Get in the head of a Hiring Manager (1/3 part series)

What happened this week?

As I continue to recruit PMs in my team, I’m still struggling to find the ‘right’ PM to complement my current team’s skillset. I’ve interviewed 100+ PMs in my career and I’ve noticed some patterns on things they missed or simply overlooked.
As I started to draft it, I realized that it would take more than one email to cover everything I wanted to share with you.

So this is the first of a three-part series: Today, I will focus on what hiring managers are looking for (including myself) but really from their angles…

Understanding how to present yourself to demonstrate a ‘PM-Company fit’ can be confusing due to the role's vague definition. e.g. an API PM, a workflow PM or a platform PM are quite different (to some extent), but I wanted to provide some behind-the-scenes insights on the hiring manager mindset, interview process, testing specific skills, and how to increase your offer acceptance rates.

What’s in there?

1. Understand “Get to a NO as fast as possible”

2. ‘Big 5’ skills all hiring managers are after

3. Four red flags to watch out for

4. Tactical Summary Card to keep (like always 😋 )

1. Get to a NO as fast as possible!

In the current economic climate, job seekers are facing challenges, and Product Managers are no exception. Let me share some numbers.
Last year in a ‘hot’ market, I probably about 100 candidates per PM job posting.

Today, I receive 3X about 300 candidates per posting. As of September 2023, I got in my recruitment app inbox 603 potential resumes for 3 product manager jobs…

Needless to say, the 10-second rule per resume is a real thing. You've got 10 seconds! Many hiring managers, including myself, should expedite the 'NO' decision in candidate screening for efficiency reasons.

Your resume should be straight to the point with no fluff.

Why do we do that?

• ⏳ Expedite the rejection process to save time and resources

• 🤝 Enhance the candidate experience. It’s respectful to be honest.

• 🔄 Maintain a dynamic recruitment process to find the best PM faster

2. The ‘Big 5’ skills we’re all looking for

Let’s go from the most to the least obvious.

a. Problem-solving in an ambiguous environment

Problem-solving ability is highly valued by product leaders when hiring product managers due to the complex nature of the role, which demands creative solutions to unexpected challenges.

What hiring managers look for during interviews?

• 🤔 How you pick the problem you decide to solve? Show clear frameworks

• 🚫 Avoid using tricky riddles during interviews. Just answer with simple words

• 💬 Engage in creative thinking and problem-solving during case study phase = ALWAYS ASK questions

b. Great communication skills

After chatting with 11 PM leaders and PM friends, it's clear that pretty much every single one of them emphasizes how crucial communication is for a Product Manager.

Even if a PM candidate has all the other qualifications – a solid product management background, the right industry experience, and technical know-how – their success depends on how well they can talk to different teams and drive product execution within the company.
So, when you're interviewing, make sure you put communication skills at the top of your checklist!

What to do when interviewing?

• 📢 Prioritize communication skills above almost everything in your interview

• 🌐 Prove that you can effectively talk at multiple levels:

  • Speak the designer UX jargon, developer jargon, executives languages and many more…

• 💬 If high-level stakeholders are in the room, answer their question FIRST and explain SECOND 

c. Empathy

From my own experiences, I've noticed that product leaders frequently value empathy in a product manager. This means a PM's capacity to genuinely understand the needs things from the customer's perspective and develop products that align with their needs, desires, concerns, and other motivations, rather than pushing a solution that the customer isn't requesting.

What to demonstrate during interviews?

• 👥 Show how you uncovered hidden user needs via user research.

• 🤔 Focus on the user flow with emotions and feelings, so less about the workflow.

• 📝 Explain how your feature helps overcome this emotion/feeling

d. Leadership

Leadership is just essential for product managers who lead cross-functional teams without organizational authority. PMs need strong leadership skills to rally various teams and stakeholders towards the North Star Goal.

What to demonstrate during interviews?

• 🌟 Explain a situation where you led cross-functional teams effectively.

• 🤝 Describe a relationship and trust building among teams.

• 🚀 Talk about common goals and the product's success.

• 🗣️ Communicate how you help remove ambiguity in the situation.

e. Comfortable with failure

Really? Yep.

PMs must develop a long-term perspective because they understand that any product launch will stumble for various reasons.

In my discussions with my peers, a PM who doesn't crumble when faced with initial product setbacks, is a rare gem.