Part 2: How to Hack Your Way to a Product Job
As an aspiring product manager, I want to learn some real world examples of how I can gain product experience as a non-PM.
ICYMI, check out Part 1: How to Hack Your Way to a Product Job
Epic: Breaking into Product
Welcome back, product brethren!
Last week, I took you through a framework on how to hack your way to product skills on the job
While theory is nice and all, it means nothing if not tested in the arena of real-world action.
To show I practice what I preach, in this part 2 I walk through the specific details of how I cracked the product experience paradox in my own career.
The focus of this post is to cultivate a skillset in the context of your curent job that can help you land a product job. Secondary to the effort is the under an under the radar skill - political gamesmanship.
When hired for any job, it’s to do a specific set of tasks in support of a specific team that aids the business of the company in a profit-driven way. The gamesmanship of this “Hack” is you find a way to expand your current job, by solving legitimate needs of the company. In attaining buy-in the problem is “legitimate” , & you finesse your current boss to OK the endeavor. I say finesse, as you’re veering away from you current role into the product managerment lane. All things being equalled, most managers do not want this (if you’re any good at your job) as it opens the door for you doing work that does not help them. Hey - incenctives matter!
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