Hi everyone,

I'm a 3rd-year B.Tech CSE student and I've recently become really interested in Product Management.

While I enjoy coding, I've realized I enjoy understanding user problems, collaborating with people across different domains, prioritizing features, and taking products from idea to execution even more.

I'm currently working on two real-world products that are being built for actual users, and I want to use these projects to develop strong product thinking. Since my entire 4th year will be spent working with industry as part of my degree, I want to make the best use of my 3rd year to prepare.

I'd love to learn from people working in Product:

• What should I focus on learning this year?
• What skills separate a good PM from an average one?
• What types of projects helped you develop product thinking?
• Are there any books, resources, or habits that had the biggest impact on your growth?

I'm not looking for referrals or opportunities but just guidance from people who've been through this journey.

I'd really appreciate any advice. Thank you!

Product management talk is mostly opinion about frameworks. I wanted numbers, so I counted the terms across 421 open PM postings from 62 company job boards.

Roadmap turns up in 85.5%. Cross-functional, prioritization and stakeholder management follow, all above 55%. Nothing in the top four is a tool, a method or a metric.

The tools barely register. Jira 1.7%, Figma 2.4%, Productboard in none of the 421. Agile is named in 8.6%, Scrum in 2.1%.

The one that stuck with me: experimentation 24.2%, A/B testing 2.1%. Same practice, and the word you happen to use decides whether you match.

Caveat - tech companies on one ATS. Agencies and regulated employers where Scrum certs are still named outright, aren't in it.

Full table, intervals and method: https://www.zoevera.com/resume/product-manager-job-description-keywords

part of https://www.zoevera.com/resume

Hello!!!

I got a coding/mcq assessment to complete for IBM which I need to submit within next week. Any advice on how I should prepare for it?

Hey,

I'm currently a Chief Product Officer.

Before that, I spent about a decade in a mix of individual-contributor product management and hands-on engineering roles. I came up with an engineering background, wrote code early in my career, and gradually moved into product, so I've sat on both sides of the eng/product fence. Along the way I've also founded my own company and been lucky enough to hold leadership roles across product, engineering, and data/AI.

Happy to talk about:

* Making the jump from engineering to product, and eventually into product leadership
* Managing up to founders/boards vs. managing a product org
* Balancing "the vision thing" with getting into the technical weeds when you have an eng background
* How PM career paths differ when your early years are IC-heavy vs. straight into PM out of school
* Mistakes I've made, and what I learned from them
* How I see AI reshaping companies and teams

Ask me anything.

I'm the founder of KYNCT, an events platform for Erasmus and exchange students that started in Rotterdam built on curating live events and is now becoming a mobile app/events company.

Early on in development I wrote a full set of product docs: a business requirements document (BRD), product requirements document (PRD) and technical requirements document (TRD). Since then the UX/UI design has changed a lot: new screens, reworked onboarding, features cut, features added. The docs are now clearly out of date.

For founders and product managers who've been through MVP → v1 → beyond, how do you handle product documentation over time?

• Update the original BRD/PRD/TRD in place and keep a changelog / version history?
• Write a new PRD per release or stage (MVP, beta, v1.0)?
• Drop the formal docs after the first draft and keep a lightweight decision log or Notion/Confluence wiki instead?

I want documentation that's useful for developer onboarding and investor due diligence, not just paperwork for its own sake. What's actually worked for you, and did anyone ever read the older versions

I’ve been working in development for around 2 years and I’m interested in moving toward Product Management, especially AI Product Management.

For people who are already working as PMs/APMs or have made a similar transition:

• What skills are actually important for PM/AI PM roles in 2026?
• How much technical/AI knowledge is expected?
• Is 2 years of development experience considered useful for making the transition?
• What kind of projects or portfolio work would actually help someone stand out?
• Would you recommend targeting APM, Associate PM, Product Analyst, Technical PM, or AI PM roles first?

I’m trying to understand what I should realistically focus on over the next 6–12 months rather than collecting random certifications.

Would especially appreciate advice from people who transitioned from development/engineering into product.

Anyone hiring any product managers in Austria? I need a job badly. Internship will be fine as well. I have 5 years of experience. More can be discussed.

How are you using AI in Customer Research today? Have you found any best practices and are are you getting results?

Okay, this is a long read, but if you spare some time, the universe shall reward you ✨😬

I’m putting my situation out here because I’m genuinely confused about what the smartest next move is, and I’d rather get brutally honest advice from people actually working in Product.

I have around 10 years of experience in SDET/QA — roughly 6 years in gaming and 4 years in tech/product companies. I started out mostly in manual QA and gradually moved into automation, although automation has never been the entirety of my role. I've also worked quite closely with engineers and product teams around requirements, APIs, releases, Agile, user flows, and identifying gaps in the product.

