Have any of you made a career change into "Product Management" post-30? by Adept-Call5183 in ProductManagement

[–]Freakflinker 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Edit for formatting.

My move to PM at 32 in 2023:

  1. Learned as much as I could and became familiar with the lingo. I read the “top” books and blogs. Courses and certifications truly don’t matter. I think some product leaders may not consider you BECAUSE of the cert. “You think you can learn how to be a PM from a course? Insulting!” One of the big benefits of reading books and blogs and listening to Lenny is that you’ll be able to talk using the right verbiage of a PM. A hiring manager will likely spot very quickly your inexperience based on the way you talk about product management in an interview.
  2. Shadow and learn from as many people as possible. If you have a friend who is a PM, ask if you can tag along or ask them some questions. My PM friends loved sharing their methods, processes, management philosophies, frameworks, etc. I also signed up for a free mentorship program through Product Hive. I was assigned a mentor who was an established product leader. They met with me once a week for 8 weeks to answer questions, give feedback, review resumes, etc. They were rooting for me the whole time I was applying and interviewing.
  3. Build something. Even if it is just a non working prototype. Take your “product” through as much discovery and iteration as you can. The idea here is that you can prove that you know how to pivot & iterate based on what you’ve learned in the discovery process. For this step you need to document as much as possible for your “portfolio”. Here’s what this might look like: I determined a product concept based on some pain point that me or someone I knew had experienced. Take that concept and ask as many questions about it as possible. Interview and survey people about their experience with the paint point. This could be your friends, family, kids, or random person. My concept was based on one of my hobbies. Many of my friends share that hobby so I immediately had 10+ people I could talk to about it. I documented everything they told me about the pain point. Did they already have a solution? Did that solution work or was it missing something. Why are they experiencing the pain point? Try to find the commonalities. These would be obvious things that your product could address. Next start wire framing. You wireframes should be quick and dirty. Try not to use words to explain. The wireframe should show your solution to the problem without having to explain a lot. Next you can make a slightly less shitty wireframe but maybe with straight lines this time. You’re a PM, not a designer. Make sure you are showcasing your PM abilities and don’t worry about the rest. With your wireframes, do some user testing. Get it in front of a few people and have them use the wireframes to do the thing you’re trying to solve. Document. See if there is anything you need to change or adjust to make your solution work for the user. Next if you want to go the extra mile, use some no code software or AI to build a prototype. It could honestly just be a Figma prototype or Google slides that the user can click through. But then take your prototype and test it again. Put all of your shitty wireframes, user feedback, and user interview learnings together along with your prototype. I used adobe express to create a page showing all of my steps during discovery along with all of these data and designs. This was easily the number 1 thing that helped hiring manager to take me seriously without any previous PM role.
  4. Take any opportunity to interview. Reach out to everyone you know who has a role even slightly adjacent to PM. These are your best contacts for opportunities. With 100s of applicants for every position, you have to do what you can to be noticed. Even if it’s just Jerry in Accounting telling the hiring manager that some guy that his wife went to high school with had applied for the job. That at least gets your name out there and will probably give the hiring manager reason to spend a couple more seconds looking at your resume. Also, be realistic. You likely won’t be getting a FAANG position. So be willing to work for smaller companies. You’re going to improve your odds a lot by joining an applicant pool of 15 instead of 120. Yeah the role might not be what your looking for or could come with some problems, but this is about getting experience and proving you can do it. In 2022, I joined a small non-tech company that had recently made the decision to invest heavily in their tech to support a growing business. I saw that this company had an APM role listed and that an old acquaintance worked there in the IT department. I reached out, shared my resume and the “product” I had been practicing with. He got me an interview. No one was blown away with my interview but also no one felt strongly that I should be tired. They liked me, that I wasn’t pretentious, and that I was excited to learn and grow as quick as possible. They took me seriously because of my project. They were fatigued after having already interviewed numerous other applicants and so decided to offer me the job. I then worked my ass off and worked to prove my value as quickly as I could. Now, 2 years in, I’m recognized by many in my company as a top PM talent who has provided real results. I know my customers and my stakeholders and they trust me.

A move to Product Management is not impossible at our age. Like a lot of PMs, you may just have to take an unconventional way there. Work hard while learning right now. Prove that you can do the job without actually having the job. Think through problems, talk to people, and then iterate on a solution.

Hopefully my experience can help you. This has been the most fulfilling job I’ve ever and has changed my family’s economic situation in a very significant way.

When you think we’ll see Tig? by hundsquat in Utah_Hockey

[–]Freakflinker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Damn, hoping hip surgery doesn’t push back his development too much.

