Stefan
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This question hits at leveling of Product Managers. Junior PMs (sometimes called Product Owners) are tasked with the execution of a well defined problem, whereas senior PMs are doing something at a higher level. As you talk to companies out there, pay attention to what you say and how you position yourself. You want to make sure the interviewer / hiring manager / the team & organization you are interviewing with are taking away a couple of key things from the conversations with you.
Here is my short list of things you need to make sure they know of you to recognize you as a senior PM:
- Know about the 3 levels of Product Management: Business spaces, problems within a space, and executions on specific problems. These are the 3 ‘hierarchy levels’ of a Product Manager. The fact that you can articulate these 3 layers will give you a different perception as a PM.
- Know your experience on each of those levels. Just because you have never been a Head of Product, doesn’t mean you haven’t gained experience on that level. Research strategic rationales for products out there, and share your understanding. Also, look at your experiences in product reviews, stakeholder meetings in context of the levels. There was surely a meeting where a enior PM behaved in this way, and you were there. Maybe you responded, or took an AI, or helped meet a stakeholder’s demand. These count.
- Ensure you label your answers with the appropriate level. While understanding the above is key, it is also important to let your interviewer know – within reason – that you are aware which level you are currently answering. Make sure they hear that you are both able and intrested in operating at the next level.
- Find examples on each level that relate to your work as a PM. Understanding your experience in terms of PM skills is needed, and it needs to be backed up with concrete examples. One important thing here is ‘framing’. Framing is the art of positioning something so you optimize a specific takeaway of the audience. A good – and simple – example of framing is when a presenter says: “If you take one thing away from this talk it is …”. It is their way of making sure the audience is interpreting things to maximize the benefit of the talk. Before any interview, craft your examples for each level, and share with your trusted network for feedback.
Each level has specific terms it uses to ensure the value and expertise is communicated. Here are some examples of themes I feel are falling in each bucket, that will help you research and frame your examples as you prepare:
| Junior PM – Execution | Senior PM – Selecting & prioritizing problems | VP of Product / CPO – Select spaces to enable a sustainable business |
|---|---|---|
| – Product excellence | – Finding ‘product market fit’ | – Understanding strategic product landscape |
| – X-functional product management | – Decision making framework | – Understanding competition, and what it takes to win |
| – Product delivery | – Product strategy | – Business strategy, including ‘first principles‘ |
| – Launching & landing a product | – Product discovery VS Product Development | – Understand foundational risks of the product space |
| – Excellence in execution | – Decision making frameworks | – Stakeholder (think VC-level, board level) management |
| – Manage x-functional features | – Manage product teams (aka “the BIG jump“) | – Manage leaders |
| – Motivate by the value of the problem | – Motivate through a good product strategy | – Motivate through a great vision |
| – Influencing product culture x-functionally | – Influence product culture senior stakeholder level | – Influence & set product culture for the organization |
Like much in Product, this isn’t an exact science. Most aspects are always contextual to the business, product, company, team, region you are in. Use this as a guideline, and build your own ‘action plan’ for the upcoming interviews. Look at examples where this is done well, learn, and adjust.
Take Action 🎬
📅 Book a private coaching session with me to grow your PM career. I will share my 15+ years of experience as a Product Manager, all my learning and pitfalls, with actionable tips and concrete lessons to model after.
📚 To learn the foundations of Product Management, I recommend reading INSPIRED by Marty Cagan. Marty has been leading the Silicon Valley Product Group for over two decades. His work is foundational for Tech Product Managers – a must read.
📚 To learn how to start with Why, I recommend Start with Why, by Simon Sinek. Simon is a genius when it comes to articulating the factors which will forever transform how your team thinks about purpose. If you struggle converting your group to a team of doers, instill more motivation, and truly transform the way you work together, this is the book for you.
📚 For iterative product discovery, check out Continuous Discovery Habits, by Teresa Torres. It presents a structured & scalable approach to continuous product discovery which will enable you and your team to act.
📚 To learn about OKRs and goal setting, I recommend Measure What Matters, by John Doerr. It really builds the foundation for understanding OKRs as a central planning tool, how it is implemented within and organization, and how it sits alongside other planning processes such ass performance management.
📚 I found it helpful to read the book Who, which explains the hiring process and teaches you how to think about the other person at the table. It helps ‘reverse engineer’ the process and come up with better questiosn, better information, and ultimately, a better job / manager.
📚 The book How to Talk to Anyone helped me build trust with individuals quickly when I needed to. It is a bit of a ‘guide to sure fire icebreakers’, applicable in any situation. Trust is the number one path to more objective information, especially so when the odds are stacked against you.