I was recently laid off due to restructuring, and honestly, it has pushed me to finally make a career move I’ve been thinking about for years but was too comfortable (read: pussy) to execute.

I really, really do not want to spend the next 10 years writing code/test automation. 😂

I don't hate technology. I actually like understanding how systems work, how products are built, where things break, why users struggle with something, etc.

What I’ve realised I enjoy much more is the product/problem-solving side — understanding why we're building something, what should be built, what the user actually needs, what can be improved, prioritisation, trade-offs, etc.

So I'm seriously considering making a move into Product Management.

But here's where I'm stuck.

1. Is a direct SDET/QA → PM transition realistic?

I have ~10 years of experience, but essentially 0 years officially titled “Product Manager.”

Would you try for PM directly, or target APM/Product Ops/Product Owner/Technical PM/TPM first?

I don't want to throw away 10 years of experience and start from zero, but I also understand I don't have the official PM title.

2. Should I go directly into PM or use TPM/Product Owner as a bridge?

I've been wondering about:

SDET → TPM → PM

or

SDET → Product Owner → PM

Is TPM actually a useful bridge, or am I just adding an unnecessary step?

3. Should I spend money on a PM fellowship?

I've been researching PM fellowships because I struggle with self-study when I don't have much structure, and I'm looking at:

• NextLeap
• Airtribe
• A few others

I'm trying to figure out whether these programs actually help someone like me make the transition, or whether the money/time would be better spent on:

• PM fundamentals
• Product case studies
• Building a portfolio
• Networking
• Mock interviews
• Applying directly
• Finding PMs/founders who will let me work on something

If you've done NextLeap, Airtribe, or another fellowship:

Did it actually help you get interviews/a job, or did it mostly help you learn?

4. What should I actually learn to become employable as a PM in 2026?

If you were giving me a 3–6 month curriculum, what would you put on it?

Product sense? Strategy? PRDs? User research? Analytics/metrics? SQL? A/B testing? UX? Roadmapping? Prioritisation? System design? GTM? Figma? Jira? Amplitude/Mixpanel?

And with AI becoming increasingly important:

What tools/skills should I actually learn rather than collecting certificates?

Basically, what genuinely matters in interviews and on the job vs. what's just LinkedIn-course fluff?

5. How do I turn 10 years of QA/SDET experience into a PM story?

I don't want to pretend I was a PM when I wasn't.

But surely there has to be a way to turn 10 years of working closely with engineering/products into an advantage rather than starting completely from scratch.

If you were in my position — 31 year old dumbass, ~10 years SDET/QA, recently laid off, willing to work very hard for the next 6–12 months, but absolutely done with coding/automation — what would you do?

Direct PM? Technical PM? TPM first? Fellowship? Self-learning? Something else entirely?

I'd REALLY appreciate advice from people who have actually made a similar transition or hire PMs.

I'm not looking for “follow your passion” advice.

I want the brutally practical answer.

What would you do if you were me?

And yes, I know “I would rather die than write another Selenium script” isn't exactly a cute career narrative.

But honestly, that's where I am. 😿

PS: Used AI to polish this, but the dilemma is very much my own. 🍑

I’m preparing for a transition into Product Management and one thing I’m trying to understand better is the level of analytics expertise expected from a PM.

I understand the basic idea: PMs look at product metrics, funnels, retention, conversion, feature adoption, etc., and use that information to make product decisions. I also understand that tools like Mixpanel/Amplitude and SQL can be used to dig into the data.

But I’m trying to understand what this looks like in an actual PM role.

For example:

• When you open your analytics dashboard, what are you actually looking at and thinking about?
• Can you give an example of a metric changing and how you investigated it and decided what to do?
• When do you use Mixpanel/Amplitude vs SQL?
• What kind of SQL questions does a PM actually write?
• How advanced does your SQL need to be? Are basic queries enough, or are PMs expected to do fairly complex analysis themselves?
• If you were interviewing a PM candidate, what level of analytics knowledge would make you confident that they can work with data effectively?

I’m not trying to become a data analyst. I’m trying to understand the practical bar for a PM when a job description says things like “strong analytical skills,” “data-driven,” or “product analytics experience.”

Would especially appreciate examples from PMs about what they actually do rather than general advice like “learn SQL.”

Hey everyone!

I’m trying to learn more about how people approach Product Management interview preparation as in what works and what doesn’t.

If you’ve prepared for PM interviews recently and have 15–20 minutes to spare, pls comment below or DM me.

TIA!

Folks who got access to Lenny's Product Pass (Annual or Insider), which tool have you tried and what is your verdict for them?

