Open Question: What prior job(s) best prepared you for Product Management?
Virtually everyone in Product Management previously held other roles before becoming a Product Manager. It’s that whole “accidental profession” thing.
And while the range of previous jobs held is incredibly diverse, the key questions are:
1. What prior job(s) best prepared you to be a PM?
2. Why?
Leave your answers in the comments section of this post.
My response:
For me, there were two prior jobs that served me best — technical writing, and running my own business.
I’ve met a lot of PMs who were former tech writers. That job really taught me how to communicate with both technical and non-technical people, and the tech writing jobs I had were in small companies, so I really had to understand the entire product I was documenting.
The range of products I documented included programming languages, class libraries, applications and infrastructure. I really learned a lot about the entire software development process in this role.
As a business owner – and it was a really small business to be honest — I learned about selling (via lots of rejection), customer satisfaction, project management and people management. Overall a good complement to the technical skills I got as a tech writer.
So there you have it.
What about you?
Saeed
Related posts:
- Open Question: How did you get your first Product Management or Product Marketing position?
- Open Question: Why doesn’t Engineering report to Product Management?
- Open Question: Product Management Challenges at a Startup
- Open Question: Your current biggest challenge in Product Management/Marketing?
- Open Question: Why did you become a Product Manager?
By far – QA. It instills in you the discipline of thinking like the user. priceless.
Thanks for the comment. I know of 1 PM personally who came out of QA. Aside from the technical background she has great people skills which is critical, and which, not all QA folks have.
I came out of QA!
I won’t hold it against you!
I think it depends on the product you are managing and the company culture you are in. For some companies and products, having a strong technical background will be more valuable. For others, it’s more on having great vision and people skills to push the right ideas to implementation. But overall, I think having a previous role where you are exposed to dealing with issues on each stage of the SDLC will be very valuable.
Magnus,
Not all PM jobs are the same, and there are many aspects to the role from strategic to technical. Definitely understanding product lifecycles is important. Was there one role in your background that you found valuable?
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Great topic, since everyone has a different career path to share on their road to product management. I would also add having experience in project management allows you to have a hand in many aspects of managing teams and influencing people. Experience managing projects also helps with product initiatives and acting as a facilitator. With experience in managing the big picture through project management would be well suited in managing product initiatives and milestones.
Project management is a good skill, but a lot of Product Managers get stuck in project management centric roles. That’s not a great place to be because it focuses on the tactical and omits the strategic and business focus that is so critical to product management success.
For me, it was the time I spent in Customer Support/Application Support. My dept handled all tiers of issues internally. Taught me a great deal about our products, how they fit into our customers’ business, and what we could be doing better. Also learned how to ask questions to help get to the heart of issues.
Many years on the technical side as an electronics developer, then a firmware developer, then a Technical Liaison (interface between engineering and customer). MBA gave me business knowledge and credibility to actually make the move into product management.
Art, that’s a great progression from technical to business. And the blend of all those roles really give a well rounded perspective.
Two jobs in combination: I spent a few years writing code (COBOL, back in the stone age), and then a couple of years in retail/branch bank marketing. The combination meant that I could understand what customers/users were actually trying to accomplish, as well as having some technical chops about what was hard or easy.
When I’m talking with prospective PMs for Silicon Valley tech companies, I almost always lean toward ex-engineers with some market or selling experience. Hard to imagine succeeding as a tech PM without both inputs.
More interesting for me lately… “what post-PM role did your years as a PM prepare you for?” Looks like I’ll be founding CEO of a new start-up here, at least until the investors insert their replacement candidate.
Rich,
The Valley culture puts a premium on tech knowledge, but I honestly don’t think that’s as critical as very good market sense with a decent (not necessarily deep) tech background.
Depends on the product of course, but IMHO, PMs who have a deep understanding of market dynamics and how to define, position and communicate product value can take a good product and make it great.
BTW, congrats on the new gig.
Same here: technical writing, because of the following reasons:
1. I got to learn & understand the products first-hand.
2. I started submitting improvements to UI and workflow, as I was documenting the product, really acting as the voice of customer.
3. I got to listen to customers’ issues, who – quite often – are not actually complaining about the documentation (although it seems like it), but about the product. A good product doesn’t need documentation, right?
4. Finally, you learn to express clear ideas for various audiences. (technical and non-technical)
Marius,
Yeah!…another former tech writer. There’s a lot of us out there.
And I totally agree with your 4 points, particularly #2 and #3.
The comments thus far seem to align with most positions that connect or interact with customers, and often have an external facing role.
When I hire product management, I look for a DNA mixture of business acumen, face-to-face customer interaction experience and a level or technical understanding.
To me, a bright, energetic, articulate and technical savvy Sales Engineer makes an awesome product manager.
Jim
I’ve seen a number of SEs move into Product Management. Some successful, others not. The challenge for the person is to shift from a sales and individual customer mindset, to a market focused and business mindset.
Also, some SCs don’t understand the immense level of politics that PMs have to deal with. It can be a real eye opener and a source of frustration. But if they can deal with that, they can be very successful.
Before being a PM I’ve been an SE mostly, along with stints as a developer and sysadmin. I think the SE role was the most useful preparation because of the sometimes conflicting and sometimes synchronized requirements faced. An SE that’s not good at navigating politics probably faces difficulty in the sales portion of sales engineering. It’s certainly possible to be successful that way, when working with a product that sells itself.
