Over the years, I have had the privilege of coaching hundreds of clients. Their experiences drive me because I know that every person deserves to live a happy, fulfilling life - especially in their career.

Each of my clients has come to me with varying frustration levels and an immense desire to change their outcome.

By now, I have heard almost every problem under the sun: from not knowing what is going wrong during interviews to desiring results that may seem impossible. And from not having enough confidence to feeling overwhelmed. These are not minor problems, and they can be genuine and formidable opponents to conquer. 

The worst part is that when we feel stuck in these frustrations, they can multiply fast. 

However, it is more than possible to get these things right. Those frustrations can be the very things that drive us to make changes. 

Somehow, a six-month plan of promotion can suddenly happen in six weeks. Dream jobs start to appear. The fog clears, and we...

I have helped hundreds of Product Managers land notable roles. I have had the privilege of celebrating with them and hearing their stories, but it is not without doing the work.

I don’t pretend that the job search is not a difficult feat. It can be daunting and tedious. Not to mention, the fear of not choosing the proper role can be stifling. But, the mindset by which we walk into this process can change it all. So, it’s vital to debunk the myths that are holding us back. 

Your job search should not be stressful. Instead, it should be intentional and give you more clarity than you had before. And most importantly, it should land you the role that will grow you, raise your standards, and make you happy.

Over the years, I have come across seven myths that have continually caused Product Managers to create their own roadblocks. Together, we unravel them.

Here are my seven dangerous myths of the job search:

1. Product Management doesn’t pay as well as other...

Roughly four years ago, I decided to get a coach. I realized the importance of having someone who can be a sounding board, someone who challenges my thinking and gets me out of the way.

That’s what good coaching does for your career: Product Management and otherwise.

Most Product Management programs make a fundamental mistake: the emphasis of information over transformation.

I always ask people about what programs they have already done when they come to me and their impact on their careers. I have had over a thousand such conversations. I find that most programs are focused on handing out certificates rather than handing out real-life change. They end up being a waste of time and money.

A Product Management program should transform your mindset and your strategy. It should give you the tools to become great and give you a chance to put those tools into practice. A great program teaches you how to work in various scenarios and, most of all, how to enjoy your job and your life...

At this point, I have helped hundreds of clients get jobs they are proud of. Not only are they proud of their jobs, but they are also proud of their lives and persons as a whole. 

Over the last few weeks, the market has made an enormous pivot! This pivot should be exciting!

If I could wish one thing for anyone reading this, it’s that you would take advantage of these trends. Because of this shift in the market, one of my clients went from never having held any formal product titles to a Director, PM job. There are growing opportunities for better jobs and, ultimately, better lives. 

Here are the eight new trends in product management jobs:

1. The market is opening up across the board
2. Senior roles are hiring at a level better than any time in the past year
3. FAANG companies are picking up in hiring
4. Remote work divergence across companies
5. People can level up as they make their transitions
6. More people are transitioning from non-product experiences to product...

It started on a weekend. I suddenly started worrying about a new feature we were beginning to work on Monday.

All sorts of questions started to emerge. Did enough customers need this feature to justify building it? Had we understood the requirements enough? Did we have the right support from other teams? What if we were going to do a lot of work that would be worth nothing? What if?

I wish this story were atypical. I wish that I was hit with doubt and second-guessing myself less often.

Or do I?

Doubt serves like a set of brakes. They help you from running off the road, but in excess, they can slow you down tremendously.

So seek not to eliminate doubt but to optimize it.

There are five things you must do to optimize doubt:

1. Recognize when your sense of uncertainty causes you not to take shots that can change your life
2. Have empathy for yourself when you doubt yourself
3. Learn to step into roles
4. Own your successes
5. Build your support systems

Recognize when doubt causes you to miss...

That One Skill Every Product Manager Should Have

We are the voice of the customer and we cannot play this role unless we understand the customer. The most vital skill at play here is our listening skills. Engaging our customers, our teammates and anyone we are talking for any purpose cannot happen unless you get deeper in to the conversation.

I am going to share with you the framework I use to listen better and have those much needed deeper conversations so I can get the information that people don’t normally share.

I call this framework SOAR.

SOAR  will help you start to get better, and start to see that momentum where you’re building up your skills as a product manager.

Full Transcript

Hey this is Shobhit, founder of International Product Manager and today we are going to talk about how do you listen in a way, how do you engage your customer, your teammate, anyone who you’re talking to in a way such that you get more information, you get deeper into...

Summary

What’s your energy level as a product manager? 

When you go day to day, come into work, are you in to it?  Are you excited? Do you bring this high energy level or the appropriate energy level to your team, to the work that you do?  Are you intense in every activity that you do? 

Those things matter a lot, they can literally change how much you get done in a day, how excited your team feels. 

Let’s look at six different kinds of energy levels that you must demonstrate in order to make sure you're living up to your potential as a product manager. 

The first energy level is you need to be positive, energetic, give them a sense of an epic win possible and that the product will do well.  Align the team behind achieving the best possible thing for your product, for your customers.   

Second you need to vary your communication level.  You as a product manager must work on not just being at a high...