Updated: January 24, 2024- 3 min read
This week Product School hosted Diana Chen current Product Recruiting Leader at Facebook, for an #AskMeAnything session. Diana shared her experience working as a Recruiting leader and gave tips for others looking to hire new team members.
Meet Diana Chen
Diana Chen is passionate about building product teams and currently leads a product recruiting team at Facebook. Prior to her current role, Diana was a Recruiting Manager at an agency where she partnered with various start-ups to Fortune 500 companies in scaling their teams.
Recruiting Product Managers
“Can you please share some insights regarding how recruiting for product roles has changed due to COVID-19?”
One change that I have noticed due to COVID is the increasing number of companies being opened to remote work or remote product teams.
“As a recruiter, what do you look for in resumes where the candidate doesn’t have direct Product Management experience?”
What I look for in candidates who may not have direct Product Management experience is how they can take an ambiguous idea to create a great solution, execution, and be able to work well across cross-functional teams.
“How should enterprise application Product Managers showcase their results in their CV?”
I think of the CV as a way for you to tell your story and the impact you have made on your team or the company. Every company can look for different things in a Product Manager. I would recommend understanding what the Product Manager’s role and scope are in that company and highlighting your experiences that align with that.
“Do you have some advice for early-stage startup founders who are hiring people?”
My advice for early stage-startups is:
Understanding what is important to the candidate.
Create a positive interview experience for all candidates and continue to build positive candidate relationships. The candidate's experience is just as important as your client's experience.
Aligning your team to the company’s mission.
Build transparency.
You might also be interested in: Hiring A Product Manager: Job Posting Templates
“What challenges could accountants have while becoming Product Managers? What soft skills are the most important to someone with non-technical skills?”
What a love about speaking with Product Managers is the diversity in experiences. There are many different types of paths to becoming a Product Manager.
My advice is to build on your existing experience. A great place to start could be finding PM opportunities that highlight your domain expertise as an accountant.
The role of a Product Manager can vary across different companies. In general, I think being able to work well cross-functionally, prioritization, and execution, and user empathy could help someone be successful as a PM.
Join us next week for another #AskMeAnything Session for more insights from Product Managers around the world!
Updated: January 24, 2024