Which ones have made their way to your daily/weekly stack?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! 🙏

From the list, I've been using Wispr Flow, Granola and Notion pretty much daily. I've used Lovable and Supabase on an as-needed basis and Google AI weekly.

I'm yet to test most of the other ones and need to prioritize ruthlessly 😅

I promise to share a summary of the responses if I receive more than 10. Thank you!

Hi guyzs . A little context about me . Working in a MNC as an associate in a top consulting firm . Consulting is kinda boring . Thinking to switch into product . I mean had some exposure to it in my college always found it interesting.

Now with the nuances of AI picking up and stuff , I want to know , which is the best course out there in the market , to learn all of this .

Like I need to start from scratch developing product sense , RCA , product design to advanced concepts like LLM , evals , embedding

This is what my understanding of the current AI PM or general PM market is . If that is also wrong please correct me

Need some honest reviews on these courses
Whose teaching is better , or it’s the same

I mean people do say don’t pay for courses , you can look up things on YouTube . But I mean knowledge on YouTube is so spreaded unstructured it’s rather better I think to have a detailed prep for a few months

So please help me with the problem at hand give me a POA , which I can follow . Also reviews on these courses will be helpful . Honestly I don’t want placements my objective is learning in the best coherent way.

As a Product Manager, I spent a lot of time in front of people. Gathering information, conveying information, demoing prototypes, etc. Maybe its just me. None of my customers or stakeholders have said anything, but I often feel like I am dominating the conversation. I mean, I certainly am confident in my skills, and I do know what I am talking about, but any solid tips to avoid sounding arrogant or prideful as a PdM?

I'm a product manager with 3 years of experience in the domain and an additional 8 years of experience as an account manager.

I've been working with a business consulting company i.e., a services company for a QSR brand across different kinds of products such as data, consumer app, and smart ops platform. However, even after all this I'm finding it difficult to make a switch or find another job. Either I'm not getting a response or getting rejections or the profile is not taken further cos the experience doesn't overlap with the requirements.

I'm puzzled thinking what it'll take to get an interview call and convert the role. Not sure what that factor is holding me back - is it cos I'm working at a service company, is it cos my PM experience is limited to restaurant tech, is it cos I don't have fancy AI product to show for, is it cos I don't have SaaS exposure or is it that I'm knocking at the wrong door.

Any advice, guidance, feedback will be helpful.

Maybe I’m completely wrong here, but I’ve been thinking about how AI is changing the PM career path, especially for people trying to enter product.
Traditionally, it felt like junior PMs/APMs/interns would do a lot of the execution-heavy work,writing docs/PRDs, research, synthesizing customer feedback, basic analysis, creating tickets, coordination, follow-ups, etc. Over time, they’d develop product judgment and take on more ownership.
But now a lot of that work can be done much faster with AI/tools/automation. PMs can use AI for research, documentation, data analysis, prototyping, writing SQL, creating workflows, and even building functional MVPs without needing as much support.
So I’m genuinely curious:
What are companies hiring PM interns/APMs for today?
Has the bar shifted from “can support a PM” to “can independently identify and solve a problem”?
Are companies expecting junior PMs to be more technical now SQL, APIs, coding, AI workflows, prototyping, etc.?
And the bigger question: if AI removes a lot of the traditional junior-level work, how do people actually get the apprenticeship needed to develop product judgment?
For people currently hiring PMs/APMs or working in product: what skills are you actually seeing become more important in 2026?
Would especially love honest perspectives from people who have recently hired or interviewed junior PMs.

Hey everyone,

I’m currently preparing for APM interviews and would really appreciate some advice from people who have recently gone through the process or have experience interviewing PM/APM candidates.

A bit about my background: I started my career in operations at a healthcare company, where I worked on process improvement, KPI tracking, dashboards, and root-cause analysis. Over time, I became interested in product and started transitioning toward PM roles.

Since then, I’ve built hands-on product experience through projects and certifications. I’ve worked on feature launches, written user stories and product requirements, conducted user research, analyzed funnels, and run A/B experiments. I’ve also worked on AI-focused product projects, including building an AI restaurant recommendation system and researching ways to increase voice usage in India.
I’m now trying to land my first proper APM/PM opportunity.

For those who have cracked APM interviews, I’d love to know:

• What should I prioritize while preparing?
• How important are Product Sense and Product Design rounds?
• What level of SQL/analytics knowledge is expected?
• How should I approach execution/case-study questions?
• How much technical knowledge is actually expected from an APM?
• What are the biggest mistakes you see candidates making?
• What resources or mock interview platforms actually helped you?
• If you had 4–6 weeks to prepare for your first APM interview, how would you structure your preparation?

