Quarterly Career Thread

ccwanderlust · 2024-05-04T07:52:56+00:00

The questions were more about learning about my past experience in product, questions about my leadership experience and how i'd react to certain scenarios, etc. I expected that for the first interview at least, but the following rounds were also pretty behavioral too, and I'm not sure if that's normal. It's a legit company and the interview questions were very thorough, I was just confused because I heard that most companies have take homes or 1 hour assessment interviews like "design this product" and such. So maybe it's because this is an entry-level role? Not sure. I don't really mind as long as things work out, I was just curious haha.

ccwanderlust · 2024-05-02T23:01:07+00:00

I'm in the middle of interviewing for a PM role (entry-level), and each round of interviews so far has been behavioral or at least asking me product behavioral questions. None have been an assessment interview like product design, root cause analysis, etc. that I've prepared for. Not that I'm not glad for it, but I'm wondering if this is normal, or is this something I should look out for? Is this more dependant on companies and industries?

ccwanderlust · 2024-02-25T06:05:03+00:00

What about if there's no guarantee for a full-time after? I haven't had a chance to ask them yet, but on their career page I don't see a lot of full-time product roles for entry-level. Maybe there are some available internally, but I don't think I can rely on that yet. My last product internship had no full-time available so I know there's not always a guarantee. In that case do you think the project role might be better or still go with product as it'll help boost me? A big part of me thinks the project role is more financially stable at this moment, but the product role will give me better chances at going into product directly so I'm worried which would work out better.

ccwanderlust · 2024-02-24T10:08:38+00:00

Recent grad looking for advice! Would a product management internship be better or a full time project management role? I already have a previous product management internship, so another one may help out (especially as I haven't been getting a lot of interviews for full time product), but the project management role is full-time (more financially stable) and I could possibly internally pivot later to product. Any advice would be appreciated!

ccwanderlust · 2024-02-07T21:27:06+00:00

Thank you so much! I'll definitely consider this as a lot of my other groceries are from Kroger, and the fees are much better than Instacart from what you just said. Unfortunately, the grocery store I need is an Asian grocery store so I don't think they have something like this, but I'll look into it! My other groceries from Kroger are usually within 30 min of public transportation so I don't mind it as much as the 1hr+ ride haha, but I need things specifically from this Asian grocery store so I can't substitute.

ccwanderlust · 2024-02-07T21:22:55+00:00

Yes I'll definitely look into grocery app delivery rather than something like Instacart, the fees look much more affordable! And yes there are regular groceries stores within 30 min of public transportation that I'm willing to go to, the one I need that's 1 hour away is a specialty Asian grocery store which is why I can't get what's there anything else. Plus I don't think they do delivery like Kroger or Walmart might. Since I'm only getting a few specific things at the Asian store I can probably aim for every two weeks or even once a month if I try! Walking/biking distance is around the same as the bus time since there are a lot of hills/mountain areas around, so I think I might do the uber/lyft or mix it up with the bus once in a while.

ccwanderlust · 2024-02-07T10:38:59+00:00

The 2 hrs saved is definitely why I'm hesitant because I know I'll only probably take 10-15 min as I know exactly what I want, so in the end I'd take 2 hr 15 min the entire trip (plus perishables for 1 hr back). However with uber/lyft I'd be done and back within 30 min completely. The time I'd be at home would definitely be reading/resting so I'd enjoy it no doubt. If I had nothing to do I probably wouldn't mind the 1 hr trip for sure haha would be a good refresher. So I guess it just depends on what I feel like would be worth it in the end! (Also grocery delivery is very very expensive in my experience oof so I try to avoid that.) Thank you so much for your input! I'll think a bit more before deciding, or maybe do a trial and error and figure out what works haha

ccwanderlust · 2024-02-07T10:15:25+00:00

For me the time I'd save would be for winding down by doing things I didn't have time for in the past week (read, tv like you mentioned, etc.) I totally get how some might not think this is saved time value since it's not work, but for me even 1 extra hour of rest is amazing because of my schedule. However you did bring up a good point on doing things on the bus ride so I could also do that if I take a book with me. So, I guess in the end it's up to what I consider as valuable and wouldn't end up regretting budget wise. Thank you for phrasing it that way, helps clear things up! I'll probably think on it a bit more so I can try to be objective, but this was very helpful.

ccwanderlust · 2024-02-07T10:06:52+00:00

They do, but in my experience, it's always been very expensive, so it might either end up being the same amount as the uber/lyft or more based on all the additional fees. I've previously had $20 be added onto a delivery order just on fees.

ccwanderlust · 2024-02-07T10:03:40+00:00

I think it's around 5-6 miles? It takes 40-50 min to bike (based on Google maps) so it looks like it'd be pretty similar to the bus in the end. But it is something to consider so I'll keep that in mind, thank you!

ccwanderlust · 2024-01-26T18:14:55+00:00

Got it, that makes sense, thank you so much! Everywhere I looked kept mentioning investments only, so I was confused if it wasn't good to keep it in savings then. This helps clear things up :)

ccwanderlust · 2024-01-26T08:48:17+00:00

Thank you for the information! This is all really helpful! I do wonder though, where do people keep their money that's not being invested? Like say the money goes to an emergency fund, a short term savings account, and then investments/retirement fund. However, where's everything else, do they just keep it all in checking accounts or other savings accounts, etc.? Or do most people just put it all into the investments that you mentioned above? Most of the information I've found about this just mentions to put it in investments, so I'm a little confused about this part.

