Understanding the Role
Learn what the role is about and map out your potential niche
Overview
There are two key things to learn about the role as it pertains to your journey:
- what the role actually is and what it isn’t
- what your potential niche is
About the Job
Product management is by nature rather ambiguous. It can be hard to set in stone because everyone’s experiences are a bit different. What’s important is grasping the foundational things that are consistent across the spectrum. We’ve curated a list of some of our favorite writings on this topic to get you jump-started.
- What is a PM
- What does a PM do every day
- Good PM, Bad PM
- Product vs. Project Manager
- PM Principles
Finding Your Niche
As we discussed at the beginning of this guide, there is no one-size-fits-all situation with product managers. You want to find your niche. This means figuring out what kind of candidate you come off as, what problem space you’re best suited for, what company type makes the most sense, and what your background is in. We’ve curated our favorite articles that give you a broad lay of the land and what niches exist out there.
Checklist
| Action Items |
|---|
| ✅ Be able to answer “what is a PM?” |
| ✅ Be able to articulate what a PM does daily |
| ✅ Map out an initial hypothesis for a personal niche |