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)