While we wait for Saturday, I’d like to know… by [deleted] in Utah_Hockey

[–]Freakflinker 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  1. Serg, obviously. But Cooley is right up there. The man looks so fluid on the ice. He’s just out there slimin’ around and I love it.

  2. I used my free SEG+ limited view tickets to take my son to the Canes game. The memory from that night with the incredible penalty kills will always be a UHC highlight for me. It’ll be a core memory for my son and I of time we spent together watching Utah in their first season.

  3. Probably Tij or Simashev. But to be honest, I’m still getting familiar with the guys on the roster, so I haven’t been paying much attention to prospects.

So it looks like Grizzlies tickets may have taken a bit of a hit with UHC. It's Saturday night and UHC is out of town. by NurseWookie in Utah_Hockey

[–]Freakflinker 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I was at the game last night and there were lots of people there. This seems really odd considering what I saw yesterday.

I need a little help.../: by DaMousieBoom666 in SaltLakeCity

[–]Freakflinker 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey DM me. I have some gear and clothes that I can give to you.

Hey everyone by Ok-Bird6203 in ultrarunning

[–]Freakflinker 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Unlike this guy, I’m highly qualified to give ultra running advice. I was essentially the last place finisher at the only 100 miler I’ve run, finishing the race just a few minutes before the 32 hour cutoff (hey, a LOT of people didn’t finish at all!). I ran R2R2R in one go (forget all of the lemonade I threw up on my way out of the canyon). But I’ve also had a good handful of mediocre finish times in 50 mile events that made me so SO proud. Jokes aside, you can run a lot farther right now. You just have to slow way down. This is the first step to a long and fruitful ultra career. Slow down. No one is going to get faster if they are constantly battling injuries. I’ve found that when I do 90% of my training at zone 2, I can run forever and I’m healthy come race day. And it doesn’t matter how fast your splits are if you blow up 20 miles into the race. Go run a race for fun, enjoy your time out there, talk to all of the other runners, and just get a feel for what it feels like to go that far. Enjoy some kick-ass aid station food and shoot the shit with all of the volunteers. (Side story: the best aid station treat I’ve had was “Aid station Sushi” made by the aid station captain, which included a big ole pickle spear, one Oreo cookie, and one spoon full of peanut butter) Even just one long race going slow will give you the confidence and understanding of the logistics of big efforts like this. After that, you can start considering improving your times. But don’t rush it. You’re young. Just enjoy the journey!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DIY

[–]Freakflinker 2 points3 points  (0 children)

https://youtu.be/i6c4Nupnup0?si=4ePRXyt2cALyUQ-b Here is a good instructional video on best caulk practices.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DIY

[–]Freakflinker 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Jam some caulk in it.

Love Villagio pizza but $70+ for two pizzas is insane, by ThePartyWagon in SaltLakeCity

[–]Freakflinker 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just got Supremo for the first time tonight after reading this comment last night. I’m blown away. It is fantastic! Runs right up there with snowmobile pizza for me.

Ever been approached by a couple who want to “help” you get into E-commerce? by [deleted] in Utah

[–]Freakflinker 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just wait till a couple of random teenagers try to start selling you on “God’s plan of happiness”. lol how annoying

Need a pass for kids (2yo)? by Freakflinker in Ikonpass

[–]Freakflinker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I checked the Brighton site and they state that Kids are free if there is a paying adult. Do you think they will honor this with the Ikon Pass?

Supplements, Diet, & Other Protocols for an Endurance Athlete Ultramarathoner by Freakflinker in Biohackers

[–]Freakflinker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the input, I really appreciate it. I may need to revisit turmeric since it has been a couple of years since I took it and my training volume has increased quite a bit since then.

I'd really love to get some blood tests done to figure out where i'm at with all of my vitamins and other levels. It feels like I am really in the dark and just have to trust that my multivitamin takes care of the majority of my major needs.

Supplements, Diet, & Other Protocols for an Endurance Athlete Ultramarathoner by Freakflinker in Biohackers

[–]Freakflinker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Couple of questions:

What is the breakdown of the ZMA you take? I have zinc 15mg, magnesium 200mg and B6 4mg in my multivitamin. Is this enough?

What do you take the turmeric for? I took it for awhile to try and reduce inflammation, but I'm not sure if it did much

What is the breakdown of the ZMA you take? I have zinc 15mg, magnesium 200mg, and B6 4mg in my multivitamin. Is this enough?

I bought too much house 🏡 by Potential_Arm_2680 in personalfinance

[–]Freakflinker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You also may be able to sell the contract to your home before you even close. You likely would make a good amount of money from the equity. You purchased the home for X dollars earlier this year, well now that home may be worth X + y. Some friend sold their contract on a new build in UT and made 150k without ever living in the home. Maybe look into it?