The Product Seat’s Post

5 questions you can ask a recruiter that will leave a lasting impression (and will bag you the role 😉) ↳ What would my role look like day-to-day? ↳ How do team members and stakeholders give and receive feedback? ↳ How have team disagreements and escalations been handled in the past? ↳ How does the team manage failure? Do you have any examples you could share? ↳ What are the preferred modes of communication? What does brainstorming, ideation, or deciding on a big budget look like? Interview questions are a great opportunity to showcase what you care about while learning about the company culture and assessing fit. I’ve had candidates who didn’t feel the need to ask questions or they asked extremely generic questions, which made me feel like they didn’t care. Underrated but works. #productmanagement

🤔 As Product Managers, it's easy to equate BUSY-ness with PRODUCTIVITY. But are we truly making an impact, or just spinning our wheels ⁉ In the hustle of meetings, emails, and fire-fighting, we often feel accomplished. However, the real measure of success isn't in how busy we are, but in the tangible impact we create. This is where the "Return on Time" (RoT) metric comes into play. Daily and Weekly Best Practices that I practiced at #Meta to ensure Impact: 1️⃣ Prioritize Ruthlessly: Use the Eisenhower Matrix [Urgency vs Importance] to focus on what’s important, not just urgent. 2️⃣ Set Clear Goals: Align daily tasks with weekly objectives that ladder up to your product vision. 3️⃣ Time Block: Dedicate uninterrupted time for strategic thinking and deep work. 4️⃣ Regular Reflections: End each week by reviewing what was achieved and its impact on your goals. 5️⃣ Stakeholder Check-ins: Ensure alignment and gather feedback to pivot quickly if needed. ⏳ By focusing on high RoT activities, we can shift from being merely busy to being truly productive. Let’s make sure our time is driving real value and impact! Tell us your thoughts ⬇ 🎯 Follow The Product Seat and Astika Gupta for content on Product #ProductManagement #Productivity #ImpactfulWork #ReturnOnTime #Leadership #PMBestPractices #career #careergrowth #careercoach #pmcoach #pmjobs #jobs #opentowork #product #wip #womeninproduct #woc #tech #meta #google #microsoft #maang #theproductseat #astikagupta

🎯 Confidence in an interview is crucial and can be bolstered by several key practices: 1. Preparation for Unexpected Questions: It's essential to be mentally prepared for unexpected questions. Have faith in your ability to come up with honest and thoughtful answers on the spot. Knowing your experiences and stories well, but not memorizing them verbatim, helps you stay authentic and adaptable. 2. Viewing the Interviewer as an Equal: Avoid putting the interviewer on a pedestal. Remember that they are simply doing their job and have likely been in your shoes before. They are evaluating your fit for the role and the company, not judging you personally. 3. Open and Honest Communication: Be transparent and proactive in seeking clarity during the interview. If you're unsure about what the interviewer is looking for, ask for guidance. This approach ensures that your responses are relevant and aligned with their expectations. 4. Managing Nerves and Perspective: Keep a healthy perspective on the interview process. Remind yourself that it's just an interview and that the worst outcome is a learning experience that will strengthen you for future opportunities. 5. Gaining Experience: The more interviews you participate in, the more comfortable and confident you'll become. Each interview is a chance to refine your approach and improve your performance. By focusing on these strategies, you can build the confidence needed to succeed in interviews and ultimately land the job you desire. ➡ DM us to chat about one-on-one personalized coaching with us for Interview prep / On-the-job coaching. 🌟 Follow Astika Gupta and The Product Seat for more tips on Interview prep #productmanagement #pmjobs #jobs #opentowork #hiring #careercoach #interview #interviewprep #tech #theproductseat #behavioral

A core responsibility of a Product Manager that often gets overlooked in the daily rigmarole is Evangelism—championing the work and success of your team. Here are my top three tips for doing it effectively: 1. Understand Your Team's Collective Strength: Dive deep into the unique and diverse skill sets your team members bring to the table. Recognize and appreciate the variety of talents and perspectives that collectively drive your team’s success. 2. Know What Partner Teams Need: Invest time in understanding the desires and needs of partner teams. Identify how your team can add value and support them in achieving their goals. Building these bridges can create powerful collaborations and showcase your team's relevance across the organization. 3. Pitch Like a Pro: Think of your team as a group of Marvel superheroes, each with unique superpowers. When pitching your team's work, highlight these superpowers. Showcase how each team member’s contributions lead to outstanding outcomes. This not only gains visibility but also motivates the team and sets the stage for individual recognition and rewards. 🎯By championing your team in these ways, you create a positive impact that resonates with leadership and stakeholders, driving both team and individual success. ➡️The Product Seat coaches product managers on strategies on how to better communicate, drive visibility, and scale on their current jobs! ➡️ If you or someone you know would benefit from such on-the-job coaching for PMs, please DM us to book a strategy call! #ProductManagement #TeamVisibility #Leadership #Collaboration #Recognition #TeamSuccess #onthejobcoaching #pmjobs #careergrowth #theproductseat