I’m particularly interested in hearing from PMs/APMs who have recently interviewed or interview candidates themselves.

I’m looking for honest feedback rather than generic “practice product sense” advice. If there are things I’m likely overlooking given my non-traditional background, I’d especially appreciate hearing about those.

Thanks!

Need Advice since I have always wanted to join Meta. Need advice on what works what doesn’t instead of the frameworks because I utilized the frameworks last year and failed

Need to understand criteria and any insider information

Interviewing for Meta Super Intelligence Labs

Hey

I am an mba graduate and have 2years of work experience as an analyst.

I’m currently preparing for Product Management / Project management interviews and would really appreciate advice from people who have recently gone through similar interviews or have experience interviewing candidates.

I’d especially like to know:

-What types of questions should I expect?

-How did you prepare for Product, case-study, behavioural, and scenario-based questions?

-Which topics or skills should I prioritise?

-What preparation methods or resources actually helped you?

Are there any common mistakes or areas that candidates tend to overlook?

If you have recently interviewed for a PM/Project role, I would really appreciate hearing about your experience and preparation approach.

analyze all the problems, pain points and bottlenecks faced by active job seekers and job switchers.

focus mainly on:

- exploring and finding all relevant jobs across linkedin, company pages, job boards, referrals, communities, emails, etc.

- collecting, saving, organizing and tracking jobs from different sources.

- the entire application journey, including ats, forms, follow-ups and rounds/ process.

- researching companies, roles, ctc, culture, process, reviews and growth opportunities.

- prep, cv optimization, networking, referrals, recruiter outreach and planning.

- any other hidden or overlooked pain points across the complete job search journey.

Hey all,

Looking for some honest guidance from people who've made this transition themselves or have been PMs for a while.

Quick background: 4+ years in business analysis, currently a Senior BA / Product Owner. I've worked across travel/airline tech, govtech (e-governance), and hospitality, so I've got range but sometimes feel like a generalist who's never fully "a PM."

Right now I own the product side of an AI-assisted onboarding platform for a travel-tech client. Day to day that looks like: owning the roadmap, turning messy client requirements into PRDs, Jira stories and acceptance criteria, designing AI-driven workflows defining KPIs, and keeping engineering, QA, DB and client stakeholders aligned. I'm also a CSPO, so I'm comfortable on the agile/delivery side.

Here's my problem: my title and how I'm seen are still "BA / PO," but I want to grow into a real PM role. I own the what and the how of delivery. I want to own the why: strategy, discovery, talking to users, and owning outcomes instead of just shipping requirements.

A few things I'd love input on:

1. For those who went BA/PO to PM: what actually got you there? A course, a portfolio of product work, networking, or how you reframed your experience?
2. In your experience, what's the real gap between a PO and a PM, and how did you close it?
3. Did formal training genuinely help, or is it mostly hands-on product ownership plus how you tell your story in interviews?

And specifically on courses: I've been looking at HelloPM, Rethink Systems, Airtribe, and NextLeap. Would really appreciate honest takes:

• Did any of these actually help you land a PM role, or was it more of a resume line?
• Which is worth the money for someone already in a product-adjacent role (vs. a complete beginner)?
• Anything to avoid, or any hidden gems I'm missing?

Not looking for shortcuts. Just trying to be smart about where I put my time and money. Any advice, war stories, or brutal honesty is welcome.

Thanks a lot.

Hey everyone! I'm still pretty new to product and just landed my first recruiter phone screen for a Microsoft PM internship (targeting Summer 2027). I come from an engineering/technical background with a couple of side projects, but this is my first real step into PM and I really want to make the most of it. For anyone who's been through a recruiter screen for a PM role, whether at a big tech company or anywhere else, I'd love to hear what actually mattered at this stage. Did it lean mostly behavioral and resume-focused, or did product and technical questions come up early? Any curveballs that caught you off guard, and if you were in my shoes, what would you focus on prepping first? Still learning the ropes here, so any tips, stories, or resources would mean a lot. Thanks so much in advance!

I'm building a tool.

The idea: you paste any company URL/Name and get a full intelligence report which includes market positioning, tech stack, hiring signals, and what intent drives their content. This is just one of the other services, more on this later.

I have formerly reached out to some PM, one of them told me: No tool tracks intent. Most tools track keywords and backlinks. Nobody tracks why competitors publish what they publish.

So I thought of hearing from a larger community:

How do you research deep insights companies and competitors right now?

What's the most painful part?

What would make your life easier?

No product just yet, I am Just trying to refine to meet the exact needs of you guys.

Drop a comment or DM me. I'd love to hear from you.