Join a Slack group to extend your network
Everyone knows Slack.
Even if you’re not using within your work environment, you know it exists, and you’re able to use if yourself outside of work.
Well, Slack is very fertile ground for product community, and if you’re serious about progressing your product management career, then joining a PM focused Slack group can give you the edge.
Some of the groups are free, and there are some paid, but I’ve included six of the best below, with a community that is approaching 200k members.
Mind The Product
At the time of writing, the Mind The Product Slack group has 48k members, with channels focused on product launches, reading list, tools, their own product tank meetups, and general chat.
Product Hive
This group has 5.7k members and has a number of very active channels, covering everything from tools and promotions, to jobs and design review requests, which means there are real opportunities to get involved and contribute to the discussion.
Product School
The group from one of the world’s largest provided of product focused training, with approaching 100k of members. As you can see from the above screenshot they have numerous very active channels, with some very experienced people who are able to help answer questions or share opinions with you.
Product Collective
Just over 20k people have joined the Product Collective Slack group, where they have active channels for seeking and offering advice, promoting events, and where they allow members to post PM vacancies.
Product Manager HQ
PMHQ’s Slack community is included as part of their paid membership, bundled with job boards, meetups, events, and more and coming in at $25 for life time access
Product Coalition
A group that I have written for on Medium, Product Coalition also have a membership programme that includes access to their active Slack community. You can have a “lite” membership for just $10 a year that gives you Slack access, as well as to their courses, or a “pro” for $400, that comes with podcast content and a mentoring programme.
