These days, lots of people arrive here with Google searches like “how to find a new product management position.”
Not surprising. So many of us have gotten the axe recently.
SO, darling and esteemed Crankerati, the Cranky Product Manager asks you to help:
What/who are the best resources for people looking for PM jobs? – Please leave your “Most Helpful Job Search Resources for PMs/PMMs” in the comments.
Please share your favorite resources. Especially if you are a hiring manager – where do you look for candidates?
Below are a few resources that come to mind – services and recruiters that the Cranky Product Manager has encountered or used (as a satisfied user and nothing more – no kickbacks or $$ or anything involved)
Online Job Search Resources
- The pm_jobs email list on Yahoo! groups
- Ventureloop.com – directory of jobs with venture-funded companies
- Dice
- Indeed.com
- SimplyHired
- CareerBuilder
- http://productmanager.com/
- http://pmconsortium.ning.com – Seattle area jobs
- Craigslist/
Recruiters / Headhunters that focus on product management and product marketing jobs
PM Training on the cheap ( as in FREE)
- Archived webinars on the Product Management View website (Feature Plan‘s site)
Related Posts:
- Seeking Gems in a Sea of Manure
- How to Get Hired By The Cranky Product Manager
- A Short Guide to Being an Unemployed Product Manager – Part 1, 2, 3 & 4
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Remember that your acquaintances are more likely to find you jobs than your friends. It’s not that your friends don’t like you. It’s just that they know all the same people you do.
For example, I had beers with a software developer in Oregon who was looking for work and was able to hook him up with a head hunter at Google here in New England. It’s pretty unlikely his close friends would have known this person, but I did because I run in a different circle.
So cultivate acquaintances . I recommend checking out Toastmasters Not only will you meet lots of great acquaintances, you’ll improve your speaking skills so you’re more likely to get the job when you have a chance to present.
Networking is still the name of the game; most PM jobs are heard but not posted. It’s late in the game if you’re currently looking but make friends with recruiters while still employed; tell them about successful launches and new challenges that you’ve overcome.
In terms of looking at postings, the two best sources I’ve seen are LinkedIn and Craigslist.
I have usually been found by recruiters, and often from past colleagues recommending me. I have found Monster to suck badly. The pings I get from recruiters who find me there are weak. Clearly recruiters who filter through monster need to learn to read resumes.
Linkedin has been ok. Mostly it keeps me up to date with prior colleagues, and that helps keep them in mind when a position opens up.
This website seems to have good leads http://productmanager.com/
When I am searching for a product manager, I almost always rely on a recruiter. However, it is always a struggle to get them to bring candidates that meet your needs. Either too qualified (for entry level positions), or people who really do not have the right skill set.
The last search I did for a PM took almost a year, and we went through 30 to 40 candidates presented. And even then, we picked a lemon.
Gander
Hi,
Good networking can be had at local chapters of product management associations:
For example, in Boston:
http://www.bostonproducts.org
I think they are affiliated with other chapters through:
http://www.aipmm.com/
LinkedIn is great if you work it well.
Your profile is basically your resume, and the Jobs section is great. Also with the various Q&A and discussion groups, you’ve got a direct line to people with common interests or needs.
Network!
I just landed a PM job after being out for four months. If you live anywhere near Boston I agree with Don about BPMA. Saeed is right on about Linkedin. According to the outplacement firm I used, networking lands 70-80% of jobs. Make a big effort there. Join groups, volunteer, make calls. Blasting your resume to all your friends does not count.
For the other 20% of the effort, I like:
http://www.Indeed.com
http://www.SimplyHired.com
and
http://www.careerbuilder.com
they all collect jobs from multiple sites saving you time. I had limited success with TheLadders.com (costs $). If you find a job on a board or website, use Linkedin to find a connection to the company, then use your connection to recommend you. Don’t dump resumes straight through a job board, it will get buried.
Good luck!
This is a great post, CPM. Thanks for the pointers. One quick note: The link to Jivaro is wrong. It should be http://www.jivaroinc.com/.
tj
Agree with the comments about networking. And when you land that next gig, be sure you keep your network alive! This is not just an activity for down economies – your network will serve you well in every economy. We hate it when you just disappear on us like that!
For job postings in the Seattle area, check out http://pmconsortium.ning.com.
And the free webinars at http://www.aipmm.com.
Good luck!