How Product Managers could stand out while answering "Tell Me About Yourself" in Interviews 🔍 When interviewers ask, "Tell me about yourself," they seek more than just a summary of your resume. They want to understand your unique story, your professional essence, and how you can bring value to their team. Here are some ideas to stand out: ⭐️1. Highlight Your Unique Personal Traits: Start with what makes you unique as a person. Your background, experiences, and interests shape your perspective and problem-solving approach. For example, "Growing up in a multicultural environment, I've developed a keen ability to understand diverse user needs." ⭐️2. Showcase Your Professional Uniqueness: Next, focus on what sets you apart as a product manager. Perhaps you have a knack for integrating customer feedback into product strategy, or you excel in leading cross-functional teams through complex projects. Share specific but short examples that highlight these strengths. ⭐️3. Align Your Goals with the Job: Demonstrate a clear understanding of your professional goals and how they align with the role you’re applying for. This shows that you’ve thoughtfully considered how this position fits into your career path. "My goal is to leverage my skills in user-centered design to drive innovative solutions, which aligns perfectly with your company’s mission." ⭐️4. Indirectly Indicate the Job’s Value to Your Career: Without explicitly stating it, convey how this role will enhance your career. Discuss the exciting challenges and growth opportunities the position offers. "I'm particularly excited about the opportunity to work on cutting-edge technology that pushes industry boundaries." 🌟By thoughtfully addressing these points, you'll not only answer the question effectively but also leave a lasting impression. Remember, it's about weaving a narrative that showcases your unique value and alignment with the company's vision. #ProductManagement #CareerTips #InterviewPreparation #JobSearch #ProfessionalDevelopment #theproductseat #pmjobs #pmcareer #productcareer #pminterviews #opentowork ➡️ Visit us at www.theproductseat.com or DM me to discuss your career goals for personalized support!

🌟 Early bird offer on our career strategy sessions -$97 Are you ready to take your career in #productManagement to the next level? The Product Seat is thrilled to announce the opening of new slots for our personalized one-on-one career strategy sessions! 🎯In these 45-minute sessions, we'll work closely together to craft a tailored game plan designed to fast-track your journey into your dream product management role. Your session can include one or more from the following - ✅Understand your goals, your unique skill set and skill gaps, ✅Identify the nature of interview prep you need, ✅Refognize the on-the-job help that you may need in your current role, ✅Strategize to apply for your dream roles and get interview calls in this tough job market ✅Any unique needs that you may have Whether you're a recent graduate, a seasoned professional looking to transition into product management, or a current product manager aiming to elevate your career, these sessions are crafted just for you. Ready to kickstart your career growth for just $97? Don't hesitate! ➡️➡️Send me a DM expressing your interest, and let's secure your slot ASAP. Success story of a recent Sr PM candidate below who scored his dream Sr PM role👇 #CareerStrategy #ProductManagement #PersonalizedSessions #pmjobs #interviewprep #pminterviews #career

Happy Friday! I'm excited to share that after 7.5 months of a tough job search, I've signed an offer for my next role! I'll be sharing more details in the coming weeks, but for now, I have an incredibly long list of people to thank, without whom this success would not have been possible. First and foremost, I owe so much to my brother, Nishanth Lavendra. It's not easy to get constructive criticism from your younger brother 😅 but I am so lucky he put up with me as we practiced interviews, presentations, and more. The past few months, I've been working with Astika Gupta, an amazing product management career coach. I'm so glad to have enrolled in her program and received personalized coaching from a true product leader. I wholeheartedly recommend Astika's program to any aspiring product managers, or PMs looking to move up in their career. There are several individuals to thank who lent hours of their time to me: Elaina, George, and Olivia for enthusiastically serving as references to my skills Eugene for extremely thoughtful feedback on our time working together, helping to shape my outlook on what kind of PM I want to be moving forward Arjun and 🧐 Farhan M. for sharing several, personalized strategies and techniques for a successful job search Sarah and Nina for always keeping an eye out for roles that matched my experience and sending several of them my way. Diana and Veronica for proactively reaching out to me just to make sure I was doing ok 💙 Kamia and Niki for distracting me with endless laughs and entertainment 😉 I'm also so thankful to all of the people who vouched for me by referring me at their company or making an introduction to someone in their network. Jae, Arvind, Zhanna, Namita, Reeti, Neel, Keun-woo, Sam, Charles, Janet, Chris, and Benjamin - thank you so much. Finally, there are a few friends that I leaned on tremendously. Somehow during this process, several interview requests would materialize all at once, and on more than one occasion, none of the opportunities would pan out and I was back at square one. These were really dark times, and without Katie Yarnold, Gabrielle Torres, Sara Miller by my side, I'm not sure I would have had the motivation to keep trying. Thank you for always being there for me. If you're on the search for a job in this challenging market, do not lose hope! Your self-worth is not tied to your job title or employment status. It is extremely difficult to put yourself out there to complete strangers and get rejected with little to no feedback. If you ever need someone to listen or help in any way, I'm here for you! Please don't hesitate to reach out, it would be an honor to repay even a fraction of the kindness that has been shown to me. All my best, Bharath