Are you considering a role in tech but do not like to code? Or do you want to transition from one tech role to another that does not require you to code? Holla! this article is the right one for you. In this article, we will be discussing what is expected of a product manager and how to become a product manager.

What exactly is known as a product?

A product is an item or service that is sold to customers. This can be in form of tangible goods, information, virtual services, ideas e.t.c. In summary, a product is anything that solves the problem of its users.

What does product management entail?

Product management is the process of building, planning, developing, and launching a product with the aim of satisfying the customers’ needs and adding more value to the business organization.

Who is a product manager?

A product manager is a professional who is in charge of product management. The product manager connects the business team, the customers, and the development team. A product manager makes sure:

• to understand the customers’ needs and work towards solving them
• to collaborate with the development team to help develop products
• to satisfy the demands of the business stakeholders

Salary of a product manager

Have you ever wondered how much product managers earn? According to salary sites like Glassdoor, the average salary of a product manager varies from $63,000 to more than $200,000 per annum. Part of the factors that influence the salary includes experience, educational background, location, and level of expertise.

What are the responsibilities of a product manager?

The responsibilities of a typical product manager include but are not limited to the following;

1. helps to define the product vision, the product roadmap, and product positioning
2. ensures to regulate the demands of the stakeholders along with the needs of the users.
3. interacts with the end users thereby gathering users’ feedback and works towards improving the product
4. studies the market demand to curate the product that the market wants
5. works with the development team to make sure that the customers’ needs are met in the product being built
6. acts as a product leader within the company
7. holds daily standup meetings with cross-functional teams

What are the skills needed by a product manager?

For every role, there are defined skills that should be held by the owners of the role. As a product manager, it is essential to hone certain hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are basically the skills that will help you land the job while soft skills will help you retain the job.

Let’s take a look at some required hard and soft skills that you should hone.

Hard skills

• Market research

It is important that you know and understand how the market operates, what the users need and when they need it, how to approach them with your product e.t.c.

To do this, you will have to work along with the user research team, conduct user interviews, gather feedback from customers, study the history of the market along with the product e.t.c.

• Knowledge of product design

Even as a product manager, you are required to understand the basic knowledge and practices of product design. By doing that, you will be able to communicate well with your team and know how and when to intervene in their operations.

• Technical expertise

The product manager is expected to have some technical expertise in the field of the development team as that will ease the management of the team. For an instance, most product managers working on software products are required to know a bit of programming as this will help them in knowing how to determine the results, failure, and success of their products. It will also help them to identify performance bugs in no time.

• Business skills

Product managers need to understand basic business competencies to effectively do their jobs. For example, when developing a product strategy, a product manager should know how profits, budgeting, cash flow, and profit-and-loss all play a part in the product development project.

• Analytical skill

Product managers must be able to analyze information and data and provide actionable insights to their teams. This helps them ensure products provide sufficient value to both the business and their customers

Soft skills

• Leadership skills

Part of the responsibilities of the product manager is that he/she will be a product leader in the organization. This makes it very necessary for the product manager to know what leadership entails, and how to work with people from different backgrounds to achieve a common goal.

• Communication

A product manager will have to interact with lots of people, the stakeholders, the users, and the development teams. This calls for the person to be able to communicate effectively with all parties. He should be able to speak each party’s language.

• Flexibility

By flexibility, we mean that the product manager should be accustomed to changes that will take place in the course of product development. In situations where you have multiple features to work on on the product, it is important that you are able to prioritize the most important things that should be done. This way, you will be able to maximize productivity.

• Problem-solving

A product manager is expected to be solution driven in his approaches. The person will have to know how to fine-tune the product in a way that it will answer the questions of the stakeholders and at the same time cure the pain of the customers.

• Time management

With loads of tasks, meetings, and things to do, the product manager will have to plan well and manage his/her time well in order to execute all the tasks ahead of the person. This will require the person to know how to draw the priority list that they will be working with and what methods will produce better and quicker results.

How to excel in the field of product management

Let me share with you some useful tips for excelling as a product manager;

• Earn a degree relating to product management

The truth is that your degree alone will not qualify you for the role. However, a degree in the field of product management will equip you with the competitive edge to excel in the labor market

• Participate in Bootcamps

Bootcamps are avenues for you to acquire knowledge and skills in no time and also to network with other professionals in the field. Let me share with you a list of product management boot camps that you can look forward to. You can go through this list of boot camps and plan toward their next cohort.

1. BrainStation
2. allWomen
3. General Assembly
4. Product School
5. Udacity
6. Product Hall
7. IronHack
8. Product Manager HQ

• Earn certifications

One thing that will distinguish you from other candidates is your certification. Being that product management is not a degree offered in many tertiary institutions, hiring managers really cherish the candidates who have certifications in product management. This will inform them of how far you have gone in being groomed to become a product manager. That way, they can trust your skills and portfolio more.

Certifications will not only make you stand out from other candidates, they will as well boost your confidence and increase your expertise. This is one of the reasons they are valued by hiring companies.

Here is a list of product management certifications that you can pursue;

1. Product School’s Product Management Certification Programs
2. Pragmatic Institute Product Management
3. AIPMM Certified Product Manager Credential
4. Software Product Management
5. Product Development and Management Association’s (PDMA) New Product Development Certification

• Join a community

You should understand how powerful the influence of a community can be. Through a community, you will be;

1. conversant with the latest affairs and updates in the industry
2. open to opportunities
3. find mentorship
4. network with different people across the world.

Here is a list of product management communities that you can join;

1. Elezea
2. Creative product managers
3. Product management insider
4. Women in product
5. Mind the product
6. Products that count
7. The product coalition

• Apply for volunteer roles

Let me tell you something. You can’t be a product manager unless you work in the field. And sadly most organizations will not employ a rookie. So it will be wise of you to volunteer for roles in some companies to gain experience and to also boost your CV.

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