How to land your next PM role without working more, from Google PM turned Career Coach Shobhit Chugh
Oct 23, 2024
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Shobhit Chugh, a former Google PM and career coach for product managers, shares his insights on landing PM roles without overworking. He discusses the vital mindset shifts needed for career growth and how to master various skills to stand out in the job market. Shobhit emphasizes the power of effective communication, the importance of understanding one's responsibilities, and innovative strategies for resume crafting and interviews. Tune in for tips on negotiating salaries and building a personal brand that resonates across career levels.
Product managers must develop a unique 'angle of mastery' to differentiate themselves and enhance their marketability in career advancement.
Transitioning from a task-oriented mindset to a leadership approach requires prioritizing high-impact goals and reducing overwhelming responsibilities.
Building strong relationships and advocates within the workplace is essential for product managers to gain visibility and influence for career growth.
Deep dives
The Importance of Reputation in Product Management
Product managers often mistakenly prioritize making everyone around them happy, which can undermine their message and effectiveness. Building a strong personal reputation is crucial, as decisions about one's career are often made in their absence. To counter this, product managers should cultivate advocates who can vouch for their work quality, showcasing their contributions to others. Ultimately, establishing a commanding presence in communication can help convey confidence, even when uncertainties exist.
Mastering the Angle of Mastery
Product managers can significantly enhance their careers by identifying and developing a niche, or 'angle of mastery', that differentiates them in the job market. This could involve specializing in a specific type of product stage, application of technology, or domain expertise. By narrowing their focus, particularly later in their careers, they can improve their appeal to potential employers. Additionally, the more defined and successful this angle is demonstrated to be, the more competitive a product manager becomes.
Transitioning from Good Soldier to Strategic Leader
Many product managers struggle to evolve from executing tasks to leading initiatives, often acting as 'good soldiers' who follow orders rather than taking charge of the direction of projects. A pivotal moment occurs when a product manager learns to focus on a select few high-impact areas rather than trying to solve every issue. By narrowing their scope, they can rally teams around key objectives and drive significant progress. Recognizing the limits of what one can handle is crucial for leadership growth and effectiveness.
Developing Visibility and Indispensability
To transform from being invisible to becoming indispensable within a company, product managers need to build strong relationships and garner visibility for their contributions. This involves actively creating advocates who can endorse their work and ensuring they are aligned with the key priorities of the organization. A strategy that mirrors the 'career flywheel' concept promotes continuous development and proactive engagement. As product managers gain visibility through successfully taking on high-impact projects, this momentum will further enhance their opportunities for advancement.
The Art of Letting Go
One of the most underrated mindset shifts for product managers is the ability to let go of the need to please everyone. Striving for universal approval can dilute their effectiveness and clarity in decision-making. Instead, embracing the fact that short-term dissatisfaction can lead to long-term success allows product managers to prioritize their roadmaps effectively. By focusing on what is essential and courageous during challenging discussions, they can maintain clarity and vision within their teams.
Ownership and the Role of Influence
Extreme ownership in product management is about recognizing what areas one can influence while managing expectations concerning one's capacity to act. By creating circles of concern, control, and influence, product managers can better navigate their responsibilities without feeling overwhelmed. It's important to focus on building relationships that foster advocacy while also addressing core problems efficiently. Understanding that one's influence can expand through consistent delivery of value is key to long-term success.
As a product manager you need to communicate value clearly. The value of your products and the value you bring in.
In today's episode, we're going to cover mindset shifts, career growth and product management, and Shobhit's take on leadership and ownership in product management.
Shobhit started his career in technology in 2002. He worked at McKinsey and spent four years as a PM at Google. Now he runs the Intentional Product Manager and has coached over 1,000 PMs.
In this episode, we discuss:
Angles of mastery that will help you stand out in job market | 2:17
Mindset shifts for career success | 13:14
Shobhit’s way of fast-tracking PMs to leadership roles | 30:01
How to build influence across career levels | 45:23
Thoughts on navigating failures and rebuilding trust | 52:43
On getting a PM job, resume mistakes and certifications | 56:49
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