Posted by There are thousands of job opportunities out there. Finding the right ones to apply for can be a daunting task. Let’s explore some strategies and tactics you can use today to get started with an audience first so you stay engaged with your network while you share your open status to be employed.
Whether you realize it or not, you have an audience.
Activate your network
If you’re reading this, you likely found it on LinkedIn or Facebook. That’s how I’m sharing my writing. You are also putting yourself out there by using these social media platforms. Whether you realize it or not, you have an audience.
How you leverage that audience is up to you. There are quite a few options I’ll list below. I challenge you to try at least 1 today!
The compelling question
Write a post stating that you’re looking to get into the product management discipline and ask a compelling question that seasoned PMs would love to share insights on. This should be a question that asks for personal experiences rather than general best practices. A social network’s experience is often an unrealized value you gain on social media platforms such as LinkedIn. Let’s put it to use instead of simply asking around for job opportunities directly.
The idea here is to engage with your audience and build relationships that then lead to a passive source of job opportunities as you build your network.
Examples: “As an aspiring PM I’d love to know, ”
- What do you wish you knew before applying for your first PM job?
- What did you learn from failed PM interviews?
- What was the toughest part of the PM interview?
- What do you value most in a company that focuses on product development?
- How do you like to prepare for a PM interview?
- Why did you decide to get into product management?
- What was your educational and professional background before becoming a PM?
Getting personal
All of these questions have something in common: they are focusing on personal experiences over best practices and general information.
You can simply google the best prep methods, interview tactics, as well as interview questions for many of the larger companies out there. The point in leveraging your network is to get a view into what happens in the real world. Both best practices and personal experiences have value in your journey. This is a simple method of engaging with your audience to learn more about them as well as set yourself up for success by learning from their experiences.
You can often find company-specific groups as well on networks such as LinkedIn. This is a great way to engage with actual recruiters and employees!
Grow your audience
As you engage with your audience across your network(s), you can broaden that space quickly by joining groups of similar interests. There are always other people in similar situations to yourself that are willing to group up for the journey. Search your networks for groups with key words around what you’re looking for such as “product management” and “interview prep”. You can often find company-specific groups as well on networks such as LinkedIn. This is a great way to engage with actual recruiters and employees!
Continue the conversation
Finally and most importantly, you’ll want to engage in your post. If someone answers your question, follow-up promptly with any follow-ups or a simply thank you.
Keep an eye out for especially engaged individuals in your network that you can reach out to in a direct message for further advice and ongoing conversation. This can lead to invaluable mentorship and coaching down the line as well as job opportunities!
That’s it! Take this action today and start engaging with your audience. And as always, GL HF!!