Getting Started in Product Management

KYLE WARNECKPRODUCT MANAGER, SURVEYMONKEY

SILICON VALLEY PRODUCT CAMP 2013MARCH 23 , 2013

Getting Started in Product Management

Who are you?

Who Am I?

https://www.vizify.com/kylewarneck

https://www.vizify.com/kylewarneck

The goals of the session

In the spirit of teach what you know . . .Share the results of a surveyShare some good ideas from othersProvide a forum for others to ask good

questions

The Problem: Need Experience

First, remember that hiring managers strongly prefer candidates who are already product managers. Unfair?  Sure. What you want to hear?  Probably not.  But that’s the cold, hard reality.  Would you want to hire a newbie ?

“Getting Your First Product Management Job”Rich Mironov, Mironov Consultinghttp://www.mironov.com/1st-pmjob/

The Problem: No Entry Level Job

The Problem: Showing Expertise as a Generalist

But somebody gets the job, right?

Survey Research to the Rescue

Survey of 63 Current and Former PM’sAnd a few good ideas from other placesYour mileage may vary!

In scope: How do I get a job?

WHAT IS PRODUCT MANAGEMENT?

Out of scope

Out of Scope: Required Skills

The Product Manager Getting Started Guidehttp://www.slideshare.net/mikegoos/product-manager-getting-started-guideBy Mike Goos, VP of Products, Alohar Mobile, Inc

Out of Scope: Who should be a product manager?

2012-2013 Annual Product Management and Marketing SurveyPragmatic Marketinghttp://www.pragmaticmarketing.com/resources/annual-survey.aspx

THE CONTEXT

Making the Jump to Product Management

The Importance of Context: Timing

1984

1991

1993

1995

1996

1998

1999

2000

2001

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Organizational Change

11.7% of respondents made the jump as part

of an acquisition

HOW

Making the Jump to Product Management

A Few Popular Paths

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50% 46.7%

25.0%

11.7% 10.0%6.7% 6.7%

Path 1: Internal Transfer

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50% 46.7%

25.0%

11.7% 10.0%6.7% 6.7%

Where Orgs Look for Talent

From What Color is YourParachute Quoted in “How Employers Prefer to Find Job Candidates”http://blog.whyhire.me/how-employers-prefer-to-find-job-candidates/

Internal Hires by Previous Role

Engineering48%

Other30%

Marketing17%

UX/Design4%

Job Titles of Internal Hires

Account TechnologistAssociate Panel ManagerDirector of AnalyticsDirector of Engineering DevelopmentEditorial managerEditorial Services ManagerFirmware Design EngineerIncident managerManager of Customer RelationsManager, Software EngineeringOnline Marketing ManagerProduct AnalystProduct Engineering manager

Product Marketing ManagerProject ManagerProject Manager / DeveloperQA EngineerSenior Business AnalystSenior Customer Operations ManagerSoftware ArchitectSupport AnalystTechnical ProducerTechnical Product Marketing ManagerTechnical WriterUsability Engineer

Subject Matter Experts

“I was in Software project management before getting into product management.

Essentially what happened was that I became a product subject matter expert after wrapping up a project and there was no one to take management over the product so I

did.”

Internal Hires are Learners!

15%

35%

19%

27%

MBA'sOther Adv. DegreeCertification (no adv. Degree)No additional train-ing

Stepping Stone Jobs – Specialist First

“Anyone trying to get started as a product manager in a software company should first understand the difference between Technical

Product Manager and Product Marketing Manager roles . . . entry-level ones are

typically cast in one direction or the other.”

You Never Know . . .

“Journalism degree and 10 years of newspaper experience were an

excellent foundation for becoming a product manager.”

Path 2: External Hire

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50% 46.7%

25.0%

11.7% 10.0%6.7% 6.7%

Educational Background

MBA Other Adv Degree0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

16%

34%

27%

7%

Internal HireExternal Hire

Functional Work Area are Similar

Engin

eerin

g

Mar

ketin

gHR

UX/D

esig

n

Oth

er0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

38%

23%

8%

0%

31%

48%

17%

0%4%

30%

External HireInternal Hire

Job Titles of External Hires

AnalystDirector, Product MarketingPrinciple EngineerBusiness AnalystSr. AssociateHead of ProductionEngineering ManagerProgrammer

IT Systems AnalystEcommerce Managercommunity managerCTO Co-founderBusiness Operations AnalystAssociate ConsultantProgram Manager

Path 3: Go to School

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50% 46.7%

25.0%

11.7% 10.0%6.7% 6.7%

Straight out of Grad School

MBA Other Adv Degree0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

90.00% 83.33%

33.33%

What They Did Before

Engineering Finance HR0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

50%

33%

17%

What They Say . . .

“I have product manager intern experiences in a Tech firm”

“I got my MBA after I started in prod mgmt, but it was totally worth it because it opened doors to companies that wouldn't have looked twice at my resume (even with Sr Prd Mgr on it).”

Certificate Programs

Certificate Programs?

Certification/Training Respondents

AIPMM Certified Product manager 3

Certified Scrum Product Owner 3

UC Berkeley Executive Education Product Management program

2

Product Owner Agile development Certificate in Marketing from Berkeley extension

1

Pragmatic Marketing 1

New Product Development Professional Value Innovation BlackBlot Product Management

1

Path 4: Start Your Own Company

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

A Few Final Thoughts

The Start-Up of You

The Start-Up of YouBy Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnochahttp://www.thestartupofyou.com/start/

The Start-Up of You

“Be in motion and court selective randomness”.

Look for Breakout opportunities

My Two Cents

Learn ConstantlyAdvertise your interestsLook for senior sponsorsGo find a great company and do awesome

work!

QUESTIONS? CONVERSATION?

Wrapping Up

HTTPS: / /WWW.SURVEYMONKEY.COM/S/SVPCAMP

Please take my survey!

If you’d like to contact me

Kyle WarneckProduct Manager, SurveyMonkeyKyleW@SurveyMonkey.com@KyleWarneckhttps://www.vizify.com/kylewarneck