How I Pivoted Into Product Management

I pivoted my career from hardware engineering to product management. Since then, I’ve had handfuls of people ask me how I was able to pull this off.

I’m going to break it down into three simple steps. After that you’ll see how I did it, and you can take this framework and run with it yourself.

I’ve got a secret for you too.

This can be applied to anyone who’s trying to switch up their career path. Not just going from engineering to product. If you follow this framework I’m almost positive you’ll have everything you need to switch into whatever new role you want to try.

It helps to have people in your court vouching for you, and a little bit of luck. I had both. I know you can create that for yourself too.

Clarify Your Why

Alright. You’re all juiced up ready to switch up your career. Now what? Tell your friends, tell your mom, tell your boss?

Hell no.

The first person you need to tell is yourself. Telling yourself why you want to make this change not only gives you the motivation when things get tough. It really helps you clarify your narrative for when it comes time to pitch yourself.

At the end of the day, people love a good story. You better get good at telling yours to others.

When I made the decision I wanted to switch into product management. I sat down and wrote down these three things for myself.

• Why do I want to try this new role?

• How does this align with my long term goals?

• On a day-to-day basis, what gives me energy?

Now it’s your turn. Write this up somewhere, reply below or email me at [email protected] these three things fo your why. Go knock that out. Save it somewhere where you can easily reference back to it. We’ll get back to that later.

Reach out to People Ahead of You

Once I set my sights on the type of role I wanted. I rolled up my sleeves and got to work. I researched every single person I could in my industry or industry adjacent that had the title “product manager”

How?

1. Start with going on Linkedin and search three companies you would love to work for, or find extremely interesting.

2. Go to the company page on Linkedin and search for the key word that will pull these people up. For me it was “product”

3. Research everyone

Open up everyones profiles and see how they got “there” and what that path looked like for them. This will give you some reassurance that everyone path I different. Then you can take notes on how people made the move.

I did this for OURA, Dexcom (my current company), Levels, Intuitive Surgical, and Forward. It’s a great starting point to understand theres likely 100s of ways to get into a certain role. I cannot stress this enough. If you have people in a role you aspire be in at your current company. Add them to your list. Reach out to them. They are going to be the most accessable!

Now that you’ve found people that you find extremely interesting. It’s time to reach out

Reach out to these people with a genuine interest to learn. I don’t want to dive too deep into how to craft a great outreach email. I can break down how to do that in a different post. Let me know if you want that in the comments!

Here’s your quick playbook:

• First body: give them a compliment on something about them that you just saw they did or content they recently shared.

• Second Body: Who are you and why should they care? (Explain the cross over) What do you find so interesting about where they are at.

• Third body: Explain why your reaching out. Have a direct ask.

  • Something like: “I’ve been considering making the transition to ____. I saw that you did that too and I wanted to get an idea of what ____ does in this role day-to-day to see if its a good fit.”

  • Have a direct ask:

    • How did make the jump from X to Y?

    • Do you recommend any material, courses, courses that would help me get a better idea of Y

    • Feel free to answer here

In the follow up email, that is where you ask for time. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD please do not say in your first email “i would love to pick your brain over a 30 minute call” (or coffee) this is a massive red flag. Be direct on what you want to learn.

Fast forward. You meet up with them and they’re ready to spill the beans. Do this from a place of curiosity with the intention to learn. People love sharing their stories and talking about themselves. The more interested you are in them, the more invested they become in you.

One of the biggest unlocks I’ve seen is the art of the follow-up. After the meeting quickly send them a follow-up thanking them for all the insight and share your 3 biggest takeaways from that meeting.

One more tip is to follow-up with them if they recommended you do something, or read something. People LOVE when other people take action. Showing this is a positive signal that make people want to vouch for you in the future.

Stay in contact with them. Keep them updated on how things are going. REMEMBER. You’re haven’t asked for a job yet.

Combine Step 1 and Step 2.

Alright. Now you’ve talked to people in this role. You got an idea of how they got there and what their day-to-day looks like. You wrote down your super powers. Why you’re interested in this type of role.

Do those two still match up? If yes – lets rock and roll. It’s time to apply and reach out. If not, that’s completely fine. You just saved yourself 1-2 years of misery. Don’t be afraid to start over again. Start again with step 1.

Now that you know how step 1 and 2 interact with each other. Work to clarify your story. Your narrative. How are you going to pitch yourself?

Enter Through the Backdoor

Now it’s time to seal the deal. You’re ready to switch. Lets reach out and backchannel

Most people just start firing their applications away at random roles with the same title that matches what they want to switch into. That’s how you get burnt out and lose motivation. That’s not not going to work, but it’s way lower likelihood of success.

Good news.

There’s a better way.

Reach out and backchannel. Leverage channels that will yield high success.

How does that work exactly? Avoid going through the “front door” as much as you can. Everyone is lined up knocking on the door. Think about night clubs. The normal guests all line up at the front and wait for the bouncer to slowly move the line until he takes 1/4 of a second to size up if he wants to let you and your friends in.

Except in this context its you and your resume, and the bouncer is HR and an automated resume scanner.

The VIPs know someone and they get to get to skip the line and enter through the side door. Or back door.

That’s what you have to do here.

We know the DJ

You just spent hours and hours of effort developing relationships with people in the roles you aspire to be in. You hopefully developed report and trust with that person after you took action on what they recommended you look into. There’s a good chance they can vouch for you.

Now don’t go asking them for a job directly. There’s a better way to do it…

• Ask them if they know any companies that are growing that they think you might be interested in.

This works for 2 reasons.

1. They know you’re ready to start looking for a role. There is a small chance that they know someone at their company that could be looking for someone just like you. Maybe that hiring manager is them, and they think you’re a good fit.

2. They work in a space that you’re interested in. Chances are they do know some companies that are growing and thus hiring. And as you’ll learn, people know people in these industries. So they might be able to get you in contact with some people at that company (backchannels)

The most powerful backchannel is the one right in front of you. If you’re confident in the team and company you’re with. There’s an exponentially higher likelihood that you’ll be able to switch internally at your company that jumping ship to a new role at a new company.

The advantage of switching internally is that the company already knows who you are. People can vouch for you and your work. They’re more willing to take a bet on you than someone with a resume lined up at the front door. Use this to your advantage.

There’s so many more examples of backchannels. Networking events, going to conferences to meet people in the field, workshops. Just think of it this way. If if looks like a front door, don’t line up at it. Work to find another way in.

That’s a good sign that you already know how to get sh*t done. People respect high agency.

You’ve now got the three steps you need to switch up into any role you want.

The question is not are you going to do it. But, how are you going to do it?

Now GO GET IT!

Let me know what you’re trying to switch into and how you’re going to make it happen.

I’m rooting for you. You CAN do this!

You’re Awesome,

Jared