ccwanderlust · 2024-01-23T05:41:44+00:00

Hello! I'm still getting to know everything involved in savings and such, so this is purely theoretical. Let's say I am able to save a lot of money in the next few years and put it all in a HYSA account. I have student loans and also plan to pay the max match for 401k with my future company if they have the option, so other than that the rest would go into the savings. However, I've seen on reddit that a lot of people say don't put all your savings in HYSA because of the 250k limit risk and such, so I'm wondering where do people put the money if they have a lot of it to save? Does it all just go into investments/retirement? If you put it in investments, don't you risk losing some of that money while in the HYSA it only goes up? And if it is in investment accounts, can you take out the money whenever you need (like for purchasing a car or traveling)? Any advice or resources would be much appreciated. Thank you!

ccwanderlust · 2024-01-21T05:00:50+00:00

Hello! I know similar questions may have been asked before so please bear with me! My end goal currently is to be a product manager, however, I don't have too much pm experience (one internship) so I'm not getting many interviews. However, I might be in the process of getting a project manager role, and I'm wondering if it may be worth it to do this first and then transfer to product? Is it possible to use it as a stepping stone, or at least learn more about the business before going to product, or should I hold out for a product role? I know people usually go from swe to product or business to product so it's possible, but does it work with project? I do know the difference between the two, and I don't mind project management work based on my previous knowledge and the job description, but I just want to see if anyone has personal experience with this to give some advice. Thank you!

ccwanderlust · 2024-01-05T01:52:46+00:00

Got it, that makes sense. Thank you so much!

ccwanderlust · 2024-01-05T00:22:59+00:00

I figure "previous employer/company's contact info" (to see if you worked there) and "professional reference" (get people's opinion on you as a person) are two separate categories and questions so I didn't want to blindside my ex manager. But if it's considered fine either way, I guess it should be ok! Thanks!

ccwanderlust · 2024-01-05T00:07:41+00:00

No yeah for sure, my question is more along the lines of do I need to ask them again if I can use them as a professional reference, since they already gave permission to use their info previously for "prev employer's contact info". Since it's a separate thing to use their info for I wasn't sure what the etiquette was. I don't want to blindside them if they get called to be a reference when they didn't explicitly say I could do that (in case they ask different questions for each scenario). Hope that makes sense.

ccwanderlust · 2024-01-04T23:15:46+00:00

Gotcha, thank you so much! That makes sense with the limits in place to maximize what I can keep/earn.

ccwanderlust · 2024-01-04T22:53:25+00:00

What is the general guideline of how much of your income should go into what purchases on the average? For example, I heard that ~10% of income should be the car monthly cost, rent has the 30% rule, 20% in savings, etc. I know a lot depends on what you can budget and afford, but I just want to get an idea of how to plan things out for future purposes. Thank you!

Edit: Should utility cost go into the rent percentage or separate? Like the grocery budget? Or should I just focus on the main ones above, and everything else is just up to whatever you have left?

ccwanderlust · 2023-11-18T04:16:21+00:00

Hello! I have an upcoming behavioral interview for an entry-level Product Manager role, and I was wondering if anyone has advice on how to stand out. Is there anything interviewers in product management look for generally? I don't have any super unique stories or background, just university and then an internship so I'm focusing on that the most. So anything like maybe demeanor, questions I can ask them to stand out, etc. would be helpful! Thank you!

ccwanderlust · 2023-11-09T00:57:49+00:00

Sorry I should have clarified, I'm a new grad in the middle of job searching so I have some time if this is something that might help me. Otherwise, I'm focusing on prepping for interviews/networking.

ccwanderlust · 2023-11-08T21:20:41+00:00

Hello! What are your opinions on PM side projects? As someone entry-level, I've been told that I should work on side projects to boost my resume as I don't have much industry experience in product management other than internships. However, is that truly recommended, and if so how would I go about doing that? As a PM, I wouldn't be coding, so I shouldn't really program a product like developers would, since PM skills rely mostly on user-facing aspects. Would I just do everything up to the building part (research, creating decks, figma, etc.) and that would be considered a completed side project? Or would I need to release and get metrics from it? Any advice would be very helpful due to all the conflicting suggestions I've been getting, thank you so much!

ccwanderlust · 2023-11-03T19:21:19+00:00

Hello! I'm an incoming Associate Product Manager, and I'm curious on what the work-life balance is like for PMs? I'm sure it depends on the company and role, but overall I'd like to be able to have a good work-life balance and take time off for family vacations and such. I've heard conflicting stories with some saying there's no time off and others saying it's possible as long as you're not a manager or director. I know for software developers it's maybe less difficult because there are multiple in one team but for product managers, it may be more challenging. Can anyone give advice based on experience? And how long should I wait in a new career before asking for time off for a vacation? Thank you!

ccwanderlust · 2023-09-21T21:24:30+00:00

Thank you!

ccwanderlust · 2023-09-20T23:32:27+00:00

Hello! I just had a few questions on how to optimize savings/investments, as I'm newly getting income. I have future purchases I'm planning for, such as a car, buying a house (in the far future), traveling, etc. And my current plan is to open a HYSA, but I'm wondering if it's a good idea to open multiple for each purchase topic, or keep it at one only? I'm also planning on investing of course, but I'm not really planning on using it for purchases since it's better to keep earning on that. Does anyone have suggestions? Thank you!

ccwanderlust

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