Are you a Product Proxy in your role?

Hey 👋

Every time I am with a group of aspiring Product Managers, the most common question is “How do I get into a PM role without a background in tech?”

The limiting belief is that PM roles are reserved for or more likely to go to people with tech backgrounds.

While a tech background is a plus for PM roles in Product Tech companies, you need to figure out your strengths and how you can add value to your next role.

To break into PM, before you sign up for an expensive course or certification, think through your past experience and make a strategy.

Breaking into Product is 80% strategy and 20% doing the actual work.

If you identify the right way to target the right companies by leveraging your past experience, your chances of success improve by 100x.

One framework to think about is this - Are you the "Product Proxy" in Your Current Role?

You don't need "Product Manager" in your title to start building product skills.

In my previous roles, I have hired Non-Tech PMs, primarily for the domain expertise they brought to the table.

If I am building a CRM for sales professionals, it is best led by someone who has hands-on experience with sales and understands deeply the challenges faced by sales folks.

I can discount the tech background for “acquaintance” with tech.

Domain expertise wins the game here.

Here's the big secret: find and own the product-adjacent projects where you are right now. It's not about waiting for a project to come to you—it's about digging out opportunities and building mini-products or processes that give you that experience.

Examples:

* In Sales? Find out which tools or workflows could be improved to help the team close deals faster. Create a business case, rally a few people, and lead the charge. That's product management.

* In Operations? Look for the bottlenecks. Solve for efficiency, develop a process, and iterate. This is product thinking—spotting problems, setting a roadmap, and executing.

* In Customer Support? Analyze patterns in customer issues, propose solutions, and build a knowledge base. That's user research and problem-solving.

* In Marketing? Develop campaign tracking tools, optimize the content pipeline, or improve the lead qualification process. That's feature prioritization and user journey optimization.

* In Finance? Create automated reporting dashboards, streamline approval workflows, or build financial planning tools. That's technical product management.

Once you've identified these product-adjacent opportunities in your current role, the next crucial step is to translate these experiences into your resume. The key is not just listing what you did, but reframing your achievements to highlight product thinking and leadership. Here's how you can transform your current resume bullets into compelling product management experience:

Resume Before and After Examples:

Before (Sales Role):

* Achieved 120% of quarterly sales targets

* Managed a portfolio of 50+ enterprise clients

* Used CRM to track and report on sales activities

After (Sales Role Positioned for PM):

* Identified friction points in sales process and led cross-functional initiative to implement new CRM features, reducing deal closure time by 30%

* Analyzed user feedback from 50+ enterprise clients to create product enhancement proposals, resulting in 3 new features being added to the roadmap

* Built and launched an automated lead scoring system, increasing qualified lead conversion by 45%

The trick is positioning yourself as a "Product Proxy" – someone with the insights, drive, and ownership mindset that hiring managers want. This will make a huge difference on your resume and in interviews.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

If you found these insights helpful, let’s take it further,

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If you have any questions, reply to this email and I will be happy to help.

Wishing you a week filled with positive updates for your job.

I will see you next week.

All the Best

Aditi