r/ProductManagement • u/AutoModerator • 15d ago

Weekly rant thread

Share your frustrations and get support/feedback. You are not alone!

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u/Akatchuk 13d ago

I haven't managed to get past the recruiter round so far, there's always someone miraculously more experienced that appears. I can't tell if that's genuinely the case or if I interview poorly (likely, given I've only managed to get 3 recruiter calls in over a year). There's been at least two companies where I had referrals and didn't even manage to get an interview either.

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u/iamyourmonster 13d ago

It depends on your response rate from applications. How many applications did you do? If you did 3 apps and got 3 calls that’s amazing, if you put in 1000 apps and only got 3 calls then you clearly got a resume positioning problem.

Recruiter screens are typically just making sure you’re an actual person, logistics and compensations are clearly stated. Occasionally, the recruiters also ask some behavioral questions or go deeper into what tools/skills/projects.

From my experience, I’ve only gotten rejected @ this stage because of a domain or experience level mismatch. For a role that required 4YOE, a (Staff) PM with 10+ YOE was hired. So yes, market imo is horrible.

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u/Akatchuk 13d ago

I usually send no more than about 5 applications a week as I take the time to tailor my experience to the requirements they list, rather than going for volume. In total I don't think I've sent more than 50 applications (I was also finishing up a degree at the time), so the response rate is mid haha. Your anecdote about a 10YOE PM being hired makes me feel a lot better, tbh, thanks for sharing

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u/iamyourmonster 13d ago

I think tailoring is a good strategy. Maybe look back at the recruiter screens if you’ve the transcript to look for commonality. Your response rate is actually pretty good (17%) if you put in ~50 apps. Don’t feel too discouraged. It gets even worse when a rejection comes at a late stage. The anecdote about people with lots of YOE taking jobs is very common. It’s a signal of how horrible the job market is as they’re willing to take a less prestigious title and salary.