
Ask HN: How to build a software portfolio for product management positions? - mkiisa
Hi,<p>I&#x27;m a senior-year undergraduate CS student with work experience as a machine learning engineer. I want to work as a product management after school and I prefer joining a high growth startup or a great tech company like Stripe or AirBnb, no FAANG. For that I&#x27;m thinking of building a product portfolio to impress the hiring managers (I have spent only one summer as an intern). The problem is, I don&#x27;t have any good product ideas that I feel are showing that I have a good intuition about product. Any advice on what I should build? How should I approach this?<p>Thanks!
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villaumbrosia
Hi @mkiisa!

If you’re looking for a job in Product, It is very possible that the hiring
company will ask you for a portfolio. And since it is a reflective experience,
it can prepare you for interviews and other challenges that require you to
share your achievements.

First of all, It looks like you don’t have direct experience in Product. And
that’s fine! A tip from the Product School blog is to build your portfolio to
explain “Even though I have not had my first product experience yet, all of
these experiences have prepared me for it”. In other words, you have to select
those features of your personal history that scream user knowledge, business
acumen, and technical leadership abilities. It’s not just thinking about
innovative products. Other things to consider:

Think about “format”. For instance, imagine that you worked in a YouTube-
oriented PR company and have video editing skills. You could build your
portfolio via a creative video, something dynamic that helps you reach even
more people. So depending on your skills, experience, and who you’re
targeting, the format of your portfolio can vary.

“Brand” your portfolio. By tying yourself to a particular sector, you can
target the community. It can be very powerful to show that you are riding the
wave in terms of what is going on in the sector. That is, linking your career
history to the latest transformations in the industry.

Emphasize the “full package”. Your portfolio shouldn’t just about the products
that you helped or wanted to create, but the skills that made them possible.

And lastly, don’t be afraid to experiment!

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smt88
Good product work isn't about ideas or intuition. It should be primarily a
research job. You learn about users, work with the team to solve their
problems, and then close the loop by testing it with users.

Lots of companies hire people for product work who have no idea what they're
doing and no experience doing it. Those people often seem to come from
marketing at other firms.

I know I've just outlined a catch-22 for you, but that's unfortunately how
some roles work.

My recommendation is to get some quantitative digital marketing experience or
approach from the engineering side or offer to do product work for a FOSS
product. An example might be something like KeepassXC.

