First Few Days as a Product Manager
- blogs
- 5 min read
You have recently joined as a Product Manager and you have loads of e-mails to go through and you do not know where to start. It is crucial during this time to avoid being isolated and getting buried in e-mails and distractions.
Your first day as a Product Manager at a new job can either be the first day of the rest of your life… or the first of a series of never-ending Groundhog Day experiences, where every day feels the same and your new job quickly seems just like the old job.
This is a honeymoon period where the best Product Managers establish their reputations, start delivering on projects, display their strengths and weaknesses, develop alliances and set expectations for coming years.
Key Takeaways:
- Establishing deep domain expertise and understanding your product thoroughly are critical steps for a new Product Manager.
- Prioritize connecting with external stakeholders and keeping abreast of industry trends to avoid isolation and maintain relevance.
- Actively reviewing and contributing to the product roadmap can significantly impact your success and the product’s direction.
- Building strong relationships and understanding internal dynamics are essential for navigating a new role effectively.
The best Product Managers are those who interact with the departments they will need to work with in the future, build alliances, start to earn trust, and get to know the exact role of Product Management and where it is positioned within the company.
To make sure that it does happen, here are ten things to do differently and help you stand out:
Rejuvenate your domain expertise: Make sure that you combine the deep domain expertise and cross-industry experience to connect makers with markets worldwide.
Know your new product: It is essential that before you move ahead in your new role as a Product Manager, you are well-versed with your new product. It is recommended that as a Product Manager, you go through the release notes, product documentation, white paper and sales enablement for better understanding.
Keep a close watch on your projects as a Product Manager: Keep a focus on problems/projects/activities that are priorities. Create some momentum positively and collaboratively.
Look for as many ways to connect with the outside world as possible: There is a tendency in Product Management just to live inside the company’s four walls and only occasionally go outside for channel partners, resellers, salespeople, and customers.
Analyze the corporate pitch: It is extremely important to review the corporate pitch as a Product Manager. You should be able to perceive where your company stands as a Product Manager and how your product is placed in the industry.
Catch up on the latest blogs and articles: Ensure that you keep a close watch on the latest blogs and articles related to the product industry. It is extremely important for a Product Manager that he is properly updated with the current trends of the industry.
Review the product roadmap: You need to review where the product is headed as a Product Manager. Make sure that anyone has developed a roadmap for the next few releases.
Share your idea and sync up with your partners: Share my ideas on developing new ways to reach out to partners and engage with them.
Consider going on sales calls: To get a hang of your product and to learn more about what your existing user feels about your product, ensure that you go on a few sales calls and review the sales records as well.
Understand people dynamics: This is the most important part for Product Managers, more important than even your product in the initial days. You need to start building relationships from day one as a Product Manager. Every company has some form of internal people dynamics that you need to observe and learn as you get used to your new position, especially in a new company.
Frequently Asked Questions
Rejuvenating your domain expertise is crucial for connecting makers with markets worldwide by leveraging deep domain knowledge and cross-industry experience.
Knowing your new product well is essential because it enables you to understand the product deeply through its release notes, documentation, white papers, and sales enablement materials.
A Product Manager should focus on priority problems/projects/activities to create positive and collaborative momentum.
Understanding people dynamics is vital because building relationships from day one is more important than the product itself, especially in navigating internal dynamics at a new company.
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