Product Management has a wide range of responsibilities that can depend on the company industry, size of the company, and the expectations of the management team. In this talk, Dan Robinson, Sr. Product Manager at American Express, went over what clues to look for when you're searching for a new product management role. We also discussed the intricacies of how product management roles can differ at companies of 5, 50, and 50,000 employees. Dan talked about what questions to ask during a Product Manager interview, what to look for in responses and how to think about a product role in the greater context of your Product Manager career.

1. How to Find the Right Product Role by
Amex Senior Product Manager
www.productschool.com

2. FREE INVITE
Join 12,000+ Product Managers on
productschool.com/slack-community

3. Product
Management
2-month part-time
Courses

4. Coding
for Managers
2-month part-time
Courses

5. Data Analytics
for Managers
2-month part-time
Courses

6. Include @productschool and #prodmgmt at the
end of your tweet
Tweet to get a free ticket
for our next Event!

7. Dan Robinson
Tonight’s Speaker

8. Finding the Right Product Role
for You
Dan Robinson

9. Briefly: My Product Journey

15. Finding the Right Product Role
for You

16. Finding the Right Product Role for You

17. What Interests You About Product
Management?

18. UX
Tech
Biz
PM

19. No Such Thing As the Perfect Role

20. UX
Tech
Biz

21. ● Gather Data
● Understand Tradeoffs
● Optimize for Best Possible Outcome
● Feedback/Iterate

22. 5 Person Company Experience
Benefits
● Your Hands Touch
Everything
● Wide Breadth of Learning
● Maximum Speed of
Iterations
● Extremely Passionate
Team
● Control Your Own Destiny
Watch Outs
● “Can I Pay Rent?” Stress
● Mind Never Shuts Off
● High highs and Low lows

23. Questions for Yourself
Am I being honest with
myself and family/friends
about the commitment
level?
Do I feel passionate
about the problem I’m
solving and the market
I’m attacking?
Is my financial situation in a
place that I could sustain the
worst case scenario?
Can I do this part-time as
a volunteer to gain
experience?

24. 50 Person Company Experience
Benefits
● Processes exist, without
being too rigid
● Able to learn directly from
executive leaders
● Open to “risk” in new hires
● Quicker decision making
Watch Outs
● Opinions multiply 10x
● Are the business
fundamentals sustainable?
● Less room for internal
movement. Personal
growth tied to company.

25. Questions for Your Interviewer
Is your current business
goal growth or
profitability?
How do your design and
engineering teams
interact?
How does the leadership
team delegate decisions?

26. Questions for Your Interviewer
Is your current business
goal growth or
profitability?
How do your design and
engineering teams
interact?
How does the leadership
team delegate decisions?
Growth: how long ago was
there last raise? Are
they fundraising now?
Profit: is the PM directly
responsible for
revenue or indirect
metrics?

27. Questions for Your Interviewer
Is your current business
goal growth or
profitability?
How do your design and
engineering teams
interact?
How does the leadership
team delegate decisions?
Want to see equal
importance given to
both
Want to hear design
integrated with
engineering
scrum/process

28. Questions for Your Interviewer
Is your current business
goal growth or
profitability?
How do your design and
engineering teams
interact?
How does the leadership
team delegate decisions?
Hoping to hear ownership
of metrics with regular
oversight
Background of CEO will
play into their focus

29. 50,000 Person Company Experience
Benefits
● Deep and Focused
Learning in an Industry
● Greater resources
● Generally clear definition
of Product Ownership
● More Opportunities for
Internal Rotations
Watch Outs
● Less Ability to Change
● Slower Pace
● Corporate Politics

30. Questions for Your Interviewer
What’s the product
decision making process
like?
How are you planning to
measure success for this
role?
How much time will I
spend with tech/design
vs. others?

31. Questions for Your Interviewer
What’s the product
decision making process
like?
How are you planning to
measure success for this
role?
How much time will I
spend with tech/design
vs. others?
Don’t be afraid to give an
example based on the
business.
Stakeholder input:
absolutely. But you’re
looking for
responsibility of
product success.
Learn the interaction
between product and
sales teams.

32. Questions for Your Interviewer
What’s the product
decision making process
like?
How are you planning to
measure success for this
role?
How much time will I
spend with tech/design
vs. others?
You want to hear a
specific product or
business metrics
“Managing a process” will
feel stale quick

33. Questions for Your Interviewer
What’s the product
decision making process
like?
How are you planning to
measure success for this
role?
How much time will I
spend with tech/design
vs. others?
Early in your career is
best to spend with
tech/design
What other departments
will you be working
with?
If marketing/sales, is
ownership clear?

34. Learn wide range of skills in wide range of industries
Focus your skills capable in wide range of industries
Master your industry
Sharpen your skills in narrower industry
Time
Companies
of all sizes

35. Get In Touch
dprobinson22@gmail.com

36. Part-time Product Management Courses in
San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles
and New York
www.productschool.com