Key considerations for hiring product managers, drawing insights from Jeremy Horn's Product Mentor and First Round Capital's resources.
Core Competencies
Universal PM skills across industries:
- Organizational abilities and proven delivery track record
- Political navigation across teams and stakeholders
- Empathy and communication excellence
- Ability to articulate winning product vision, rally teams, and iterate effectively
Key Hiring Takeaways
1. Clarify Your Needs
Assess whether you need a PM due to developer overload, competing projects, or increased complexity.
2. Essential Skills
"Gantcharts, Agile, Waterfall .. nonsense and all can be taught." Prioritize empathy and communication over methodological expertise.
3. Decision-Making Ability
PMs should say "no" frequently. Candidates should demonstrate instances of declining feature requests.
4. Sourcing Channels
Recommended platforms: angel.co, LinkedIn, Hired.com, local product meetups
5. Resume Filters
- Product shipped successfully
- Hard science background (optional plus)
- Pride in previous work
- Writing samples, community involvement
- Avoid: designations, awards laundry lists
6. Critical Traits to Evaluate
Seek evidence of lie detection, trustworthiness, empathy, leadership, and prudence through detailed storytelling.
7. Role Clarity
PMs should support engineering teams deeply rather than act as relays between groups.