I often get asked for advice about transitioning into product roles within a company.
Some thoughts:
1) I’ve seen successful Product Manager (PM) transitions from the following roles (ranked roughly by observed volume): product marketing, business operations, data science, product ops, design, engineering, program management, and member support. Some of the very best PMs I’ve worked with specifically have some other ‘non-PM’ background that makes them amazing.
2) Most successful transitions to PM take place when the person already works cross-functionally as part of a great team(s) with a very strong PM in the mix – so seek those scenarios out. Make sure the team focuses on user empathy and understanding. Bonus points when you can see a team is also growing/could grow.
3) Once you’re embedded in or near a team that you’re excited about, look for ways where small extensions of your work allow you to take on (a little) more. All cross-functional product teams have more ambiguous problems to assess, understand, and build against than they can address. This creates opportunity. Some examples: Leading a project, or digging deep into data to understand a user problem better that no one has time to understand at that level.
4) Find and develop a rapport with a product sponsor and don’t confuse a mentor or someone who will ‘grab a coffee with you’ with a true sponsor. It’s important to say you are interested in exploring a transition into PM roles so they know and can help with opportunities, advice, interview prep, etc. But note, a sponsor goes way beyond coffee and would be willing to put their own reputation on the line on your behalf—either hiring you directly into a PM role or forcefully advocating that you should be hired by someone else.
5) Sometimes a PM opportunity comes up outside your company and you may be tempted to take it to speed up your transition. I’ve seen people do this successfully but it can be risky. A new company, a new set of problems to solve, AND transitioning into a new role is a lot all at once. You’d also want to be very sure the product practitioners and support system you’d be working with at new company X are amazing. If you are already at a good product-focused company and can transition there before shifting to a new company, it often presents a more gradual and safer learning curve. Your first role in a PM transition can be key for career momentum.
6) View whatever you bring from your previous non-PM role as your real superpower. Lean into it. A PM who used to be a product marketer has unique skills to use as a PM. I’ve seen this visibly and repeatedly. Similarly, if you worked as a data scientist, you’ve got serious skills that can really help you separate from other PMs. The point is ANY of what you bring from ‘before-PM’ is a difference maker. Figure out ways to use it creatively.
Thoughts? Think I missed anything? Let me know.
If this helped you think more clearly about leading teams or products, I write here once a week.
Subscribe here.
Really great writeup! I wish I read this before I did my transition from PMM to PM at FB! But thank you for your advice and guidance! I am sharing this with friends and colleagues who are trying to move into PM.