Keshav R. Manjrekar

To land Director to CPO jobs, Product Leaders must leverage Executive Search firms. They hold the keys to the hidden job market. Here is a lay of the land. Aakash Gupta and I wrote in depth about this in the Product Leadership Job Search and I followed up recently with the Tech Exec's Job Search Playbook. I recommend both reads. Comment if you want contacts or my thoughts on working with them as a candidate or hiring manager

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Product Manager Interview Experience - Google The interview process: 1 recruiter phone screen 45 min product sense with a Product Manager 5 rounds with individual product managers spanning design, strategy, metrics, tradeoff, leadership, hypothetical. Spaced out across 2 months Interview questions: 1. [craft & execution + sense] - You are the PM of google flights and we need to monetize our strategy. What would you design? 2. [strategy + sense] - You are a PM at google and we are considering designing a lawn mower - what should we do? 3. [analytical + craft and execution] - You’re the PM on Search “snippets” which is an algorithmically derived tagline for organic content on search that appears under results to give people a sense of what the page is about. Say your engineering team comes to you with an improvement to the algorithm and wants to implement it - what would you do? Once you decide what to do - how would you implement this? Who would you work with? What if you implemented it and you saw paid content from advertisers take a hit? Then a couple behaviorals like why are you leaving Meta now? 4. [cross functional collaboration + craft & execution] this ended up being more strategy? — Lots of behavioral scenarios including “time you faced conflict” “time team disagreed” “what was the impact you landed” then a follow up on “you’re a PM at Snapchat - what is our 3 year strategy” 5. [googleyness & leadership] Why Google, Why are you leaving, Who are your closest ally’s on your team, What would happen if Google fired all of its PMs tomorrow? Then we broke out into a design —> design an experience as the PM of search for people to book flights who are traveling for the first time ever. Source: Glassdoor

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3 metrics to measure your product success: 1. User adoption - It measures how your users are using the product and are they using the way you want them to use. eg MAU,DAU. 2. Business Impact - It measures what value you are creating for business. Eg revenue, market share. 3. Customer satisfaction - It measures the effectiveness of your product in solving the pain point for customer. eg CSAT

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I received over 500+ inMails for the PM role I am hiring for, and 90% of the people are doing it wrong hurting their chances of being considered. Here is how to do it right: ❌ Generic title of inMail "Interested in Product manager role" ✅ "Pm with 5 years of experience in e-commerce, analytical, ex-IG." Customize the subject line. As a hiring manager, it’s exhausting to sift through hundreds of identical messages. Your subject line is your first chance to stand out. Don’t waste it—make it specific, compelling, and relevant. ❌ "I hope this message finds you well! I recently submitted my application for the Product Manager, Creator Content, and Shop position at LTK and wanted to express my enthusiasm for this opportunity. The role aligns perfectly with my background" ✅ "Hi, I would be a good fit because I DID: X Y Z mapping to what you are looking for". Don’t make me dig through your resume or LinkedIn to understand why you’re a fit. Communicating effectively and concisely is critical for PMs. If you can’t demonstrate that in your InMail, you’ve already lost me. ❌ "I have relevant experience based on my experience as a Product Manager, E-commerce and AI" but your Resume/Linkedin title says you are a content strategist or PMM in Healthcare ✅ If I click on your profile and it doesn’t match what you claim, I lose trust immediately. This job market is not open for aspirations or translatable skills, there is just too much talent out there. Make sure your branding—titles, experience, and skills—aligns with your pitch. ❌ "Are you open to a quick chat?" ✅ "If you see a fit I'd love to hear about the next steps. I have already applied and messaged X recruiter name"Half of the people who messaged me didn't apply to the job and most ask for my time but often times there is a screening call with Recruiters. Try to find recruiters at the company you are applying for, especially in startups there are not that many so show you can be proactive. ❌ Don't apply to roles you do not qualify for. Loving the creator economy doesn't make you suitable for the role. ✅ 1/3 of the inMails are from people with 0 product management experience, outside of the US or no visa, that do not meet the 3 requirements I asked for. Do not apply to aspirational jobs, you will get little to not ROI out of it. ❌Sending inMails that sound generic, made by ChatGPT is not going to yield the results you are looking for. ✅ If you are truly serious about job hunting in this market, quality applications beat quantity every time. Some applicants sent me a 1 min intro video of themselves, I watched them all. Some others sent a case study on LTK, I read them all. All of the candidates that went above and beyond got my time and I followed up with all of them. If this resonates, share this with anyone job hunting. Also if you are interested in applying I linked the job in the comments :) #inmail #jobhunting #jobapplication #linkedin

