A product manager’s job is something that I have had trouble grasping as I have done research to decide if shifting from software engineering to product management would be right for me. Product management requires strong communication, interpersonal, and conflict resolution skills. A PM must be somewhat technical in order to gain respect from engineers and understand the overall product.
One aspect of a product manager that I learned a lot about in this chapter was that product managers are not the people who like to go solve the problems themselves. In PM, it is important to be able to delegate work, but also pick up any loose ends that are not picked up by others. For that reason, it is crucial that the PM understands all aspects of the product, including design. The PM must be passionate about the product and care deeply about the success of the product. The PM must also trust the team and their ability to create the product vision.
Overall, the job of a PM changes from company to company and even role to role within that company. A PM must be flexible, perceptive, and understanding; the PM must be willing to hear and understand the perspectives of team members, customers, and managers. The PM should be able to constructively handle criticism in a way that supports the product and the product team. Ultimately, the success of a product is not only dependent on the PM, but more so the entire team. If a PM cannot get a team to work cohesively, the product will likely fall short.
Question: Since the job of a PM is so ambiguous in day-to-day tasks, larger responsibilities, and job description across companies, what are skills that are important across most PM jobs? How would someone generally prepare for PM interviews versus comparing for specific companies? Or is it so specific that it is important you have the context of the company when preparing for interviews?