A Product Manager needs to be one that sees the big picture, working in a small business can provide that but it also depends on your background. I came from software development. Once I was exposed to customer support, marketing, sales, pricing, customer surveys, quality management and finding other market opportunities, I could appreciate the big picture. Only then was I ready to step up to Product Management.
John
Having a holistic view of the business and understanding how the different silos must fit and work together is a huge plus for PMs. Being able to rise above and see the big picture is definitely key.
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Nearly the same for me, as a technical documentation translator. Teaches to put yourself in the mind of the user, and tells how to help them reach their goal.
Similarly to the Product Manager, the technical writer or translator is at the crossroads between The Thing and The User, and needs to master the benefits from one, and to understand the needs from the other.
I completely agree. Communication is critical for PM success. I’ve written about that on the blog.
Be an integrator, translator and communicator. Don’t be a terminator.
http://onproductmanagement.net/2007/08/09/how-to-be-a-great-product-manager-part-5/
For me, my LACK of background in technology and business has helped me immensely as a Product Manager. I know that sounds a bit counterintuitive, since the PM role is so heavily invested in both of those functions, but while coming from those disciplines is beneficial in informing decisions, they are create a strong bias.
My background in Psychology helps me build relationships with a wide variety of internal stakeholders, as well as providing me with the tools necessary to extract the REAL requirements from prospects and customers, not just the pain points.
I like to think that I bring the “outsiders” perspective to my Products. I have to ask a lot of questions about technology to make sure that I understand it and how it can solve market and user problems. I ask lots of questions of the business units and exec team so that I can formulate a comprehensive product strategy. I am the proxy for the customer and market because I don’t belong to any single constituency.
Products vary in their need for specific PM skills and those needs can change as the product and/or company matures. The broader your experience, the broader your pool of information is to make decisions about your products.
Ivan Chalif
http://theproductologist.com
Ivan
You may be unique as a technology product manager who has neither a technical nor a business background. How the heck did you get hired for your first PM role?
I’m sure that psychology background helped you there.
What previous job(s) best prepared you for #prodmgmt? http://wp.me/pXBON-1Lo
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Excellent question. I would have to say it’s a combination of jobs that I have had in the past.
My experience in the circus cleaning up after the elephants taught me how to clean up the “stuff” left behind my (lack-of) predecessors who built a product without the benefit of Product Management. The summer I spent cleaning up after the bull on my uncle’s farm, gave me a great B.S. deteector that I can use with Development when I am challenging their estimates.
But seriously, I think having a well rounded background can lead to success as a Product Manager.
Starting out as a Developer helps me to understand the technical challenges (even though the technology has passed me by), moving into a System Analyst and Business Analyst roles within a Development organization further strengthen not only my analytical skills, but my soft skills in being able to listen to customer problems and come up with solutions that help to solve those problems. From there, I made the jump to a Consultant role within a Services organization, further helping me refine my skills working with customers, understanding their pains and defining solutions to solve those issues. It also helped me understand how our product was used, how customers wanted to use it and what their limitations and challenges were. Moving into a Project Management role provided me with the ability to apply those principles to Product Management, especially as it pertains to working with Development and managing the launch process. From there, progressed to a Services Management role, working with Sales to understand how products are sold, what tools the Sales teams really need etc. From there, moving to Product Management was really taking all of the skills that I learned and put them to use as a consolidated package
Let’s see, Developer, System Analyst, Business Analyst, Services Consultant, Project Management, Services Management working with Sales and then into Product Management.
Awesome.
I know a PM who started in Customer Support, moved to Eng, then was an SC, then was in Marketing and Sales and is now a Dir. PM. This was all in one company!
You two may be related.
RT @saeedwkhan What previous job(s) best prepared you for #prodmgmt? http://wp.me/pXBON-1Lo – good discussion going
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Technical Partner Program Manager roles have encompassed not only the development side of working with multiple companies to deliver solutions, but the business side too. Why are we working on this together, and what do we want to come from these efforts? Should we highlight joint solutions at technical conferences, and if so, how?
The skill set is very similar to Product Manager roles, and I felt it was a leap, but only a small leap to go to product management.
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In my experience, I’ve seen a variety of PM career paths. The good news is it seems to be one of those where smart people can make it work regardless of their previous jobs.
That said, there are three that come to mind that I think deserve special mention.
(1) The X-engineer. These guys just have great credibility with the developers and can talk the talk, run a bunch of sql queries, build raw prototypes, and they don’t have the MBA stereotype (though engineers with MBA’s are quite potent PM’s). On the flip side, these folks need to make sure they don’t get type casted as too technical to be strategic.
(2) The x-consultant. So much of PM is about strategy and presentation, it’s hard to argue with the guy who’s done his time at McKinsey, BCG, or Bain. These folks will need to make sure they don’t get type casted as the all talk no action guys.
(3) The x-startup founder. These guys have worn a lot of hats and seen a lot of action. They are great as the mini-CEO of a product. The danger with these guys is they may not be all that great when it comes to integration with other internal products, navigating the politics of orgs, etc.
Tom
I think Tom Leung nailed it. Any raw intelligence tempered by engineering, strategic thinking, presentation and communication ability and a mini-CEO mentality will have what it takes to move through whatever career path their on towards Product Manager.
- Justin
A role in QA would ensure the user focus much amiss in the current s/w development teams.
As a QA you would learn to :
1] Focus on user
2] Prioritize the bugs!
3] Release testing and Communications
all of which are essential for the role of a PM.
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Support Engineer. Having to talk to customers in resolving issues they are facing with the product, gives a deep insight about how a product is perceived and used by consumers. It gives a better understanding actual requirements and differentiates between needs and wants.