Don't Discount Your Experience...IT COUNTS!

Let's talk about myths that cause product managers to lose steam, end up in the wrong job, get paid a terrible salary, or end up with a job title lower than what they deserve.

One myth is that the only experience that counts is when you have a formal product management title. 

I call bulls&^& on this one.

•  Look at the jobs where you have been doing pieces and parts of product managers.  OWN the fact that you have been doing some part of product management.
• Always look to level up. If you have been a PM for say 3 years but for 5 years before that, you were doing pieces of product management as an engineer, QA analyst, ...then you should be applying for SENIOR product management roles.

 Don't discount your experience. It counts as part of your product management experience. Product Management is one of those roles where you do pieces of it in many different parts of a tech organization.

One of my clients, Deepti, worked as a technical analyst in professional services. She has been doing a lot of product management work by collaborating with customers on their requirements, driving engineers to build solutions to meet requirements, and doing tactical and strategic work. Yes, she did not have the formal title of product manager, but it did not matter. We worked together, and she is now a senior product manager at her dream organization.

You need to pull the stories together so it's clear that no, you are not a junior product manager. Rather, you are a senior or even principal product manager.  

I want you to own your experience and have the confidence that you may have been doing product management in one way, shape, or form for many years. But you need to have a clear, concise story about how you are a product manager. 

So please ignore those items in the job description that say seven years of product management experience. If you have been doing elements of product management, it counts towards it.

Are you ready to land a fantastic product leadership role? Are you ready to get unstuck? Are you ready to get your career back?

Are you ready?