Not all product management is the same
This is important to understand for your career
I hope everyone is doing well and had a great Labor Day weekend! It is hard to believe we are in September. Now that summer is over, I am sure many of you have a sense of urgency to land that first PM role or are thinking about new ways to grow your knowledge. I wanted to share a must-read article that I recently came across.
I’ve mentioned this company before — Reforge is a fantastic resource for growth and product professionals looking to level up. They recently shared this article outlining the different specializations of product management. It is a must read for those passionate about product management and wanting to understand where future opportunities may reside. A few highlights from the article, and some additional thoughts I have that are relevant, are below. Note that Reforge will soon be coming out with an article about how to navigate these specializations throughout your career:
The primary “specialties” of product management are feature-based, growth, scaling and product-market fit expansion.
Product-market fit expansion is a common need at earlier stage startups as well as larger companies who are looking to break into new verticals. I’ve done a bit of this type of work at a previous startup and the work here can be a lot of fun.
Understand what each of these specializations mean and which sound interesting to you. Pursue your career with deliberate action.
It is possible, and frankly likely, that you work (or will work) in multiple areas, especially if you are at a company on the smaller side. Such exposure is invaluable in understanding your strengths, weaknesses and passions.
Recognize that the product role in general, just like all technology products, is constantly evolving. There are future specialties that have yet to be determined but also specialties that are blossoming now (like Machine Learning). Where there is a need to bridge a gap between folks on the business and technical sides, and customers/users of a product, there is a need for a PM. Understanding these emerging specialties can point you in a direction of where to study and gain experience in the hopes of differentiating yourself as a candidate.
If you are interviewing for PM roles, use these specializations as a guide for evaluating the stage a company is at, why they are looking to hire a PM, what you’d really be doing on a daily basis, and the value the hiring manager expects you to bring. You want to set yourself up for happiness and success.