How the 2024 tech layoffs impact the tech job market and product manager interviews

[@francisngo]

Really helpful tips especially about writing public-shared case studies for your product portfolio in order to stand out. I'm a software engineer looking to make a transition into product manager after getting laid off at the beginning of 2023. If possible, given the current climate, I would love to learn how I could make my way into product management. I know my 7 years of technical background gives me a slight advantage and I've tailored my resume to be more PM-centric but do you have any tips for how I could successfully make this transition? Any guidance or recommendation would be helpful. Keep up the great videos :)

[@ProductManagerAnthony]

Thanks so much, Francis! I'm sorry to hear you were laid off. I absolutely have a couple tips for you. 1. Make sure your resume is all about Impact *not* Responsibilities - what did the projects you completed at your previous companies *do for the business*. Instead of "Developed XYZ feature using React" you should say "Increased XYZ metric by launching feature using React" - to be an effective PM you need to drive quantifiable impact in an organization, not just do "things" if that makes sense. 2. Target more technical PM roles out there to start - there are certain teams at tech companies that are very very technical, and having an engineering background puts you far ahead of those who have been more focused on UI/UX. 3. During your case studies, focus on the product aspects (it will be assumed you can build a product because you were an engineer) - can you build a product that solves the right problems that will drive revenue? Building features nowadays is a commodity - everyone can do it. But not everyone can make features that actually drive business value.

[@derek400004]

Let's all do a group hug here. Just got laid off myself 2 weeks ago, not due to performance issues or anything. This stuff is just sheer BS.

[@ProductManagerAnthony]

Very sorry to hear this - after being laid off a few years ago, I totally understand how you’re feeling. I’m wishing you luck as you navigate next steps!

[@tsunghan_yu]

I haven't found my first job yet🥲

[@derek400004]

@@ProductManagerAnthony Thanks Anthony, appreciate it. I can use the good luck!

[@derek400004]

@@tsunghan_yu Keep looking and broaden your search!

[@RodionRomanenko-c5e]

I got laid off as a product support specialist a month ago, without a cause. It was my first time ever to be told that the employer was done with me, and not vice versa. I feel you, but the life doesn’t end there. Double down on yourself and get your job searching game on, that’s what I did and found a new job within a month. Things will get better on your end as well. Keep grinding 💪

[@devinmehra9607]

I enjoyed the simplistic format for this kind of video. Some videos can be hooks, while others can be more dense without the bells and whistles to engage your already loyal audience. Nice job!

[@ProductManagerAnthony]

Thank you Devin!

[@gabrielbear5268]

After getting laid off and companies ive been apart of going bust or merging and letting half the staff go Im just so tired of this. Legitimately considering moving to a lower cost of living country and living life on a slower pace with less stress.

[@ProductManagerAnthony]

That’s a very valid reaction - the amount of hoops to jump through to get a job these days is insanely frustrating. Best of luck as you navigate the waters!

[@AlexSuperTramp-]

Glad I found this channel. Would love to see a video on how engineers ca work effectively with their PM? also things you hate about working with engineers!

[@ProductManagerAnthony]

Thanks so much for the comment - great ideas!

[@Londonlamborghini]

Thanks for the free book! The landing page isn’t configured for iPhone tho

[@ProductManagerAnthony]

Thank you for letting me know! Which part / page isn’t configured right?

[@teleshyam26]

Really nice video! i was wondering if i could help you edit your videos and make them more engaging as well as create short content out of them.

[@jessevickey]

Regarding your new video format... I'd say it's 70% as good as your past highly edited videos. If I'm new to your channel, I'd prefer the old versions to get me hooked. But as a subscriber, I'm okay with you just talking into the camera, as I'm here to learn rather than be entertained. I suspect the new version saves you a lot of editing time, so I'd vote to stick with this new format. Regarding the current market... I'd be interested in ideas for how to adapt to the new supply/demand imbalance in the PM market rather than using the same tools that worked in a more balanced market. For example, a portfolio is great, but my portfolio pages aren't being viewed on the initial screens of my applications. Referrals haven't converted for me despite meeting/exceeding the qualifications. Do you have thoughts about applying to roles with less demand? For example, what lower-paying PM roles exist (e.g., non-profits, government)? Or contract / part-time roles (e.g., Braintrust, Upwork)? Or adjacent roles (e.g., project manager)? Thanks for your videos!

