As a product manager, you gain a versatile skillset that can be applied across many roles. However, you may reach a point where you want to transition into a new career path. This article explores some of the key motivations for changing roles after working in product management, as well as potential alternative careers to consider.

Defining the Product Manager Role

Product managers are responsible for the strategy, roadmap, and feature set of a product. Key responsibilities include:

• Gathering user requirements
• Prioritizing features
• Working with engineering and design teams
• Analyzing metrics
• Making data-driven decisions

These responsibilities build strong analytical, communication, collaboration, and strategic thinking skills that are valued across many industries.

When looking to transition into a new role, be sure to highlight relevant product manager skills to put on your resume. This helps showcase your versatility.

Motivations for Pursuing Alternative Careers

There are a few common reasons product managers decide to change roles:

• Career advancement: Taking on more senior roles like Principal or Vice President of Product.
• Industry change: Transitioning into an industry you're passionate about, like healthcare or education.
• Role change: Moving into related roles like Marketing Manager or Program Manager.
• Work-life balance: Seeking more work-life balance which can be difficult in fast-paced product roles.

The great news is that product management experience is valued across many industries and functions. Let's explore some of the top alternative career options.

What is the next career move after product manager?

If you remain on the product manager career path, the next logical step would be to take on a leadership role such as:

Director of Product

In this role, you would oversee a portfolio of products, providing guidance and mentorship to product managers while also being responsible for the overall product strategy and vision. Directors of Product take on more cross-functional leadership responsibilities compared to hands-on product management.

VP of Product

As a Vice President of Product, you would manage multiple product teams, aligning their roadmaps to the company's overall business strategy. In addition to mentoring Directors of Product, you would collaborate closely with executives across the organization.

Chief Product Officer

The CPO sits on the executive leadership team, overseeing all product development initiatives across the company. This role focuses heavily on long-term vision and strategy for the product organization.

As you progress to higher levels of product leadership, the emphasis shifts from hands-on product management to people management, strategic planning, and cross-functional executive collaboration. However, the core tenant of focusing on customers' needs to deliver successful products remains constant.

Leveraging your product management skills and experience to take on these leadership positions is a common career development path. The increased scope and responsibilities allow you to make an even greater business impact.

What role is below a product manager?

An associate product manager (APM) is an entry-level position, usually reporting to a product manager (PM) or group product manager.

Here are some key things to know about the APM role in relation to the PM role:

• Responsibilities

APMs typically handle more tactical product tasks while PMs focus on strategy. Common APM responsibilities include:

• Conducting market research
• Competitive analysis
• Testing product concepts
• Managing basic product documentation
• Supporting development teams
• Career Growth

The APM role is seen as a stepping stone to becoming a PM. After 1-2 years as an APM, professionals typically have the chance to be promoted to a junior PM role with increased responsibilities.

• Skills

Both roles require skills like:

• Communication
• Analytics
• Project management

However, PMs need more leadership abilities while APMs focus on building core product skills.

So in summary, the APM sits below the PM in terms of seniority and pay. But it's an essential introductory role for those looking to eventually advance into a PM position.

What can product managers pivot to?

Since product managers gain broad internal exposure across departments like marketing, sales, business development, and operations, they can leverage their cross-functional knowledge and transition into related roles. Here are some potential career pivots for product managers looking to expand their skills:

Business Development

Product managers understand customers deeply and are skilled at articulating product value propositions. These competencies directly transfer to identifying partnership opportunities and negotiating win-win deals. With some additional sales enablement training, product managers can readily move into business development positions.

Marketing

Having led go-to-market strategies, product managers grasp positioning, messaging, and campaign execution. They can utilize these experiences to transition to marketing roles like campaign managers, growth marketers, or product marketing managers. Additional training in creative design and digital analytics would be beneficial.

Corporate Strategy

With their customer-centric approach and ability to balance business priorities, product managers are equipped to shift into corporate strategy. They can leverage their aptitude for long-term planning and cross-functional collaboration to drive strategic initiatives across the organization. Some additional finance and investment analysis skills may be required.

The transferrable skills product managers gain regarding customers, products, markets, and business priorities prepare them for lateral moves into related functions. With some targeted skill building, they can pivot their careers while leveraging years of hands-on PM experience.

What do product managers work closely with?

Product managers work closely with several key roles across the organization to ensure the product's success. These commonly include:

Engineering

Product managers partner with engineering teams to define product requirements, prioritize features based on customer needs and business goals, provide user stories, and ensure the technical feasibility of product ideas. As the voice of the customer, product managers ensure engineering builds products that delight users and drive business results.

