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How to break into product management at a startup
In part six of this series, I want to focus on how you can break into product management at a startup. Here is the previous post from this series.
Breaking into product management isn’t easy, but I wanted to provide a strategy for how you can break into product management at a startup. Why join a startup?
In this article, I will focus on two critical parts of breaking into product management at a startup: how to pitch yourself (with or without having related product experience) and how to write an effective resume.
In future articles, I will hone in on how to cold email startup founders as well as how to find the right startups for you to join.
1. Learn How to Pitch Yourself for a Product Management role at a Startup
Your current role may not be product management — that’s why you’re here! Before you apply, you will need to create a plan for how you will pitch yourself. If you have the encompassing skills (which can also come through non-product roles), you can break into product management.
Check out this diagram below to understand how many different skills a product manager could have — and it’s not limited to these skills. You need to show your ability to wear multiple hats.
If you’re a designer or software engineer:
- You know how to build already. You can discuss the projects you’ve built internally and externally, as well as how you have exercised product skills. You likely already have deep product knowledge, you have the execution ability, you have people skills by working with other PMs/designers/engineers, and more. Use that as your strength. I believe it’s absolutely valuable for a PM to learn how to design and code.
- Learn to design & code — as a new or aspiring product manager.
If you’re in sales, customer success, or marketing:
- You understand customers. In…
