Best Resources To Kickstart Your Product Management Journey

How to start your journey of breaking into product management without getting overwhelmed

Googling "how to break into product management" yields 893,000,000 results with a lot of sponsored content, which can be daunting.

With so much information available online, it can be overwhelming to know which resources to trust and which to avoid. However, there are several resources that have been proven to be helpful.

A few years ago, I was in the same situation, so I understand it's not a great place to be in. Let me help you cut through the clutter.

If you are considering a career in product management, or if you are struggling to get PM interviews for internships or full-time positions, this newsletter is for you.

Shreyas Doshi @shreyas

Product Management—in 1 tweet. Role: Define the product & coordinate actions across the org to enable its success Success: User adoption Business impact Skills: Common sense Immense empathy Influential communication Traits: Low ego Deep care High agency Simple, but not easy.

As you start to walk to the way the way appears - Rumi

I will share my experience with using the resources and explain why I believe they can be valuable for anyone looking to start a career in product management.

By the end of this newsletter, you should have a clearer idea of which resources to use and how to make the most of them.

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1. [Book] Cracking the PM Interview

   1. Cliches are cliches for a reason

   2. This is the first book I read when I wanted to break in

   3. Besides covering PM interview questions, it outlines what a role product manager is and how different companies value different skills in their PMs.

      1. Eg. Google usually wants their PMs to be technical while Amazon places more emphasis on having business chops

      2. Knowing that companies value different skills in their PMs can help you focus on your strengths and consider where you can provide the most value.

2. [Article] How To Get Into Product Management (And Thrive) by Lenny

   1. Hands down of the best articles on breaking to product management

   2. Focuses on few common paths for breaking in

   3. Also talks about developing core competencies that you will need as a PM to be successful

      How To Get Into Product Management (And Thrive) ✨

3. [YouTube Video] The art of PM by Sachin Rekhi

   • You’ll learn about the role of product managers in driving the vision, strategy, design, and execution of their products.

4. [YouTube Channel] PM Diego Granados Youtube Channel -

   • Diego provides a wealth of value, from videos that cover how to showcase relevant work experience on your resume to mock interview questions.

5. [YouTube Channel] Exponent Mock PM interview questions -

   • Some great mock interviews with real product managers

6. [Case studies] Stellar Peers: Case Studies

   • Some helpful case studies on product design and metric questions

7. [Case studies] UX Design case studies

   • One of my favourite resources on understanding product design and user psychology behind building great products and experiences.

8. [Book] Design of Everyday things by Don Norman

   • The book explores the design principles and psychology behind everyday objects

   • It is emphasises that good design should prioritize the needs and abilities of users. Poorly designed objects can cause frustration and confusion

   • Reading the book will help you better understand the products around you and prepare you for product design interview questions.

9. Slack communities

   • Product communities are a great way to meet like minded people, network, learn and come across interesting job opportunities.

   • I remember getting my first PM break by networking with a founder on the Product School Slack community.

   • List of some communities:

     1) Product School 

     2) Product Buds 

     3) Mind the Product 

     4) Lewis Linn's Interview community 

     5) Lenny's Slack community (Paid) 

10. [Article] Google Resume XYZ formula

    • A great way to think about writing your resume to showcase impact.

11. Looking for PM roles: Linkedin, APMlist, Angellist, Indeed, Builtin are some sites I relied on the most.

Last but not the least:

Talk to as many PMs as you can, you’ll always learn something new

This should be more than enough for you to:

1. Understand what the role of a PM entails.

2. Learn how to tailor your resume to showcase relevant experience

3. Familiarize yourself with different types of PM interview questions and approaches for answering them

4. Find open PM positions and begin the interview process.

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Bonus for curious souls:

1. Overwhelmed with PM resources? Here's one more?

2. Books:

   1. Inspired by Marty Cagan

   2. Swipe to Unlock

3. Newsletters:

   1. Lenny’s newsletter

   2. First 1000

   3. Chartr

4. Podcasts:

   1. Lenny’s Podcast

   2. F1APM Podcast (Shameless Plug)

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Thank you for reading. I hope you found some valuable resources that will help kickstart your PM journey with more confidence.

See you in the next edition of F1APM Newsletter!

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