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Great products deserve to be noticed—but if product managers can’t pitch it in 30 seconds, customers may never see the value. Here's how to create product pitches that grab customers attention: First define: 1. Users ↳Whose problem are you solving ? 2. Problem ↳ What specific problem are they facing ? 3. Current Solutions ↳ How are they solving this problem today? 4. Current gaps in alternatives ↳ What are the gaps which frustrate the user? 5. Your Vision ↳ What is the new world you are imagining/creating. 6. High level solution ↳ How will your product solve the problem? Then create your pitch using the below template: Today when [user X] faces [problem Y] they use/rely on [current solution Z]. Using [current solution Z] is not the best thing to do because of [current gaps A,B,C... in Z]. Our vision is to [create the new world where current gaps don't exist] and this is how our [solution will work]. Example: Here's is how the product pitch statement could have looked for Uber/Ola in their early days: Today when office goers want to commute from place A to place B in Mumbai, they have to use infrequent yellow taxis. Relying on yellow taxis is not the best experience for customers because yellow taxis are not clean, lack standard pricing and are not always available when needed. Our vision is to help office goers always find on-demand, clean and affordable cabs by creating a supply of cabs 24/7 accessible through one tap booking experience on a mobile app on their smartphones. #productmanagement

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Over the weekend, I wrapped up an intense 8-day course on Improving Your Product Sense by Shreyas Doshi—and it was transformative. The class delivers highly actionable insights that sharpen your ability to think with clarity. In Product Management, much of our craft revolves around navigating ambiguity, and this course equips you with the tools to replace that ambiguity with confidence and focus. If you have been in the PM trenches for years and are serious about elevating your skills, I cannot recommend it enough. Thank you, Shreyas, for sharing your wisdom and pushing us to think and build better. Link: https://lnkd.in/gWizDt4g #ProductManagement #LifelongLearning #ImprovingYourProductSense

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There are over ~150,000 product managers in India today, and this number is doubling annually. Many of these PMs, including me, follow PM leaders/influencers, listen to podcasts, read blogs, and immerse themselves in frameworks to upskill and create better products. If these frameworks were implemented effectively, India could produce world-class products like Instagram, Notion, and Amazon- potentially surpassing Silicon Valley's legacy. But there are a few challenges: - Frameworks and principles are great reads, but their real power lies in application. - Successful implementation requires adaptation, experimentation, and countless iterations. - Most importantly, it should be tweaked to various leadership styles and Org. structure. The path to creating a “killer product” is not just in knowing the rules- it’s in knowing when to break them.

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Deepak Krishnan post on clearly demonstrates what’s wrong with promotion first mentality Post for your folks 🤔Associate Product Manager To Chief Product Officer - Mindset Over Time.🤔 APM - My very first product is going to make billions for my company and I will be promoted in the next 6 months. Maybe even a double promotion! PM - If only my designers, developers and business counterparts listened to me, our products would be successful and I could be senior PM by now. Senior PM - My senior management has no clue what to build. If I were senior management I would have made this company so successful. Group PM - Aargh the PMs reporting to me think they are Steve Jobs. My Senior Leadership think they are Steve Jobs. And yet nothing we ship makes any impact. I am making only PPTs, fighting fires and taking the blame for everyone’s screw up. Director Of Products - I get the game now. It’s not about the how I build products. It’s about making products optically successful, managing more products and people & keeping my senior leadership happy. Senior Director Of Products - How do I take control of the new and important charters coming up and make sure X and Y don’t get it so that I have the best optics. VP of Products - When will my CPO move on to the next company so I can become CPO. CPO - Time to start applying for CEO roles in other companies. My CEO ain’t moving any time soon. 😄This is just a humorous take on us product managers.😄 #productmanagement #productmanager

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A well-crafted Product Requirements Document (PRD) will help any successful product process. It is a blueprint that aligns teams, sets expectations and ensures the product is delivered as expected, or even better. So, what makes a good PRD? 1. Clarity The best PRDs avoid ambiguity. Too much jargon can confuse stakeholders and slow down progress. A PRD should provide just enough detail to guide the team while avoiding unnecessary complexity. 2. Well-Defined Objectives What problem does the product solve? Who are the target users? The objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART Goals). 3. Detailed Requirements Functional requirements describe what the product should do. The PRD should clearly state all features, user flows, interactions and UI expectations to prevent misunderstandings between designers, developers and product managers down the road. 4. User-Centered Approach A great PRD should not just describe what the product will do. It should focus on how it will meet the needs of the users. Include user personas, user stories and use cases to ensure the product is designed with the end-user in mind. 5. Prioritized Features Not all features are created equal. A good PRD will prioritize the features based on their importance to the user and business goals. This helps teams focus on delivering the most needed features first, rather than trying to do everything at once. 6. Acceptance Criteria Every feature in the PRD should have clear acceptance criteria, so everyone understands what done looks like. These criteria set the standards for quality. #ProductManagement #PRD #ProductDevelopment #TechLeadership #ProductStrategy #Agile #ProductDesign #UserCentric #Collaboration #Innovation #StartupSuccess

