Since becoming a pm, a lot of people have reached out to me for advise on landing their first pm job. I took those first few calls with excitement and vigor, but can’t help but notice myself ignoring more people and spending less time helping. So in this post, I will share with you what I shared with a variety of friends, friends of friends, fellow startup founders, colleagues, fellow alum, and more. These are my tips for landing your first PM job.
Consider your point of entry
There is no one way into PM, but here are the most common. Think about which applies to you best.
Start a startup and get acquired
This is probably the most exciting (and hardest) way to land a PM job. You will almost certainly get leveled highly and it’s a great way to vest into any payout structure created during acquisition.
Start a startup and don’t get acquired
This is the more likely of the two on ramps for startup founders. Imo it’s not discussed enough as potential outcomes and reasons for starting a startup. In this scenario, you started your own thing, maybe raised some capital and hired some people. Ideally you built a product, built some traction, and scaled. But for whatever reason, it didn’t work out.
Transfer from an adjacent role
If you are a software engineer, data scientist, or anyone technical, you are likely a good candidate to switch. Depending on the company, even non-technical people can land jobs so UX researchers, designers, and customer support will also be a good fit.
Associate PM
This is the option for undergrads. Not all companies have associate PM programs, but the ones that exist are competitive. CS majors from top universities with good grades and strong internship experience tend to land these. If you are one of the lucky few, you’ll have good company.
MBA
MBAs get mixed reactions- usually based on whether or not you have one. Regardless, it’s a proven way to land a mid level pm role. Amazon is probably most famous for hiring business school PMs.
Apply with a recommendation
When crafting your resume, consider yourself the product. What are the metrics you hold yourself accountable to? What specific milestones in your career did you hit and how did one unlock the next? No one format is the best. A good friend has a template that’s been downloaded over a million times. At the same time, I broke every rule in resume 101 and did just fine so learn the rules, then break them, if you so please.
Do not simply submit your resume. Get someone inside the company to refer you. Recruiters receive A TON of resumes and it’s incredibly hard to stand out enough to even get a call or message back. This will help you cut through the noise. If you don’t know anyone who works at the company, find someone on a social network (I suggest blind). So long as you can build a connection, people are generally helpful with referrals. It doesn’t hurt that companies often pay thousands to the employee who referred someone who then took the job.
Prepare for interviews
You applied and received good news — they want to schedule an interview with you. Now it’s time to prepare for interviews.
The PM interview is one of the more peculiar types of interviews out there. They might not even ask you about why you want the job or why you would be a good fit. Instead, you will likely be tested on your ability to think in a creative, yet structured way. Each company is a little bit different, so rather than listing the subtleties of each, I suggest reading this book. (Decode and conquor affiliate link)
Once you have a general feel for how to respond to a question, practice with mock interviews. I suggest doing at least 10, but don’t over do it. Otherwise, you will become too regimented. If you have someone you can mock with, that is best. If not, practice answering questions from start to finish in a mirror or on a walk. This will help you refine your structure and build flow in your response.
Watching PMs answer interview questions also helps. Exponent.io publishes free mocks on YouTube. I watched them when preparing and it helped me immensely.
Day of interview
It is the day of your interview. You are prepared and nervous. At this point, make sure you are well rested, a coffee is in reach, and you go into the interview with a smile. Most people who apply don’t even make it this far. And since you have, you know the company is invested in you. Enjoy the moment and be uniquely you.
Follow up with a thank you note to each interviewer. Most companies don’t let interviewers respond and you may not have their email, but tell your recruiter that you wrote thank you notes and that they can share them if they’d like.
Cross your fingers!
You prepared, delivered your pitch, and followed up. Now it’s time to relax and be patient while you wait for the result. Your chance to convince them to hire you was during the interview so IMO no amount of follow up will help your case. There might be hundreds of people who applied for this job so put yourself in the seat of the recruiter. Remain calm and friendly. After all, you might not get this job, but when the next opens up, you could be the recruiters first call. Keep them on your side.
Let’s wrap this up
This is what I would tell you if you reached out to me asking me for advice on how to land your first PM job. First, consider which entry point fits you best. Then, apply through a company referral. Use a resource such as Cracking the coding interview to prepare for your interview and practice mock interviews. Remain calm, friendly, and be yourself in interviews. Follow up on the day of interviews. Do this repeatedly and you will eventually land your first job in PM.
What is not covered
Landing the job is just the first step. What about negotiating your salary, team matching, and preparing for your first day? What about progressing in your career, switching roles, and transitioning into management? If you enjoyed this post and want to read more, follow me on twitter