LinkedIn’s product evolution and the art of building complex systems | Hari Srinivasan (LinkedIn)
Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career
Intro
This chapter explores the effects of COVID-19 on employment and the gap between job seekers and opportunities. It introduces the 'skills versus hiring' initiative and discusses LinkedIn's evolution in enhancing its service to diverse hiring needs.
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Hari Srinivasan is VP of Product at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, where he oversees LinkedIn Recruiter, LinkedIn Jobs, and LinkedIn Learning. He’s also a frequent guest lecturer at Stanford University. Previously, he served as the CEO and founder of We Created It, which was acquired by LinkedIn in 2014. Hari has a passion for building products, with experience ranging from creating the first U.S. hybrid SUV to developing a No. 1 app and writing a beloved children’s book. In today’s episode, we discuss:
• LinkedIn’s unique business model and org structure
• How to optimize your LinkedIn experience and improve your chances of getting a PM role
• How to adapt to a skills-first talent market
• The story of Hari’s failed first product review, and how he pivoted for success
• Strategies for building and maintaining complex systems
• How to get into product management
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Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/linkedins-product-evolution-and-the
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Where to find Hari Srinivasan:
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hsrinivasan1/
• Website: https://www.mindofhari.com/
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Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
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In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Hari’s background
(05:04) How Twitter brought Lenny and Hari together
(06:32) LinkedIn’s positive evolution, and what they did right
(10:14) Specific changes that made LinkedIn’s feed more interesting
(11:12) Understanding the algorithm and what kinds of content perform best
(12:21) The talent solution product
(15:46) The shift to skills-first hiring, and how LinkedIn changed their approach
(20:24) The open-to-work signal, and the newly released open-to-internal-work signal
(22:13) The PM talent landscape, and tips for landing a PM role
(24:55) How to optimize your LinkedIn profile to get noticed by recruiters
(28:38) Hari’s first product review at LinkedIn
(30:38) LinkedIn’s North Star, and how to operationalize the North Star at any company
(33:24) LinkedIn’s members-first value
(35:32) Building and maintaining complex systems
(38:09) The RAPID framework and the Five-Day Alignment framework
(39:51) What LinkedIn looks for in new hires
(40:51) The latest innovations at LinkedIn
(43:16) LinkedIn Learning
(45:00) Hari’s product management course
(48:19) Advice for people hoping to get into product management
(50:40) How to level up your PM skills
(51:57) Hari’s creative side projects
(55:02) Lightning round
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Referenced:
• Tweet from TheCuriousPM: https://twitter.com/zatin_jatin/status/1658616200560254978?s=20
• The Curious PM on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zatin_jatin
• Decision-making at LinkedIn: https://engineering.linkedin.com/blog/2018/03/scaling-decision-making-across-teams-within-linkedin-engineering
• LinkedIn Learning: https://www.linkedin.com/learning
• Thinking in Systems: https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Systems-Donella-H-Meadows/dp/1603580557
• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow: https://www.amazon.com/Tomorrow-novel-Gabrielle-Zevin/dp/0593321200
• An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us: https://www.amazon.com/Immense-World-Animal-Senses-Reveal/dp/0593133234
• Star Wars on Disney+: https://www.disneyplus.com/brand/star-wars
• Case 63 on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4c9ZKaFtEKweSYOlYvxfvp
• E.T. on Tubi: https://tubitv.com/movies/607451/e-t-the-extra-terrestrial
• BriteBrush: https://www.amazon.com/BriteBrush-Interactive-Smart-Toothbrush-featuring/dp/B07VLL8QH4
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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.
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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe
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