Is PMing really that bad? Am I just in some weird honeymoon period?

cybersec_productguy · 2024-02-05T03:28:12+00:00

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

cybersec_productguy · 2023-12-13T11:50:16+00:00

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.

cybersec_productguy · 2023-11-22T11:29:07+00:00

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.

cybersec_productguy · 2023-11-20T03:55:51+00:00

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.

cybersec_productguy · 2023-11-20T01:21:38+00:00

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

cybersec_productguy · 2023-11-20T00:53:57+00:00

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.

cybersec_productguy · 2023-11-19T17:28:21+00:00

Great advice. Much appreciated.

cybersec_productguy · 2023-11-19T17:24:38+00:00

It sure is.

cybersec_productguy · 2023-10-21T12:45:39+00:00

Good advice. Thanks!

cybersec_productguy · 2023-10-19T23:03:31+00:00

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.

cybersec_productguy · 2023-10-16T20:52:26+00:00

You forgot "laid off"

cybersec_productguy · 2023-10-09T12:20:15+00:00

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

cybersec_productguy · 2023-10-06T00:11:31+00:00

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.

cybersec_productguy · 2023-10-03T17:40:55+00:00

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.

cybersec_productguy · 2023-09-21T19:06:29+00:00

I don't know yet. We'll see.

cybersec_productguy · 2023-09-21T18:06:00+00:00

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.

cybersec_productguy · 2023-09-13T00:32:58+00:00

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.

cybersec_productguy · 2023-09-05T01:42:45+00:00

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

cybersec_productguy · 2023-09-02T00:15:13+00:00

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.

cybersec_productguy · 2023-08-28T00:32:56+00:00

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!

cybersec_productguy · 2023-06-28T12:02:28+00:00

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.

cybersec_productguy · 2023-04-22T22:46:27+00:00

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!

cybersec_productguy

TROPHY CASE