The Product Porch
How Much Does Industry Experience Matter
Episode Summary
As someone interviewing for product roles, I want to grasp the importance of industry experience in hiring, so that I can better navigate career transitions, understand why companies emphasize industry experience, and learn how to sell myself effectively in a new industry.
Episode Notes
- Ryan emphatically explains why you don’t need experience for a PM job (2:11)
- Joe shares why it isn’t a black/white answer (4:20)
- The danger in over-indexing to hiring for experience (8:30)
- The value of mentorships to overcome a lack of industry experience (18:00)
- Ryan walks us through the beginners mindset as a product leader (23:00)
- Find fit for the role - don’t rely on the experience - how long does it take to be great at product discovery (28:00)
- Ryan tell us why he hates the term “fail fast” (31:00)
- The similarities between baseball and product management (35:10)
- A teaser on an upcoming product management podcast (41:00)
- Key Takeaways (45:30)