Emphasize your spike (Employers’ market dynamics)
The very best CMO I worked with carried themselves in a corky, different, funny way. The way they spoke, thought, dressed to work, and conducted themselves left an initial impression of an odd ball. Getting to know them, this was a well-thought through strategy of exposing a creative leader who encouraged diversity, creativity to drive the right mindset and outcome.
They brought their personality to the workplace and it totally worked out. They had perspective, and they made it known.
The market we’re in is flooded with unbelievable talent. They are really very good. There are predictions that the second half of 2023 might carry a better financial climate. Those are the good news. The sad news is that a lot of professionals are now seeking their next assignment. They have all kinds of commitments- financial, family etc. All of which require personal capital to keep lives moving, mounting a great amount of pressure on them.
I’ve been there. I was let go twice- ahead of the summer, at the front of a recession. I had family, mortgage, bills etc. If those weren’t enough, my work ethic drove my anxiety every day I did not have a line of sight into predictable income.
Here’s my small contribution- some things to consider when you’re job searching, generally and specically for product jobs, start with these three questions->
1- How do you stand out? What is your spike? skill, experience, opinion. Do you have strength in engaging users? or engaging your technical counterparts with technical depth? Are you visionary? are you detailed? are you data driven? Like my CMO friend, who, beyond being a great CMO, was a firm believer in demonstrating diversity to encourage creativity. Do you have a topic you are passionate about? that you are educating yourself about, can speak to and have a unique perspective about?. Define how that spike correlates with your next job- hopefully you’re seeking a job that involves the topic of your passion and talent. Here’s the thing- Everyone looks great on paper. Being a balanced “good” product manager doesn’t cut it in an employers’ market. What do you have that those employers are desperately seeking and are willing to hire despite freezes and layoffs?
2- How can employers find you? Believe it or not, there are open jobs. But there are also thousands of people like you competing on them. How are you going to stand out, and how would someone learn that you have that specialized talent they need? Make yourself known for your passion and talent on your professional-social profile: your Linkedin profile should highlight the story that you want to tell about yourself. Then, blog! don’t fear, you have an opinion and through your blog, people understand not only your passion, but also who you are. If you don’t know what to write about, turn to someone you know and tell them you want to blog. More likely than not, they will send you back 5 questions (/topics) that they believe you have unique perspective on. Go write about those. You will be surprised how many followers and comments you’d get.
3- Trim to focus on your story- We talked so far about “your story” and making is available to employers seeking specialized talent. The reality is, the talent bar is higher than ever for them too. They need to sift through more resumes and Linkedin profiles than ever. So ask yourself- does your spike come through on your Linkedin profile? easily and within 1–2 minutes? Some specific things to watch for
- Diverse profile? went through a number of different jobs and tried it out? good for you! Don’t show these as a random collection of unrelated jobs that bloat your profile- tell the story as a journey that led you to where you are today.
- Short term on the job or got promoted quickly? People don’t care (and it’s actually a concern) if you spent just a few months on the job. Think about the story it tells. Someone reading your profile is unlikely to pause and wonder what happened, they will move onto the next person. Consolidate close changes and promotions to better tell the story you want to tell.
- Optimize your message in each role- your title should be clear and translatable- don’t choose something that causes the reader to ponder what it means- they won’t. In the body of the role, consider 3 statements- what did you work on and what was your impact on the outcome (ideally metric); Modern processes and skills you accrued along the way; What did you take away from that assignment.
- [This one is a bit controversial] If you were laid off just recently, don’t rush to reflect that on your Linkedin profile. The reality is, employers prioritize those who are employed. If you put on your profile that you’ve been laid off, you’ve just lowered your likelihood to be found.
Times aren’t simple for professionals who were laid off. My heart goes out to them, mainly because they are caught in difficult financial and emotional state and a market that is not on their side.
This is the time to sharpen those aspects of you that make you stand out. Research well what are adjacent fields that increasingly interest employers and are clearly under served. For developers, learning DevOps and cloud technology is a clear winner. For scrum masters, there is a clear and growing need for product operations professionals. For product managers, learning Continuous Discovery and Product-led growth is a winner. Research, learn and reflect that to those employers seeking to employ you.
Last point. Another hour on Linkedin or at the gym, or with your kid, or doing something else you love doing? The answer is clear, your 10th hour of the day on Linkedin does more damage than good. Employers are seeking energetic, positive, motivated people. So does your spouse, kids, friends, people close to you. Spend that hour on something that charges your battery. That will bring you closer to your next gig than another hour of frustration.