Sales

Product managers enable sales teams to effectively position and sell the product by providing training, collateral, and expertise on the product's value proposition. Product managers use feedback from sales to understand customer needs, objections, and buying criteria.

Marketing

Product managers collaborate with marketing to develop positioning and messaging that resonates with target buyer personas. They inform marketing campaigns and programs by sharing customer insights and analytics on product performance.

Support

Product managers use feedback from support teams to identify recurring issues customers face. They prioritize bugs and feature requests based on customer impact and work with engineering to address these issues.

In summary, product managers intersect with various functions to ensure the product solves real customer problems and achieves business goals. Their central position connects insights across the organization to inform strategic product decisions. Key skills like communication, collaboration, and analytical thinking {roles similar to product manager} help product managers work effectively cross-functionally.

Product Manager Title Hierarchy and Career Progression

As a product manager, there are clear opportunities to advance your career and take on greater leadership responsibilities. Here is an overview of some common career progressions.

From Product Manager to Senior Product Manager

The jump from product manager to senior product manager typically involves:

• Taking ownership of more complex products or portfolios
• Managing larger teams
• Increased strategic input and decision making authority
• More cross-functional collaboration at the executive level
• 5+ years of proven product management experience

As a senior PM, you go from executing tactics to shaping high-level strategy. Key skills include stakeholder management, leadership, and business acumen. Demonstrating these can set you up for further advancement.

Ascending to Product Director and Vice President Roles

The next rung on the ladder is product director or VP of product management. Common responsibilities include:

• Owning the success of entire product lines or divisions
• Establishing product vision and leading multiple teams of PMs
• Close collaboration with C-suite executives
• Significant operating budget and P&L ownership
• 8-10+ years of product leadership experience

This role expansion is all about driving business outcomes through product leadership. Skills like executive presence, industry expertise, and resource allocation are critical.

The Path to Chief Executive Officer from Product Management

Many CEOs come from product management backgrounds given the cross-functional nature of the role. Key skills that translate well into the top executive spot include:

• Business and financial acumen
• Ability to assess market opportunities
• Comfort with ambiguity and risk
• Proven leadership abilities
• Understanding of consumers and their needs

To make the leap into general management and the CEO chair, broadening your experience beyond specific product domains can be invaluable.

Adjacent Roles Leveraging Product Management Expertise

Product managers possess a versatile skillset that can be applied to many roles beyond core product management. With expertise in areas like market analysis, customer research, product strategy, and cross-functional leadership, product managers are well-equipped to transition into related positions.

Marketing Director and Product Marketing Manager

For product managers looking to move into marketing, two great options are Marketing Director and Product Marketing Manager roles.

As a Marketing Director, a product manager can utilize their strategic marketing abilities to lead branding, campaigns, and overall marketing vision for a company. Their innate customer and market understanding helps craft positioning and messaging that truly resonates with target audiences.

Transitioning to a Product Marketing Manager role allows leveraging deep knowledge of products and customers. Product Marketing Managers craft compelling product messaging, drive product launches, and create marketing assets that capture the essence and value proposition of products. Their cross-functional coordination experience ensures marketing initiatives integrate smoothly across sales, product development, and other departments.

Sales and Business Development Opportunities

The analytical abilities and customer orientation of most product managers also serves them well for sales and business development positions.

As a Sales Manager or Director of Sales, a product manager can tap into their customer and market mastery to build high-performing sales teams, identify ideal targets, and craft resonant sales messaging. Their data-driven approach helps optimize sales processes for efficiency and results.

For product managers interested in driving business growth, becoming a Business Development Manager allows direct application of market and customer insights to forge partnerships, evaluate growth potential, and spearhead new initiatives.

Operations Management and Strategy

Some product managers may also consider leveraging their operational talents in roles like Operations Director or Director of Strategy.

Operations Directors keep organizations running smoothly by coordinating resources, overseeing logistics, and implementing efficient processes. Product managers know how to juggle priorities and rally cross-functional teams to execute operationally - valuable skills in this role.

Directors of Strategy utilize product managers' analytical abilities to evaluate markets, guide high-level decision-making, and chart strategic vision. Strong critical thinking and problem-solving abilities allow developing long-term growth roadmaps.

The world of possibilities is wide for product managers. By identifying transferable strengths and areas of interest, product managers can find adjacent roles perfect for their talents.

Roles Beyond the Traditional Product Management Sphere

Product managers possess a versatile skillset that can be applied to roles beyond traditional product management. With strong analytical abilities, business acumen, and communication skills, product managers may consider expanding their career options.