[@ProductManagerAnthony]

Thank you for your feedback on the video style Jesse - I always appreciate your insights! As for the current market - it's going to be easier to get into very small/early-stage startups since they have much less demand compared to the established startups/big tech companies. I'm not too familiar within the non-profit / government sector however I have seen open roles for those in the past! (They just do pay less). Getting an adjacent role could work as well as long as it fits your background and then eventually you could try transferring to the product department. Another are you could look into is doing some contract/part time work for the very early stage startups who can't hire a full time PM but are interested in someone taking on some projects. Startup accelerators / aggregators are a great place to look for these, as well as messaging VCs and seeing if any of their portfolio companies need some part time help. Hope this helps a bit!

[@edoris9021]

seems i picked a wrong time to learn to code

[@ProductManagerAnthony]

Technology will always be an integral part of our world for the rest of our lives. And code powers technology- so I wouldn’t say it’s a bad time to learn. While the market is tough, there will always be companies hiring. The other option is to make software by yourself - B2B SaaS products can be very profitable if you pick the right niche and solve a pressing problem.

[@bigneiltoo]

Trump 2024!

[@derek400004]

@@bigneiltoo Trump will just continue to outsource everything to China like he does with his own businesses.

[@alexeypalamarenko8393]

@edoris9021 Ignore what the author says, really, it's a bad time to spend graduating with CS and learning to code or you're crazy enough to compete with 5-15 years of experience guys out there looking for the same jobs. Think about beginning work as an electrician where competition is NOT crazy. This is a way.

[@teleshyam26]

Really nice video! i was wondering if i could help you edit your videos and make them more engaging also you can save your time and fully focus on creating content.

[@bigneiltoo]

What are some low pay jobs we can do online? Do we have to go work for the grocery store now?

[@ProductManagerAnthony]

I would check out Upwork and search for contract jobs with your skills and apply to those with competitive pricing - there are hundreds of requests posted daily with everything from website development to data entry. I’ve done this in the past when in between jobs and it’s a good way to get some cash flow and keep yourself busy!

[@depafeo]

lol, just went to upwork and saw a dude who was selling his Python dev skills for $5 an hour. I think my local grocery store is hiring

[@Rowafaedits194]

Can I EDIT YOUR KZbin videos?

[@depafeo]

Imagine getting the job from a pool of 600 applicants. You would literally be the shiniest peanut in the turd

[@ProductManagerAnthony]

😂 it happens! The one thing to note is that 90%+ of applicants usually don’t have good fit with the role (industry experience, role-type experience, technology experience, business model experience) Ex: education tech, growth, native mobile, subscription based model If you can target roles with strong 4 vector fit, the chances of being the shiniest peanut go up a ton!

[@depafeo]

@@ProductManagerAnthony I've lost count how many jobs I've been rejected by in the last 6 months even though I was a "good fit." All these companies definition of good fit is Unicorn level absurd job reqs

[@ProductManagerAnthony]

Definitely very frustrating - I’ve noticed companies having a higher bar during resume review vs passing certain people to first rounds and being stricter there.

[@JeromeDemers]

yes it's unicorn but they can find it so that is why they keep searching@@depafeo

[@KeepItFresh02]

@@depafeo I was a perfect fit for a role recently. The hiring manager wanted to interview me really fast. I was put to the top of the list.I held a senior software engineer title and built React web applications in my previous role. The hiring manager told me she is having a hard time finding developers and I am what she is looking for. I tell her the reason why is the hiring process is broken. You have all these requirements to do the job but the final round you have people asking leetcode questions or some random coding challenge that is diconnected from the actual job duties. I think it went over her head. In the final round I got asked to flatten an object using recursion. This is arguable that its a fair question. But I was a " fit" based on my actual real world experience but asking me to regurtigate recursion in an interview for 5 minutes does not determine a fit to build react based web applications. I got rejected. A month later I got another interview with this comapny again and I was asked if I interviewed with them before. I said yes, and the recruiter asked me who was the hiring mananger. He said you this position was supposed to hire on January 1st and it still has not been filled. It was at that point around January 16th.My initial interview was around December 4th.