Ken Ward looks at how to hire well so that you can build the best product team.

1. Ken Ward
@kward69

2. Gravitas is crucial
Started in recruitment
in 1995, 10 years
agency and
headhunting, 8 years
recruitment leadership
roles

3. So What Does an internal recruiter actually
do?

4. Stages of Recruitment
• Job Analysis
• Sourcing – routes to market
• Screening and selection
• Negotiating Offers
• Onboarding
• "The head of recruitment is actually the head
of rejection.” Rajeeb Dey, CEO of
Enternships.com

5. Vatican Recruitment Team

6. So why is it so difficult to hire
Product Managers?

7. JD’s for Product Managers

8. What are we actually looking for?

9. Definition of Product Manager
I define the role of the product
manager first and foremost as the
person responsible for defining – in
detail – the product that the
engineering team will build – Marty
Cagan
Product management is an
organizational lifecycle function
within a company dealing with
the planning, forecasting, or
marketing of a product or
products at all stages of
the product lifecycle. - Wikipedia

10. How Do We Find Product
Managers?

11. Things We Can Agree on?
• A clear passion for building stuff
• Intelligence/problem solving
• An ability to objectively analyse a product
• An understanding of the importance of the
customer experience in a product's success
• Data driven

12. How to Hire/Assess?
• Product Managers are “already in your
organisation, hiding under a different title”
-Marty Cagan -
• Like for like hiring from competitor ?
• Focus on Core Characteristics – challenge to
identify from a CV?
• Rely on a great cover letter (!)

13. Stages of Assessment
• Screening for agreed core competencies by
internal recruiter
• Test Stage – data/product
analysis/recommendations
• Presentation – communication/influencing

14. Product Managers
increasingly involved in
technical hiring

15. PM Involvement in Eng Hiring
• Product Involvement in hiring is crucial
• First stage test led recruitment
• Approach to problem solving
• Communication!!!!

16. How Do We Brief 3rd Party Recruiters

17. Your Involvement
• Sorry – you HAVE to be involved
• You get out what you get in
• Set the expectations at the beginning
• NOT an opportunity for constant sales calls