How to Transition from Sales and Marketing to Product Management

What was your Background Prior to Product Management? Why were you Interested in Product Management?

I actually don’t come from a traditional background; I come from more of a sales and marketing background. I think that first deterred me since I always assumed that product managers had to have specifically an engineering background. I was a bit deterred since I don’t know how to code, and that is what stopped me from even thinking about being a product manager. As I talked to more and more people, I realized that in a lot of roles, you do a lot of product manager responsibilities that aren’t necessarily classified as product management. I found that when I was talking to a lot of my friends and looking at the skill set that I had and what I enjoyed about work, I felt that product management was in line with my background and interest.

After Joining Product Gym, When did you Start Interviewing for Roles? How many Interviews were you Averaging a Week?

I was able to schedule interviews in December 2020, but a lot of my interviews came in January 2021 because I think the in last two weeks of December, a lot of people are out of office or were on vacation in general. I took that month to actually study the Product Gym materials. Product Gym has an extensive list of interview questions, and I filled out every single one in a couple of days. I think that prepared me a lot of the interview rounds. By January 2021, I was doing about 16 interviews a week after three weeks of applying.

What was the Game Changer that Product Gym was Able to Offer you Versus Doing this Process on your Own?

I think that there needs to be a lot of clarity in the interview process, and I feel that is something you can’t figure out on your own. You kind of need guidance from people that have already done it and been through that process. For example, Rich was a former recruiter and knows what types of questions recruiters ask and what they’re looking for. Product Gym has a lot of instructors that come from different industries that are product managers as well, so I think that definitely helped provide clarity around the interview process. Also, being able to ask other members of Product Gym questions was important as well.