How Can You Spot SERIOUS Product Companies?
Exploring new opportunities? Hire the company you need instead of letting them set your future.
Have you ever felt fooled by a job interview?
The story is always similar: you learn about all the cool things they are doing, their unique culture, and all the empowerment you’ll get as a product manager. You happily sign up for it, and out of the blue, you realize you’re part of another feature factory.
Is there a way out of this trap?
Inspired by Bob Moesta’s latest book, Job Moves, I connect to his central idea that people hire a company to do a job for them more often than you imagine. Sometimes, that happens intentionally, and other times, it happens unintentionally.
Let’s break down how to spot the signs of a serious product company before you get trapped again. You don’t want to get another golden pass to the feature factory club.
Here’s what we’re covering today:
Shifting Your Mindset: From Being Hired to Hiring the Company
Elements You Need to Spot a Product Company
Understanding the Product Journey
Interviewing the Hiring Manager - Yes, You Should Interview
Setting Your Boundaries - Know What You Want and What You Don’t
Making a Decision to Hire the Company or Not
This is the monthly premium episode; free subscribers will get an overview, while premium subscribers will get the whole article. Let’s get into it now.
Announcement: I’ve got a free lightning session for you to learn how to spot and uncover dangerous traps with product discovery. Join me on May 14th, 7 pm CET.
Shifting Your Mindset: From Being Hired to Hiring the Company
Many of us treat a job as a means to pay for our livelihood. We don’t live to work; we work to live. I agree with that, with one caveat: we want to have fun while working, as it occupies about a third of our lives.
It took me a while to recognize that I should choose where to work instead of letting destiny choose it. For many years, I thought I was mediocre at best, and I was happy when someone offered me a job. Often, without further understanding, I’d say yes and work the best I could.
At some point, I realized I was careless with my career, letting randomness choose what I’d do. Then, I changed that. I started seeing companies as a means to help me grow; I searched for something I wanted to be part of that would unlock my potential.
My previous mindset was: The company decides if I fit and makes an offer.
My current mindset: I decide what I want and search for a company that fits.
Let me share an interesting story with you.
After four years in product, I felt stuck. I was managing backlogs, not driving impact. I kept getting praise and even a promotion to Senior PM, but it didn’t feel right. I wasn’t growing.
I wanted to be the least experienced person in the room, so I applied to a fast-paced startup. However, they turned me down because I had no startup experience.
I didn’t accept that. I told them to cut my salary by 20 percent and give me three months to prove my value. If it didn’t work, I’d walk.
I wasn’t chasing money. I was chasing growth.
They said yes. Six months later, I had a raise, real experience, and a different confidence level.
A question for you:
Are you hiring the right company for your goals?
Understanding the Product Journey
A product career often involves changing places about three or four times a decade. Eventually, you may get bored or want a different challenge. Something will happen, and you may want to move.
Let me share a bit of research I did about this journey. I see two buckets:
Job Hoppers: Switch jobs 3 to 4 times in a decade. They represent more than 80% of product people. There is more uncertainty, but the growth is impressive. You will at least double your salary. Sharing my story, I quadrupled my salary in seven years in Germany, starting as PM and becoming CEO. Three job changes. This bucket prioritizes growth and flexibility.
Stayers: About 11% of product folks will stay in a company for 10+ years. You will get one or two promotions and an increase of 50%+ of your salary. This group prioritizes stability.
Which is the best group? That’s the question you need to answer.
Here’s the research I did and got Claude to create a report for me.
Job hoppers have increased their jumps over the years. European PMs tend to stay longer than Americans, but the changes are multiplying.
If you’re a job stayer, read no further. The content won’t speak to you; I care about your time. Yet, if you’re a job hopper, let’s chat more.
Elements You Need to Spot a Product Company
Are you always looking for the new?
Is your curiosity stronger than your fear?
If you answer yes to both questions, you’ll inevitably get excited about new opportunities and move on even when your current job is good enough. Not everyone will understand you, and that doesn’t matter. You know what you’re after.
Now, I tell you, let your excitement drive you where you should be. Add a few elements to it, and you’ll end up in great places.
Let’s face it. Most companies are different variations of feature factories. Yet, that doesn’t mean they’re bad. But it definitely means nobody motivated them to change how they work. You can be that person. Before that, you’ve got to understand what you’re signing up for.
Earlier, I promised a way to see through the noise. Here it is: PROD FIT.
People & Performance
What does success look like for a product person? How do they evaluate and grow their people?Roadmapping
Who owns the roadmap? How is it created? What gets into it, and why?Organization Topology
How are teams structured? Are they set up for real collaboration or just coordination?Development & Growth
How do they invest in their people? Coaches, conferences, internal talks? What motivates their people?Feedback Culture
What’s the feedback approach? Is it frequent, safe, useful, or stuck in outdated performance reviews?Initiative Management (often called backlog management)
How are backlog items created? Are they over-specified tasks or context-driven bets?Trade-offs: Features vs Value
Do they sunset low-value features? How do they prioritize? Are they a feature factory or a value-driven company?
Now, let’s understand how you can take that to interviews to understand whether you can hire that company.
Interviewing the Hiring Manager - Yes, You Should Interview
Extraordinary people don’t play by ordinary rules.
It’s gone when the hiring manager interviews you and decides whether you’re suitable for the job. You’ve got to interview hiring managers to determine if the challenge matches what you want.
Let’s explore how to tackle that.