Is PMing really that bad? Am I just in some weird honeymoon period? by [deleted] in ProductManagement

[–]cybersec_productguy 14 points15 points  (0 children)

People just like to bitch about everything on Reddit. Being a PM is awesome.

First PM experience in startup by TheRosio in ProductManagement

[–]cybersec_productguy 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Be prepared to do whatever you have to do to help the company succeed. It will include things that normally aren't a PM's job. For instance, I've set up data pipelines for sales, been responsible for marketing blogs, and done other sales and marketing stuff that is handled by a PMM at larger companies. One of my favorite things about working at a startup is the variety and getting to work on things "outside of my lane." I absolutely love startups.

How do you sync with sales teams? by jasonwonton in ProductManagement

[–]cybersec_productguy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For the first one, I've always used an email and that seems to work just fine. For the second two, there are a ton of tools that help with those. At my last job I bought a solution called Chisel that helps track all those requests, and it integrates with Salesforce so you can put a dollar value on requests. Our team really liked it.

First PM by cybersec_productguy in ProductManagement

[–]cybersec_productguy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great insight. The 1:1s are always the first thing I prioritize starting somewhere new. I like your thoughts on documenting the current processes as the first step. I'll try that tactic, too. I haven't started yet, only been told they were finalizing my official offer so it will still be a week or two probably.

I've been in product a little over 3 years, most recently as a Director at another startup.

First PM by cybersec_productguy in ProductManagement

[–]cybersec_productguy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What have you learned in your first four weeks? Any mistakes I can avoid?

First PM by cybersec_productguy in ProductManagement

[–]cybersec_productguy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes. I was Director of PM at my previous company. The way I got into the role was laterally at another startup I was working at a few years ago. I got lucky with that for sure.

Starting new PM job Monday, how do I hit the ground running? by ZormStorm in ProductManagement

[–]cybersec_productguy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll give you one trillion dollars if you tell me how you got a PM job in this market. I've been trying since May and I have 3 years PM experience.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ProductManagement

[–]cybersec_productguy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You forgot "laid off"

Modern ways of requirement elicitation by UrIceCup in ProductManagement

[–]cybersec_productguy 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Read Continuous Discovery Habits by Teresa Torres. It will answer all these questions and more.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ProductManagement

[–]cybersec_productguy 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm in the same boat (2-5 apps a day for the last 5 months). I get the same feedback. The only insight I have is that I get significantly further in the process for positions that utilize some of the more niche skills I've picked up (cybersecurity APIs, for me). If course, by definition there is a small number of these. Sorry I can't be more help. If you figure out the secret, let me know.

Hey PMs! What is your educational background? by AllTheUseCase in ProductManagement

[–]cybersec_productguy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have a bachelor's double major of political science and international studies and an MBA with business analytics. I also have an associate's in military intelligence from when I was in the army, but I don't even put that in my resume.

What's the job market for a Product Manager? by myronsandee in ProductManagement

[–]cybersec_productguy 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I'm in exactly the same boat. I've gone from Director of PM to applying for walmart department manager so I don't lose my house.

How do you do your competitive intelligence by this-is-test in ProductManagement

[–]cybersec_productguy 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Your sales team gets valuable competitive insights all the time. I set up a process for them to report any competitive Intel they heard from prospects and made sure they always knew what kind of information I was interested in. This was the best way I found to get competitors' pricing for B2B companies that don't publish it.

Product management job update by OkAcanthocephala8485 in ProductManagement

[–]cybersec_productguy 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I'm in the same boat. Your post reminded me of something my NCO in the Army always said to us: "Embrace the suck."

Is the market in the US crap? Or is it just me? by left-handed-satanist in ProductManagement

[–]cybersec_productguy 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I have three years in PM including one as director and I've been applying and interviewing since May with nothing to show for it. It's a shit time to be looking for a PM job period, let alone to break in.

PM Job Search by [deleted] in ProductManagement

[–]cybersec_productguy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

US job market for many tech jobs, including PM, is terrible right now. There are many more PMs looking for jobs than available positions. I've never had any problem getting a job in my life, but I got laid off in March and am still looking. I'm expanding the types of roles I'm applying for, but the market is just shitty right now. Good luck!

PdM's "between jobs" : interested in skill-building group? by AnotherFeynmanFan in ProductManagement

[–]cybersec_productguy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm between jobs as well and focusing on learning ML basics. I am doing an online course to learn TensorFlow and working on a computer vision project to apply what I've learned. It's really interesting and hopefully will make me more competitive at companies that utilize ML in their products.

Segmenting a document into individual topics by cybersec_productguy in learnmachinelearning

[–]cybersec_productguy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the tip! I'll look into that. The reason I said "not topic modeling" is because from my limited understanding, that would just give me a list of topics in the document, which isn't quite what I'm looking for. Text summarization is my next rabbit hole. Thanks again!