How to become a Product Manager (... and land your first job)
The Information Technology industry remains one of the top five paying industries today, with Product Managers amongst the highest paid in the technology industry.
Product managers, on average, earn $100,000 in the US and N6.9m in Nigeria yearly.
Although there has been massive job loss amongst many tech professionals in the past few months, thousands of companies are still hiring Product Managers.
Needless to say, if you are interested in becoming a professional in tech and are curious about being a product manager, now is the time to take action. Start gaining the necessary skills and be market ready.
Before we learn how to become a product manager, let’s learn a little about what a product manager does.
What is a Product Manager?
The Product Manager is a professional responsible for overseeing the development of a product while ensuring that it meets the target customer’s demands and achieves business goals.
Responsibilities of a Product Manager
The role of a product manager differs across companies, however, in general, the product manager is responsible for:
Setting the product vision and strategy
Gathering and documenting product requirements
Creating product roadmaps
Setting product priorities
Collaborating cross-functionally to achieve product success
Managing product development
Continuously improving the product to ensure relevancy and competitiveness in the market.
How to Become a Product Manager
Here are some steps to help you go from “What does a product manager do?” to “Hey, I just received my first salary”.
1. Learn the basics
Product management requires a diverse skill set, including market research, product strategy, user experience design, and project management. There are many books, courses, and bootcamps available that can help you learn the fundamentals of product management. Check out online courses on Coursera, and Udemy or register for in-person training at Utiva or Productdive (for readers in Nigeria).
2. Gain hands-on experience
The best way to learn product management is to gain hands-on experience. This can include working on side projects, volunteering with nonprofit organisations, or taking on additional responsibilities within your current job. Building and launching your product is also a great way to gain experience and demonstrate your skills to potential employers.
If you are already working in a technology company, create a plan to pivot to a product management role. Let your manager know you are interested in pivoting to a new career in a few months. Then, work out a plan with a manager within the product department to take on additional responsibilities for the product role as you prepare to pivot. Joining 1 or 2 meetings during the week would also help.
If you are not working in a technology company, you can collaborate with other tech professionals to solve an existing or hypothetical problem or do it yourself.
You will require product management tools, including project management software (e.g. JIRA, Asana), wireframing and prototyping software (e.g., Sketch, Figma), website creation (e.g. Vzy, Cardd) and analytics software (e.g., Google Analytics). These tools are free for basic use. Familiarising yourself with these tools can help you be more effective as a product manager.
3. Create a portfolio
Having gained some hands-on experience, creating a portfolio to showcase your work is a good idea. A portfolio helps you to demonstrate your unique style and skills you have developed. You may use Google Docs to create a portfolio or utilise fancy tools such as Vzy, Cardd, Webflow, etc., to create a portfolio website. Examples of portfolios are Dan Shetty and Mark Progano.
Focus your portfolio on discussing your project in detail and provide summary information in your resume.
4. Seek mentorship
Product management can be challenging, so seeking mentorship and feedback from experienced product managers is important. This can help you develop your skills, navigate challenging situations, get feedback on your products and grow your career.
You can seek out mentorship from colleagues, attend networking events, or join online communities for product managers. ADPlist is a great mentorship tool that enables you to learn from the best mentors for FREE. (P.S.: Engaging with one of my mentors on ADPlist helped me land a job).
5. Creating a compelling CV
Now that you have gained some hands-on experience, it is time to create a compelling CV.
As a product manager, your CV is your chance to showcase your skills, experience, and achievements to potential employers. Here are some tips for creating a strong CV for product managers:
Start with a summary or objective statement that highlights your experience and skills. This should be a brief, one-sentence statement that captures your value proposition as a product manager.
Focus on your experience and achievements in product management. Highlight your expertise in product strategy, product development, market research, and customer insights. Use bullet points to list your accomplishments in each role, emphasising the outcomes you achieved and your impact on the product and the company.
Include relevant technical skills and tools. As a product manager, you will work closely with engineering teams and other technical stakeholders. Therefore, it's important to highlight your technical skills and proficiency in tools such as JIRA, Asana, Sketch, Figma, and Google Analytics.
Showcase your communication and collaboration skills. Product management is a highly collaborative role, so highlight your experience working with cross-functional teams, managing stakeholders, and presenting to executives. Include any examples of successful collaboration or conflict resolution in your CV.
Tailor your CV to the job you're applying for. Use keywords and phrases from the job description to tailor your CV to the job you're applying for. This will help ensure that your CV gets past applicant tracking systems and is seen by human recruiters.
Having gone through the steps above, you can take on a paid role as a product manager.
In some cases, it may be a good idea to randomly reach out to startup founders (with less than 20 employers) to request to join the team as a product manager. However, you will generally be required to send your CV when applying to larger companies.
If your CV looks good, you will be invited for an interview. Depending on the organisation, it could take 2 to 3 interviews to be offered a job.
Becoming a product manager could take 3 - 6 months, but it is very rewarding and could lead to career and financial success.
When you are ready, I can help in 2 ways:
Join a free online community of aspiring and junior PMs. Ask a question and get access to curated resources. Join here.
Transition to Product Management: Get 1-1 mentorship specifically for professionals with at least 3 years of experience transitioning to product management. It will be held weekly for 4-6 weeks. Offer includes:
Well-curated course materials
Personal project support & review
CV writing
Mock interviews
Exclusive job opportunity matching (2 interviews)
Bonus: strategic path to get the UK Global Talent visa (if you want to migrate to the UK).
Cost: $1500 (₦1.2m)
Book a free session here to learn more.