Starting a new job can be a scary time. You will meet new people, you will have a new routine, a new place to work, new challenges. As a Product Manager you will have to discover a completely new product, a new industry, a new team, and a new company. There are so many things to learn, to discover, that it can be overwhelming.
Last week, I started a new job, as a product manager, and so for the past few weeks I have been preparing for this new adventure. I have so many new things to learn and to discover. I am joining a completely new job in a completely new industry, and while this can be scary and overwhelming, it is also super exciting. And so before even starting a new job, I prepared some things to help me achieve success in my adventure. And since maybe some of you might be also starting a new job as product managers, here are some tips:
Learn more about the company
So probably you already did intense research about the company during the interview process. But nowadays information is always being shared on the company websites, or the social media. It can be a good idea to follow the social media pages, and visit the company to check for updates. It will help you to catch up with the public news about the company, and not be so lost when you join the company.
Learn more about the product
This can be a little more difficult for some products, but if you can try the product you will be working on. So as a product manager one of the most important things you need to know is to put yourself in your customers/users’ shoes, so the easiest way to do it is to actually be a customer yourself.
However, sometimes this is not possible, maybe because it is a B2B product, or the product is not available where you live (especially if you are working remotely). In this case, it can be a little harder, but not impossible to learn more about the product. Some companies have videos about the product or you can check customer reviews.
Learn about the industry/market
Especially if you are joining a new industry, you will need to learn more about the area you will be working. Research about trends that might be arising, discover which are the main players in the industry and what they are doing, try to discover if there are any new players growing. If you are completely new to the industry, read about the area to learn some lingo, try to understand what are the problems that exist in the industry, and what makes people use a product.
There is a lot of information online, and probably it is this information you will be using once you start your new job.
Take time to rest and reset your Brain
It is important to do some homework before you start a new job, but allow yourself to rest, take on a new hobby you have been dying to try, but never got the time, or travel to new places. I have made this mistake twice in the past of not stopping before a new job, but if you still can negotiate with the old or the new company to try to get 1 or 2 weeks off before you start. For me this is important, first because I am able to get everything organized before I start the new job, and during the first weeks/months I am able to have more focus on the job. And second because I am able to rest and reset and start the new job fully energized.
So if you are also starting a new job in the next weeks Good luck in this new adventure! The easiest part is done you got the job, the hard part it is about to start, but it is also the fun part.