The Shift to Technical and Engineering Management

For product managers looking to leverage their technical knowledge, roles like Technical Product Manager or Engineering Manager allow for specialized oversight of a product's technical development.

Responsibilities can include:

• Managing software developers and quality assurance teams
• Setting technical specifications and requirements
• Overseeing architecture, integration, and system testing
• Identifying technical risks and limitations

Relevant skills from product management include:

• Understanding of software development lifecycles
• Ability to prioritize technical features and requirements
• Communication with cross-functional partners

With some additional technical training, product managers can thrive when transitioning into these roles.

Finance and Purchasing Management Roles

Product managers possess analytical and negotiation abilities that prove valuable in procurement-focused positions like Purchasing Manager or Supply Chain Manager.

Duties may consist of:

• Forecasting, planning, and budgeting
• Vendor selection and contract negotiations
• Analyzing spend and supply markets
• Managing inventory flows and logistics

Transferable product management strengths:

• Data analysis and forecasting expertise
• Vendor and stakeholder relationship management
• Understanding of budgets and financial planning
• Sharp negotiation skills

The crossover capabilities make purchasing and supply chain management a viable career shift.

Customer-Focused Roles: Service and Account Management

For product managers interested in more customer-facing functions, client success positions like Account Manager or Customer Service Manager allow direct work with users.

Day-to-day activities can involve:

• Managing portfolio of assigned customers
• Identifying upsell/renewal opportunities
• Conducting regular check-ins and reviews
• Troubleshooting issues and complaints

Relevant capabilities from product management:

• Knowledge of customers and their needs
• Strong communication and presentation abilities
• Building customer relationships and loyalty
• Service-focused solution development

With their customer orientation and support experience, product managers can naturally transition into these frontline roles.

Maximizing Product Management Skills in Your Resume and Interviews

Highlighting Product Management Skills on Your Resume

When applying for roles similar to product manager, it's important to highlight your relevant product management skills directly on your resume. Specifically call out abilities like:

• Requirements gathering and analysis
• Building product roadmaps
• Conducting market research
• Competitive analysis
• Developing pricing strategies
• Managing product launches
• Tracking key product metrics
• Leading cross-functional teams

Emphasize any analytical skills you have, including working with data, A/B testing, interpreting reports, and presenting recommendations. These transferable skills are valued across many non-product manager roles.

Tailoring Your Experience for Non-Product Management Roles

When your target role isn't a direct product management position, carefully review the job description and tailor your resume to match their requirements. Identify overlaps between your product management background and the role's needs.

For example, if you are applying for an operations role, highlight process improvement initiatives or supply chain optimization projects from your experience. Adjust the wording to align with industry terminology while showcasing your applicable capabilities.

Strategies for Interview Success in Diverse Roles

To prepare for interviews for adjacent roles, research the specific position and company so you understand their goals and priorities. Identify how your background enables you to contribute, whether through analytical abilities, leadership skills, or other strengths.

Develop examples that showcase these transferable skills in action, drawing parallels to the role's responsibilities. Convey your passion for continuous learning and willingness to expand your skill set as needed to excel in the new opportunity.

Stay focused on the value you offer rather than getting caught up in exact title discussions. With preparation and a positive attitude, you can successfully transition to exciting new career directions.

Conclusion: Navigating Your Product Management Career Path

Summarize the main points covered and reiterate the adjacent roles for those looking to leverage product management skills in a career transition.

Recap of Top Alternative Roles for Product Managers

As we have seen, there are many potential career paths for those with product management experience looking to transition roles. Here is a recap of some of the top alternative roles that allow professionals to utilize existing product management skills:

• Marketing Director - Oversee marketing strategies and campaigns. Similar analytical abilities needed.
• Business Developer - Identify business opportunities and partnerships. Leverage product insights.
• Principal Consultant - Provide strategic advice to clients. Apply product thinking.
• Director of Sales - Lead sales teams and strategy. Use market knowledge.
• Project Manager - Manage development of products. Relevant cross-functional leadership.

The above roles represent just some of the options for product managers looking to expand their career opportunities.

Final Thoughts on Skill Application and Career Growth

When considering a career transition, be sure to evaluate how your product management expertise can be applied in your desired role. Identify transferable skills such as analytical thinking, project leadership, and communication.

Leverage your product knowledge and experience during the job search process. Continually seek out opportunities to grow your skills as well. With some strategic planning, product managers can find exciting new career directions while still benefiting from their specialized skill set.