Main Takeaways: - What is a Product Manager - Transferable skills if you don't have direct experience in Product - My non-linear path into Product - Steps I took to sidestep into Tech during my job search

1. www.productschool.com
Side-Stepping Into Tech
by BBC Product Leader

2. CERTIFICATES
Your Product Management Certificate Path
Product Leadership
Certificate™
Full Stack Product
Management Certificate™
Product Management
Certificate™
20 HOURS
40 HOURS
40 HOURS

3. Corporate
Training
Level up your team’s Product
Management skills

4. Free Product Management Resources
BOOKS
EVENTS
JOB PORTAL
COMMUNITIES
bit.ly/product_resources
COURSES

5. SIDE STEPPING INTO TECH
by Merina Khanom,
Mobile Product Manager
www.productschool.co
m

6. My Journey into Tech
www.productschool.co
m
⇢ Service Management
⇢ Communications + Marketing
⇢ Multi-hyphen role: Product-Analyst-Service Design
⇢ Mobile Product Manager

7. Transferrable Skills
Curiosity
Communications
Customer Advocacy
Creativity
Commercial Acumen

8. Curiosity
www.productschool.co
m
Be curious and always ask why
If objectives aren’t clear– ask for clarity before jumping into
anything.
Before a Product Manager can prioritise what her team will be
working on, she will need to assess the value proposition i.e.
how does this meet the needs of customers and the needs of the
business?

9. Customer Advocacy
www.productschool.co
m
Who is your primary audience or target market?
What pain points does your product solve for them?
What do customers like/dislike about your product?
What do customers like/dislike about competitor products?

10. Communications
www.productschool.co
m
Leading without authority: you might be in charge of the
roadmap but you’re seldom in charge of the people you need to
make that product

11. Creativity
www.productschool.co
m
Product Managers need to ‘own’ their problems.
Creative problem solving is not blue sky thinking; it embraces
constraints and asks ‘What’s stopping us?’
“The enemy of art is the absence of limitations”,
Picasso

12. Commercial Acumen
www.productschool.co
m
You don’t need a degree in business or finance but you do need
be to be comfortable with business basics and handling data.
Product Managers must be able to back their decisions with
data.
Any risks are calculated and thought out.
Know where you are aiming to net out – which specific metrics
do you think you can positively impact?
Remember, if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it

13. What’s next?
www.productschool.co
m

14. Landing that job
www.productschool.co
m
Be hands-on : Assuming you’re not currently in a Product role,
ask your team or manager about a current organisational
challenge and volunteer yourself to gather research and deliver a
solution you oversee from start to end, in addition to your day
job.
Network: Attend meet-ups or webinars like this, but go the extra
mile and connect with other attendees who may already be
working in this space and can give you a heads up on any
upcoming roles.
Prepare for the interview: Product roles vary from company to
company. “How to Crack the PM interview” is a book that goes

15. Thank
You!
www.productschool.co
m

16. www.productschool.com
Part-time Product Management Training Courses
and
Corporate Training