The #1 cold email I get
“How can I get into product management?”
I’m asked this often because I come from a non-technical background, but ended up in product. So in order for me to link to this post in the future, here’s a more thoughtful answer than I’d give in an email:
Senders usually come with the following persona: they are non-builders (i.e. not engineering or design), fresh out of MBA, or career switching.
My headline response to them is always that it’s unlikely you’ll be able to walk in as is, but there are some important things you can do to break open the doors.
Why it’s (really) important to be a builder
Imagine not knowing how to use Excel in the finance world (impossible!). How could you possibly analyze a million-row database without knowledge of how to splice and pivot the data? You can’t. You could be a savant at strategy, but if you can’t generate the data to inform that strategy — you’re kinda useless.
It’s for the same reasons that bridging into product management from a non-technical background is really risky for your employer, because that means the journey from user problem to working software is a big black box to you.
If a user is asking for X, and you literally have no idea how feasible, hard, or valuable X could be, how can you make good decisions?
That’s what product management is like if you haven’t built software before.
Note: There are other important aspects to being a good product manager than knowing how to create working software, but it’s still the nuts and bots.
If you haven’t built before, you’re not doomed — here’s what I’d recommend:
Option A - Get technical and ship it
I know it feels daunting to learn something new and (perceived to be) complex, especially when you’re probably a few years out of school.
Get that negativity out of your head, now.
Just start. Do it now. Don’t be afraid, you will get help along the way. I promise, you can do it.
Is your goal to be a developer? No. But you should have the goal of actually shipping something that other people can use. This will become a vital proof point to companies you’re interested in because it proves that you at least experienced some end-to-end basics.
You will also love the feeling of building — I guarantee it.
(You might also make something awesome and this whole “PM thing” can take a back-seat to your rocket ship of a company.)
Note: You don’t need to know how to make multi-tenant, infinitely scalable applications. You just need to understand enough for the type of products you want to work on.
Option B — Build a company
Don’t just have your side project on paper — actually build it.
We interview a lot of founders at FreshBooks, and hire a lot too, but more than any other group, they contain the biggest mixed bag. What I’ve seen is that the people that get hired are the ones who’ve gotten their hands dirty. Meaning during their startup experience, they’ve contributed to the designs and the code in a tangible way.
At the very least, even if you founders didn’t do the building, they needed to have worked intensely with engineers and designs for a long period of time and had some measurable success in their product. That experience alone can demonstrate you know how the sausage is made.
“I hired developers on oDesk” is simply not a good answer, and a great predictor of someone who will struggle if given the change.
Founding your own company is the hardest option, and you of course shouldn’t do it just to become a PM (the other options are far easier). If, however, you’re going to do it anyways…trust me, invest in learning to be the builder.
Option C - Get your foot in the door, and prove yourself
This is the old school way.
If you really want it, be persistent and get any job in the technology space that you’re interested in. From there, just prove yourself and hustle your way into the role you really want.
You’ll find that in tech, this is not as rare as you’d expect. There is a general default to meritocracy in tech, and many companies will support you if you make a big impact in any role. FreshBooks has tons of examples of people moving all over the place through cross-functional ‘internships’.
Not Optional: Network
This is standard job seeking advice, but it’s always worth mentioning.
Realize there’s no silver bullet for you. There’s no credential that will bust open that door for you. Even engineers with MBAs email me and seem to have a hard time finding good PM roles. As someone who’s raw, don’t forget that you will need to have someone take a chance on you.
When your developing relationships with people “on the inside”, don’t be shy about your intentions. I find it really refreshing when someone can confidently say to me “I want to be a product manager”, but can follow it up with “I’m going to work my ass off to prove I can be one”. Some people only do one of the two, but realize you need to do both.
So, are you a builder?
As with everything, product management looks more glamorous than it is. You will eat shit, do things you don’t 100% agree with, and be frustrated just like any other job (especially running your own company).
The best PMs are the ones who deal with that stuff, but are fundamentally drawn to building. Seeing an idea through to it’s manifestation in the real world is what makes them tick.
If you’re a builder, then checkout all the great roles we’re hiring for @freshbooks.