Good set of resources. One more for the pile: The Ladders bills itself as
having exclusively $100K+ jobs. It is a site that you pay to participate in (I have no relationship with it), but I’ve had some friends who used it successfully. The link for the site is: http://www.theladders.com.
- Dr. Jim Anderson
The Accidental PM Blog
“Home Of The Billion Dollar Product Manager”
Oh hey, just found another site that might be of interest. Standard disclaimer: one-on-one networking with real people is always better than typing on a keyboard. However, that being said, over at Alltop they’ve got a nice job positing page that might be worth a checkout. It’s located at: http://jobs.alltop.com/.
Of the listed product manger jobs, my favorite would be the one at the Hawaii Science & Technology Council…!
- Dr. Jim Anderson
The Accidental PM Blog
“Home Of The Billion Dollar Product Manager”
I’ve been laid off twice, and followed the same recipe both times. I can’t guarantee it’s not coincidence, but I’m pretty satisfied that it works for me, and it might for you too.
Most recently, I was part of a downsizing in October that completely eliminated the product marketing department of the company I had been with for 4 years. I think they did the right thing – they realized the only way through the crisis is to sell what they have, with minimal continuing engineering. Once things turn around, they can ramp up for the future again, assuming there is a future remaining for them.
This week I received an offer to start as product marketing manager at a company that recently received their B-round of funding and is in growth mode. Here’s what has worked for me:
- Find a small company or companies that need PM work but can’t afford to hire. Both times I’ve done this through my network contacts. Be flexible – let their business priorities guide your contribution, and don’t be afraid to stretch into new areas – this time around I ended up learning a lot about CPC advertising and SEO, made a great contribution, and learned a valuable new set of skills.
- Start very cheap, or free, and establish your value. Over a short amount of time, you can use the power of reciprocity to negotiate an increase. Both times I’ve done this, I’ve been able to grow my income from a very low starting point to about an $80k/year run rate, which is about half my target compensation, but WAY better than what unemployment pays, and sufficient to keep the bill collectors at bay.
- Once you land this “tweener” position, don’t think of yourself as unemployed, or even underemployed. You’re making a great contribution, you’re still growing, and you’re able to pay your bills. Now be patient, be positive, and let your network work for you.
- Dig in and work hard, and eventually an opportunity will present itself. In my case, both times this came in the form of unpublished positions – the hiring team contacted people in their network looking for good talent, and I got referred into the jobs by previous bosses.
In the first case, my in-between time was about 11 months. This time it was 4. In both cases I enjoyed the work very much, met great new people, and grew my skillset. In both cases, I would have enjoyed continuing the work indefinitely, but had to give it up for “an offer I couldn’t refuse”.
I hope this helps.
Norton
PS – despite trying pretty hard, I’ve never gotten a callback or interview from Monster, the Ladders, Careers.com etc. etc. My resume and cover letter skills apparently stink, or these services just don’t work. They are not part of my strategy at all anymore.
Headhunters also have their role.
Wait let me take that back…. I use the term headhunters for unsolicited, off-target cold calls from recruiters who used to print money when things were good.
My opinion changed when I got my last job through a recruiter who really was like a sports “agent”. He coached me through the whole process and was a joy to work with.
So if looking in the Washington DC area, I highly recommend Ryan Keller at JR Associates (boutique firm) – http://www.jrassociates.com/
P.S. no kickbacks were given for this endorsement – not even a $5 *$$$ card (that’s Starbucks for all you SMS junkies).
Help Your Fellow Product Managers / Product Marketers Find Jobs http://is.gd/lmuo (a @crankypm post)
I think in the UK it’s probably a blend of:
Find a really, really pro-active recruiter. I found one a couple of years ago at ABRS. But, this is more about luck than anything else.
Dare I say it, Monster is great as you sit back and get calls on introductions to head-hunter types..(but there is a lot of chaff.)
I’d say Linked-In has become massively useful over the last 6 months, as more and more people use it as a serious way to find people.
Anyone who doesn’t have a job at the mo – good luck!
@ Norton, excellent post. What I admire is that you put your ego aside and found a practical way to stay in the game. I’m not sure I could do the same if presented with similar circumstances, but will remember your experience if so.
I’m a fan of a new site called StartUpHire – http://www.startuphire.com They list over 200 product manager jobs at venture backed companies. I personally have a bias to smaller companies and enjoy the rapid pace and sense of accomplishment. I’ve had good luck thus far with teeing up interviews.
Here is a job opening at the microloaners at Kiva:
http://tinyurl.com/cdea7y
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