Product for Product Management EP 132 - Hacking Your PM Job Search with Marcus Polini
Jun 25, 2025
52:19
In this episode we welcome Marcus Polini to share the story behind his recent job search in product leadership, and the practical tools, frameworks, and mindsets that helped him land his next big role.
Marcus’s journey, like almost every product person we talked with, is anything but linear. From his roots in geomatics engineering and a hackathon win that led to founding CityConnect, to the hard lessons of startup failure, Marcus’s path has been shaped by persistence and a passion for building. After applying to 60 front-end engineering jobs, he pivoted into project management and quickly found his calling in product, bridging his entrepreneurial appetite with a growing interest in healthcare and technology.
Before entering the job market, Marcus headed Product at Medstack, which was acquired and his position was cut during the merger. This was an opportunity for him to explore what he loves doing and where he sees himself in his future career path. His path to his current position, as Head of Product, Platform at Dispatch Integration, inspired us to talk with him on the show about the process and tools he applied.
Join Matt and Moshe as we dive deep into Marcus’s most recent job search, exploring:
Note: any views mentioned in the podcast are the sole views of our hosts and guests, and do not represent the products mentioned in any way.
Please leave us a review and feedback ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Marcus’s journey, like almost every product person we talked with, is anything but linear. From his roots in geomatics engineering and a hackathon win that led to founding CityConnect, to the hard lessons of startup failure, Marcus’s path has been shaped by persistence and a passion for building. After applying to 60 front-end engineering jobs, he pivoted into project management and quickly found his calling in product, bridging his entrepreneurial appetite with a growing interest in healthcare and technology.
Before entering the job market, Marcus headed Product at Medstack, which was acquired and his position was cut during the merger. This was an opportunity for him to explore what he loves doing and where he sees himself in his future career path. His path to his current position, as Head of Product, Platform at Dispatch Integration, inspired us to talk with him on the show about the process and tools he applied.
Join Matt and Moshe as we dive deep into Marcus’s most recent job search, exploring:
- How he used the Phyl Terry’s “Never Search Alone” process to set up a Job Search Council who helped him move through the search
- The frameworks he used to narrow down his values, passions, and motivating forces
- How he planned his career path as a product, complete with KPIs for personal outcomes
- The tactical tools that made a difference
- Using consulting as a path to a full-time product leadership role at Dispatch Integration
- The critical role of community and mentorship throughout the process
- The impact of AI on the modern job search
- How to use AI thoughtfully to enhance, not replace, your authenticity in the job search
- His favorite AI tools and how he uses them
- And so much more!
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpolini/
- Article and template used for the process: https://open.substack.com/pub/productbymarcus/p/the-compass-i-didnt-know-i-needed
- Product for Product Podcast - linkedin.com/company/product-for-product-podcast
- Matt Green - linkedin.com/in/mattgreenproduct/
- Moshe Mikanovsky - linkedin.com/in/mikanovsky/
Note: any views mentioned in the podcast are the sole views of our hosts and guests, and do not represent the products mentioned in any way.
Please leave us a review and feedback ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️