Embarking on a journey from engineering to product management can be a transformative experience. Let's delve into the story of how an engineering background paved the way to product management, and the invaluable lessons learned along this unique path.
Background
studied Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at Tel Aviv University
- After graduation, accepted an offer to become a full time employee (FTE) at Microsoft
- During his 3 years as an FTE, he learned how to write production code, monitor and resolve live-site issues, learned multiple programming languages and frameworks, how to find creative ideas to solve complex problems and how to educate myself on subjects I’m not familiar with
Key capabilities of a Product Manager
Focus on the what, not the how: have an answer to why are we doing this feature, what is this feature about, what problem does it solve?
- Lead with empathy: truly listen to your co-workers, be fully present in conversations and try not to judge
- Creativity, innovation and thought leadership: think ahead to solve both current and future customer problems
- Make time to educate yourself: learn about the product competitors, review customer feedback, etc.
- Ability to juggle between detail oriented and a visionary
- Master prioritization and feature slicing: always have a clear definition of the MVP of your feature and what capabilities are nice to have and can wait
Getting the PM itch
Became more proactive in asking the *** in her team questions and giving feedback on features
- Define product roadmap based on customer feedback and competitors
- Have a direct connection with our customers
- Focus on people
- The biggest problem in product management was that this is not an entry level position
How to land your first PM role?
A successful next step in your career must not exceed 2 parallel pivots
- Talk about what you want with your peers and managers
- Good employees are hard to find, but they will try to find you a role within the company to preserve you as a valuable employee
