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What’s new from Coach Pri?

It’s that time of the year again! Spring 🌸 is in the air, and here in California we barely have a winter, so it’s already starting to feel like early summer. 😉 Here’s what I’ve been up to recently…

🎤 My talk @ Santa Clara University: Last week I had the privilege to give a talk for Computer Science students at Santa Clara University about “How to become a Product Manager”. We talked about what PMs really do, how to break in to your first product role, and my 7-step framework or blueprint to move into product (based on my own successful transition from Sr Program Manager to Sr Product Manager!). It was exciting to meet the next-gen PM talent, and expose them to a broader vision of what’s possible for them after they graduate! This was my 2nd time at SCU & I had fun 🙌

Does your University or Company need a speaker for your event? Let’s chat. I speak about leadership, women in product, team-building, AI products & more.

🤖 Building AI/ML Products - Guest AMA session with 3X Startup Exec & Founder (Virtual PM Community Event): From building ML-native platforms to reinventing Fintech and Marketplaces, Shikhar Mishra has led product and engineering at some of the most disruptive startups out there! This is your chance to learn directly from a tech leader who’s taken ideas from zero to 1 and from 1-100 — multiple times over. We will be talking about - building AI/ML products & key challenges, hiring PMs for AI/ML products, lessons learned from scaling AI platforms across industries, and more!

When: March 20th, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm PT! (Virtual)
👉 Sign up here

😇 New YouTube Video: 5 Behavioral PM Interview Mistakes & How to Fix!
 Just launched a new video on my channel! I break down the top 5 mistakes PM candidates make in behavioral interviews – and what to do instead, so you can interview with more clarity and confidence.
👉 Watch the new video here.

🚀 PM Level-Up Group Program Update: We are in WEEK 7 of the PM Level-Up Program, focusing on two topics this week - leadership (Product Strategy, Leading Teams, People Management!) and behavioral (checkout the video below for the 5 behavioral interview mistakes that are blocking your success!)

Next cohort: May 6 - June 27th! 🙌 Early access and bonuses 🎁 available till April 1.
We have 2 spots filled already! Curious to learn more? 

 👉 Book a free 15-min call with me next week to evaluate fit !

March In-person PM Community Meetup + “Job search strategy” Masterclass:  Join me and fellow PMs for our 4th ‘Product-with-Pri’ Community Meetup!

We'll be diving into:
“How to Create a Clear, Cohesive Job Search Strategy”
- Learn my proven methods to create a job search strategy that works - for YOU!
- Connect with other ambitious PMs
- Ask questions live
- And yes…there will be snacks! 😂 

🗓️ Date & RSVP link coming soon! Keep an eye out — spots will be limited to 20, and I’d love to see you there IRL 🙌

👉 Reply to this with “community event” if you’d like to join us, so I can send you the sign up link as soon as it’s out!

Product Management News & Industry Trends

So much is happening in the world of tech that we need to be aware of as Product Leaders! Here are some key updates to help you stay up-to-speed:

• Product Development is becoming longer/more expensive – I’ve seen many people talk about this on podcasts, linkedin and other forums - and it is certainly top of mind for many Product Leaders and execs in particular. The whole “fail fast” approach of Mr Zuckerberg does not work particularly well with AI products 😉

  Given the high cost of mistakes (& correcting them!) while building an AI/ML native product, and the need for additional/diligent experimentation before launch, the product development lifecycle is now extended. This means - we need more time, more people/resources, and expensive compute resources!
  If your exec leaders don’t understand this - you as a PM or a mid career product leader are going to be stuck trying to justify why just shipping the product or features is taking soo long! What can you do to succeed - up-level your experimentation skills, and your exec communication skills!

• AI + Human Collaboration Design

  • One of the biggest UX challenges now is deciding what AI should do vs. what the user should control.

  • The best PMs are those who deeply understand human-AI interaction, especially for tools in creative, decision-making, or productivity spaces.

• AI for PM Productivity

  • Internal tools like AI copilots for roadmapping, user insights, prioritization, and writing PRDs are on the rise.

  • Personally, I am in the early stages of kicking off a collaboration with a startup founder who is building an awesome AI/ML product for PM productivity across the PDLC - from strategy, to design, to execution & launch. I am exploring an early adopter program for this tool with my clients, many of whom are excited to try out this product in their day-to-day!
    

    Since you are part of this Product-with-Pri Community, would you also like to get your hands-on this PM Productivity AI tool and try it out?
    
    Reply ‘Co-Pilot’ and I will share more info with you!

Who’s hiring (job postings from my network)

PM hiring remains strong as we head into March 🔥 I’ve curated a list of live roles from hiring managers & recruiters in my network. Apply directly or reach out if you’d like a referral!

• Qualtrics – Hiring a Sr. PM for VoIP products in Seattle→ HM Post

• Lime (e-scooters/bikes) – Hiring a Principal PM → HM Post

• Intuit – Hiring a Principal PM - Agentic AI experiences → HM Post

• Walmart - Continues to hire - Principal PM, Commerce Platform → HM Post

• If you’re passionate about pets - Petscreening is hiring a Sr. PM in North Carolina → HM Post

• Xplor Technologies (B2B payments) – Hiring a Sr PM, Growth → HM Post

• Earnest (Fintech) – Hiring a Sr PM, Customer Acquisition → HM Post

• T-Mobile– Hiring a Principal AI Tech. PM - Texas or Arkansas → HM Post

• Roblox - Hiring a Principal PM, AI Platforms in San Mateo,CA - no HM contact for this one, but the job was just reposted recently, so apply away!

📍 More roles? Check out trueup.io/jobs!

PM Career/Interview Tips of the Week

🎯 How to Answer: “Should We Launch Product A or B?”

This type of question is mainly testing your product execution skills, including your ability to know how to measure success of a product, and how to make decisions based on data and product success metrics! Of course, I always recommend starting off with the big picture first, and showing off a bit of your strategic product mindset, so that the interviewer knows you’re thinking about this at the Principal PM or GPM level, and not just at the PM level 😉 

 🔥 Use this 7-step approach to excel in your PM interviews:

1. Clarify the product & company context

2. Align on goals, mission, and North Star metric

3. Understand user personas & pain points - analyze which pain points are solved by Product A vs Product B

4. Recommend Product A or B with rationale

5. Define leading success metrics for both products

6. Highlight risks & tradeoffs

7. Summarize with confidence and clarity

🎤 Want me to walk through this in a future youtube video? Hit reply and let me know!

Whenever you’re ready, here are 2 ways I can help…