What is a product manager?
The product manager is responsible for delivering a differentiated product to market that addresses a market need and represents a viable business opportunity. They are focused on optimizing a product to achieve the business goals and user necessities while maximizing return on investment.
How to become a product manager?
There are no formal qualifications needed to become a product manager, although most employers will prefer candidates with a relevant qualification, especially a degree.
If the focus of the role is product development, an employer will usually ask for a degree related to their industry. Almost all employers would favour a candidate with a business-related degree or qualification. However, experience is the most important factor for securing a job as a product manager.
Product manager duties
Product manager duties are diverse and depend on the employer and specialty, but some responsibilities are common to most:
- Work closely with engineering, sales, marketing, and support to ensure business case and customer satisfaction goals are met
- Monitor the market and develop competitive analyses
- Act as the customer advocate articulating the user’s and/or buyer’s needs
- Recommends or contributes information in setting product pricing
- Collect, analyze and respond to user feedback
- Manage one or more budgets
- Gather and evaluate ideas and opinions
- Plan new features and changes to a product
Product manager skills
To be an effective product manager, you’ll need certain skills and competencies. The following are often cited in job vacancies:
- Flexible, as you’ll be working in-depth with different business functions
- Good collaborator, leader and diplomat
- Organised and able to work to deadlines and roadmaps
- Strong and clear communicator, with a variety of stakeholders at different levels of seniority and knowledge
- Good at persuasion and negotiation
How to find a product manager job
These jobs are advertised online, in local newspapers and at your local jobcentre. To find all the product manager jobs near you, you need to:
- Search for product manager jobs on popular job websites such as; Indeed, Total Jobs and CV Library
- Use the DWP’s Find A Job Service
- Check local newspapers and local Facebook groups, especially groups dedicated to local jobs
Product Manager Job Titles
These jobs are advertised online, in local newspapers and at your local jobcentre. To find all the product manager jobs near you, you need to:
- Search for product manager jobs on popular job websites such as; Indeed, Total Jobs and CV Library
- Use the DWP’s Find A Job Service
- Check local newspapers and local Facebook groups, especially groups dedicated to local jobs
What does a product manager do?
The day-to-day tasks of a product manager include;
- Understand and represent user needs
- Running design sprints
- Perform market assessments
- Align stakeholders around the vision for the product
- Prioritize product features and capabilities
- Create a shared brain across larger teams to empower independent decision making
- Define and track success metrics
- Define a vision for a product