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📈 Want to level up your product thinking? Shreyas Doshi's Product Sense course is a 30+ hour (very!) intense masterclass on how to make more correct product decisions, even in the face of major ambiguity. 💡 A key insight: Product Sense isn't innate (for most people) but it's a skill you can systematically improve. 🧨 Think you're too advanced for this? That ego's probably costing your company millions. 🧠 Shreyas will push you to think deeper about human psychology and business impact. 🏦 If you're serious about product leadership, this is an investment for your career worth making. #ProductManagement #ProductSense #ProductStrategy #ProductLeadership https://lnkd.in/gvD93hBC

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Most product managers get trapped in the distraction of building shiny new features as the only remedy for product problems. Building new features is a necessity for new use cases but driving product adoption for existing features can very well move the needle for overall product. Here is how to improve adoption of your existing features for better ROI on your product investments: Let’s first understand reasons for poor adoption: ↳ Awareness Issues: User does not even know the feature exists or feature is not top of mind among alternatives. ↳ Value Gaps: The feature is not solving the problem well and hence users don't want to use it. ↳ High friction in usage: Difficulty in using the feature either due to high friction in usage flow or complexity in activation. ↳ Discovery issue: Users don't know where the feature is, hence can't use it despite having intent. Now let's move to how you can identify the adoption challenges: ↳ Bug reports: To uncover where the feature is failing and creating value leakage. ↳ User surveys: To uncover discovery, awareness issues in a low touch manner.  ↳ Funnel analysis for feature’s user flow: To uncover friction and value issues. ↳ Cohort analysis for diff user segments: To understand value realisation challenges for different user segments. ↳ Customer Interviews: To go deep and understand details about all 4 potential reasons for poor adoption. Once you know the challenges you can solve: ↳ Awareness Issues through in app notifications, emails , whatsapp notifications or broader marketing efforts. ↳ Value gaps through first narrowing the focus on fewer user segments to solve the problem really well, then scaling the feature to broader audience. ↳ High friction gaps through reducing the steps needed to go through key user actions, reducing cognitive load via feature simplification and user education for activation. ↳ Discovery challenges through simplifying the interface and giving better/prominent visibility to the feature in product. Recommended order to solve adoption problem: For existing features, it is recommended to solve adoption challenges in the order: Awareness > Discovery> Value> Friction. You should follow this order as in case customers are not even aware of the feature(discovery and awareness) they will not use it and you will not learn about value and friction gaps. Let me know in comments what has worked for your team in the past to solve adoption challenges in your product. #productmangement #productadoption

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The product lifecycle is like a Bollywood movie: Starts with a bang, full of drama in the middle (bugs!), and ends with everyone wondering if there will be a sequel (new version) or if it's just a one-hit wonder. #productmanagerlife #productmanagement #productmanager #agile #productowner #officehumor #worklifebalance #softwareengineeringhumor #uxhumor #customercentric #productlifecycle #productlaunch #bugs #productdevelopment #newversion #bollywood #softwareengineeringhumor #productmanagerlife

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Technical Program Management (TPM) is such an underrated, misunderstood, and underutilized function. A Product team’s ability to think, plan, and execute effectively, as well as efficiently, is a direct result of the tools and processes put in place by the TPM team and yet most teams seem to leverage TPMs primarily for project management.

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Landing and negotiating Product Leadership (Director to CPO) roles is a whole different game. Here are 3 differences in the product leadership job search... 👇 Aakash Gupta and I wrote a 20K+ word in-depth guide to the Product Leadership Job Search after speaking with 7 external Executive Recruiters, 2 internal big tech Executive Recruiters, 2 VC talent teams, and 12 CPOs/ VPs. Here are 3 major differences we saw between IC PM jobs and leadership searches... 1️⃣ Many top roles are never posted publicly. 10-30% of Director+ product roles and nearly 100% of CPO roles never see the light of day in public job boards. Companies often start searches before finalizing job descriptions, using Executive Recruiters and VC firms to run outbound searches. You NEED to build relationships with these recruiters and VCs as a leader. 2️⃣ Reputation, outcomes, and domain expertise matter most. Past colleagues and managers will be referenced in backchannel calls. You must demonstrate significant, measurable top-line business impact. Relevant experience in the specific domain is highly valued. 3️⃣ Compensation is higher but more variable. Director roles can pay 1.5-2x a Group PM. A VP can make 2x a Director. C-suite comp varies widely - top CPOs make millions and even 10s of millions at FAANG+. Finding reliable data requires tapping exec recruiters and VCs. Navigating this new world requires a strategic approach. Focus on your network, narrative, and long-term relationships. Don't underestimate the power of Executive Recruiters, who will only help you more as your career progresses. Link in the comments to my guest post on Aakash's popular Product Growth newsletter.

