What Skills Should Product Managers Have?
Product Managers must be skilled communicators who are willing to delegate. Building a good rapport with your product team is of the utmost importance. The Product Manager must also be extremely adaptable and thrive in a fast-paced environment. If you’re working in a startup environment, you’ll also need to be flexible and willing to take on extra tasks that may not normally be a specialized Product Manager’s responsibility.
Product Managers must make informed decisions for their product to succeed. This means that they must be doing the up front research to understand the needs and wants of the end-user, the business’ goals and KPIs, the market their product is in, and current relevant technologies. This means that the Product Manager will have a direct hand in user experience research, development planning and architecture, and business decisions.
You’ll need to have high-level knowledge of every piece of the product’s lifecycle and ideally some in-depth knowledge about user experience, and product development. Product Managers will need a high-level understanding of marketing, iteration, the product life cycle, the SWOT analysis method, creating milestones and timelines, managing a budget, product design, distribution strategy, customer and end-user analysis, reports, and sale forecasting as well. Some companies will expect the Product Manager to be certified in agile development if they will be working with any type of computer application.
You might be using technologies like Microsoft Office, a project management software tool, data visualization like Tableau, and CRM tools but these will vary with each employer and project. You should also familiarize yourself with the technology stack (coding languages and technologies) that your development team is using if you plan to specialize in a web or software product.
Active listening, presentation skills, acceptance of critical feedback, addressing objections, emotional intelligence, maintaining composure under pressure, collaboration, and fantastic written communication are soft skills that the Product Manager should possess. The Product Manager is a multifaceted position that will wear many hats throughout the life cycle of a product’s development. Many recruiters live by the standard, “Technologies can be taught, soft skills are natural.” So coming into the job search with your soft skills honed in some way will be important for the interview process in any Product Manager position.
Learn the Skills You Need to Become a Product Manager
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Coding
Coding is another way to say computer programming. It is how humans "instruct" computers through the process of designing and building a functioning computer program. Computer and web programs are built using coding languages like C, Python, PHP, HTML, JavaScript, and more. Coding can be used to create desktop, mobile, or web applications.
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Web Development
Web development is the practice of building, creating, and maintaining websites. Web development uses coding languages to build a website for the internet.
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Project Management
Project management is the practice of leading a team's work through planning and team management to meet a goal and deadline with a completed project.
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Product Management
Product management is the combination of project management and technical skills to plan, analyze, and maximize the effectiveness of a product. This process includes the development of business strategies, functional design, and management of the launch of new features.
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Project Management Certification
The most common project management certifications are awarded by the Project Management Institute (PMI). These professional certifications ensure your ability to meet the demands of projects and employers by creating rigorous standards based on ongoing research. Some certifications include Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), and the PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA).