Creating a career vision

We're all guilty of drifting in our lives at one time or another.  Waiting for opportunities to fall in our lap.  Where else do we wait for things to happen for us?  We don't wait for the TV to turn over to something we like.  We don't wait for a partner to appear in our lives.  We go click the remote, we go to the bar or sign up for dating sites. Why should our career be any different?

Is it better to be a specialist or a generalist?

In a world where you move around many jobs, and look to shape your own careers, its an interesting question to ask yourself whether you want to be a specialist or a generalist. Should you know a lot about one particular thing, or a little about a range of things?

Write your career elevator pitch

The elevator pitch.  Named because you've got 20-30 seconds (an elevator ride) to convince someone of the thing you need to convince them of.  Usually focused on business ideas, the elevator pitch can come in handy when it comes to finding opportunities for your career.

How to write a great cover letter

When advertising a job vacancy, many companies and recruiters ask applicants to include a cover letter along with their CV. This is the applicants chance to summarize their successes and show their enthusiasm for the role.So what should you include?

How to fill a skills gap for your career progression

There are a lot of skills that over time a product person will need to master, but if you're starting out on your journey then it's OK to accept that you haven't got them all covered just yet.  However, you need to start thinking about how you might be able to improve your skills and become a more rounded PM.

Common mistakes when writing user stories

The user story.  A few lines description who, what and why, accompanies by some acceptance criteria.  How wrong can you get it?  The answer is quite wrong. 

How to answer the Super Power interview question

"If you had the choice, what would your product management superpower be?" This is another one of those questions that get asked in product management interviews, designed to understand where you think you'll be able to make the biggest difference to their business, which shows self-awareness, skills, and your own ability to blow your own trumpet.

17 sources of great product management information

There are lots of places to get product information these days, and the challenge is starting to become which ones should you really pay attention to?  Whether you like videos, podcasts, or the written word, there is content out there that can help on your product journey.

Is product management operational or strategic?

When it comes to product roles there is often a lot of debate as to what the roles mean and the responsibilities they have.  The ‘profession’ is developing and as such the roles are too and that means a product role in one organisation might be operational, whilst in another it is strategic.  

10 reasons why product management is for you

Why do people want to work in product management? How do they know that product management is going to be the right thing for them?

Product Managers come from all sorts of backgrounds, from the technical to the design focused and beyond, so how do they know that their skills will be transferrable and they can make a success in this new field.

Who do you need to know in your organisation to be quickly be a success

In many definitions of what a product manager does you will find that they get referred to as communicators, or relationship builders, and that’s because they are talking to both sides of the software equation — the stakeholders for requirements and the development teams for delivery.

To increase your chances of success, there are some key people that it’s useful to get to know in order to get these relationships on track.

Product Management Checklists - How to make your job easier

Earlier this year I read Atul Gawande’s “The Checklist Manifesto”, where he provides a compelling argument for the humble checklist, believing it to be the most promising method available in overcoming failure. I think he has a point!