How to Become a Product Manager Without Prior Experience
Pivoting into Product Management for the first time can feel like planting a seed in unfamiliar soil—you know it has the potential to grow, but you’re not sure what it needs to thrive. 🌱
Many aspiring Product Managers worry they don’t have the "right" background, but the reality is, the most successful PMs come from diverse career paths. Hell, I started in the film industry, no really…. 👇 Check out these action shots from my time as an audio engineer on a few independent film sets! 🎥
In this profession, we love our metaphors and you’ll often hear the mini-CEO references or orchestra conductor nods, but I’d like to offer another perspective:
“A Product Manager is like a gardener tending to a complex ecosystem—balancing user needs, business goals, and technical feasibility on the surface (and personalities and politics and endless meetings as the underbelly).”
Whether you’re coming from marketing, engineering, or customer success, the key is to highlight transferable skills such as problem-solving, leadership, and strategic thinking.
Until you officially get the title, here’s what I suggest:
Cultivate Your Knowledge.
Learn the fundamentals of Product Management through online courses, books, and industry blogs. Connect this knowledge to what you know, can try, or already do in your current job so that when you’re asked about your experience in interviews, you have solid experience to draw from.
Grow Your Network.
Connect with PMs on LinkedIn, (like me!) join Product communities, and attend industry events. Build your community so that when you have an opportunity to offer your assistance, you have the people infrastructure to get it done. This is also a fabulous communal way of growing your knowledge. I’d also recommend joining our community, which is designed to be a super-safe space to learn and network. Take a peek here.
Polish Your Resume and Interview Skills.
Tailor your resume to highlight skills needed for a Product Manager job, using real-world examples of leadership and problem-solving. And consider working with a Product Management career coach to refine your interview responses and case study techniques. We’d absolutely love to help you get you going in Product. Learn more about how we do it within the SPRINT Group Coaching Program and get the support you need.
