How to transition from Strategy to Product?https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickaela-cohen/

MickaelaCohen·Nov 12, 2019

Hi girls,I am currently an M&A and Strategy analyst in a Media Group in France and I I am willing to move soon. I recently discovered the job of "Product" and I really feel like I would love to do that! Do you think that this transition is feasable? And if so, what would you recommend me to do? I am afraid that recruiters won't give me a chance if I don't have a prior experience in Product.And do you have any books recommandations about this field? great articles? videos? ...?Many thanks!Mickaela

alicedefault·Nov 15, 2019

Hi @MickaelaCohen — I would say the transition is definitely feasible! In my opinion, product management is a job that you can learn on the fly, as long as you're super curious, learn fast, and have the right soft skills. We're looking for a PM right now at my company and experience in product isn't a strong requirement. We do expect the people we interview though to have: - strong organizational skills + curiosity about our users, our business, and our processes. - strong leadership: as a PM, you'll often need to convince people around you to do things without being their manager. - some sort of product sense: what products do you like? Are you able to explain why? Are you able to identify what makes a bad product? You can prove you have all of these things from experiences that are not related to product. Also, @renaobrien made a great list of PM resources here: https://elpha.com/posts/a5t69e4n/a-list-of-pm-resources

Ford·Nov 21, 2019

Hey Mickaela,Don't have any advice but I am in the same situation so I feel the pain lol! I currently work in consulting for a software strategy group and want to move into move into a product position too. Hope you get some good advice here :)

sbaradaran·Dec 04, 2019

Hey Mickaela,I’m trying to move from sales to product right now so I completely understand how daunting this can feel. There’s a post somewhere on here that lists what should be read before embarking on a product path. I’m also taking a course at general assembly and working with my VP of Product to do a project that is applicable at work for the course. I would recommend trying to immerse yourself as much as possible and meet as many PMs that you can. Would be to happy to chat more about this or even meet in person if you’re in nyc. [email protected]

MickaelaCohen·Dec 10, 2019

Hi Sarah, just sent you an email :)