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🚀 Product Sense Deep Dive: Will Uber One Click in India? As a product manager, you're often tasked with decoding new launches. One common #productsense question is: "Evaluate a subscription model like Uber One. Will it work in India and how would you improve it?" Let’s take a closer look at Uber One, Uber’s loyalty program, recently launched in India. With benefits like Rs 250 in monthly savings, priority support, and a free 3-month Zomato Gold membership, it sounds like a good deal—but is it? And more importantly, what can we learn from this for interviews and real-world product strategy? Here are 3 insights that might give you the edge in your next PM interview: 💡 Insight 1: Perceived value > actual savings💡 Shoppers don’t just want to save money—they want to feel like they’ve saved a fortune. Costco's $60 membership fee is less about the fee itself and more about what it represents: access to unparalleled value. Uber One needs to tap into this same psychology. It’s not just about money savings; it’s about making users feel like they’re part of a club that screams value, an identity they’re proud of. 💡Insight 2: Build habits, not just transactions💡 Costco drives miles-long pilgrimages because members feel obligated to make the most of their membership. Amazon Prime users unconsciously default to Amazon, creating a flywheel effect of loyalty. For Uber, the challenge is that users think of rides as an occasional need. To win, Uber One must create habits: 1️⃣Subscription-specific features: Exclusive intercity discounts, preferential access to top-rated drivers, or family-sharing plans. 2️⃣Habit loops: Tie the perks to repeat use, like gamified ride credits or rewards for streaks. Uber needs to move beyond "discounts" and create dependence. 💡Insight 3: Drive loyalty by shifting the spending baseline💡 Uber One promises 10% credits on every ride but is it worth it? Subscription models thrive when they expand user spending habits. For Uber, this could mean: 1️⃣ Tiered rewards: Bigger ride credits for users who cross higher monthly spending thresholds. 2️⃣ Premium bundles: Add exclusive offerings like event based packages (e.g. Uber ride to Diljit's concert), luxury or eco-friendly vehicle access. The real opportunity lies in making Uber One indispensable—a must-have for users who want to feel they’re always getting more. 📸 The Bigger Picture: Lessons for PMs 📸 Uber One’s success in India will hinge on whether it can go beyond discounts to create identity, habits and incremental value. As product managers, this is a goldmine of insights: 💫 Learn to evaluate both quantitative (CLV, churn rates) and qualitative (habit-building, perceived value) factors when building or assessing subscription models. 💫 Don’t just optimize for retention—think about how to expand usage and make your product core to users’ lives. For more real content and insights into #productmanagement and career, follow Har Ras Singh

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Few truths on career success as a Product Manager: 1. Your career's growth is a function of impact you create 2. Your impact is a function of your competence  3. Your competence is a function of your knowledge and actions Hence in order to grow PMs need to consistently show high agency, do a lot of hard work and have a consistent learning routine for up-skilling. #productmanagement

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Reality every Product Manager should internalise while considering Product Market Fit of their products: For any product looking to have durable PMF: → Over long time horizon, growing number of people should strongly want the product. → Team should be able to retain most of the old users and acquire new users without a lot of burn over long term. →Team should be able to build a profitable business while previous points are also holding true for the product. Easy to think, tough to do well on all parameters on a long term horizon. #productmanagement #PMF

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Leading a large product team is exhilarating but challenging, especially when managing conflicts. Here's my quick guide to fostering a culture of constructive conflict resolution: 1. Embrace Psychological Safety Create a space where team members feel comfortable voicing concerns and ideas without fear of judgment. 2. Foster Active Listening Encourage team members to truly listen to each other's perspectives to build empathy and find common ground. 3. Focus on the "Why," Not the "Who" Understand the root cause of the disagreement instead of assigning blame. 4. Facilitate, Don't Dictate Guide discussions to promote collaborative problem-solving and ownership. 5. Celebrate Diverse Perspectives Value different viewpoints to drive creative solutions and a stronger product. 6. Celebrate Wins, Big and Small Acknowledge successful conflict resolution to reinforce positive communication and collaboration. Transform conflict from a productivity killer into a tool for innovation. What are your tips for managing conflict in a product team? #ProductManagement #Leadership #ConflictResolution #Teamwork #Innovation

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