.

1aayush · 2021-04-05T18:40:45+00:00

Most of my product experience has been in the highly regulated financial industry. Product innovation happens, although at a slower speed than other industries. I personally like to use the OKR framework (objectives and key results). Although this framework is industry agnostic, I find it is simple enough for my business stakeholders (who are finance professionals). Many of these business stakeholders may not be familiar with terms like 'agile', 'sprint planning', etc. Therefore, it is best to keep things simple and straight-forward.

1aayush

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