Part 1 — Finding Your Next Product Role

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I recently chose to enter the washing machine cycle that is the product job market. It was an "interesting" experience - in the way when someone says interesting but actually means "it's really tough". I have no magic pill that makes it easy but for what it's worth, these were the things I found out.

1. Nail Your 2-Minute Elevator Pitch

This was the single most valuable asset throughout the entire job search. A tight, confident, well-paced 2-minute intro set the tone for every conversation. Until a recruitment consultant said "that was a great 2 minute pitch that took 4 minutes". It was said with a smile on their face but feedback taken!

2. Keep Your Motivation Simple

Almost every recruiter asked some variation of "What's motivating the move?" The best answer was always the simplest/most honest. For me, it came down to:

I want to work with great people who care about building great products.

That's it.

3. Enthusiasm Goes Further Than You Think

Not everyone clearly, but I found people (in this case recruiters and interviewers) respond to energy. Showing genuine interest and positive intent consistently made conversations ineresting and more fun. Clearly, when it's your 4th conversation of the day, trying to be enthusiastic can be tough - get a coffee/drink of choice and go again.

4. A website

Being able to say "there's more detail on my site" saved time and made conversations smoother. It acted as a living portfolio — easy for recruiters to reference, easy for hiring managers to skim, and a great way to show product thinking without sending attachments.

5. Re-Using My Product Approach Deck Was a Huge Advantage

I had an existing deck that explained my product philosophy and how I work. Being able to reuse and iterate it was incredibly helpful.

Instead of reinventing the wheel, I refined something I already believed in. It gave structure to conversations, served as a leave-behind, and acted as a visual reinforcement of how I think.

If you already have something like this, reuse it. If not, build it early and get feedback.

6. Define Your Scope Early (It Saves a Lot of Wasted Calls)

I spent time clarifying whether I was open to:

  • full-time roles,
  • contract work,
  • fractional leadership,
  • IC vs Head of Product.

One thing I learned: recruiters often blur titles. In your own work, Lead meant IC and Head meant managing PMs. Making this explicit saved a lot of confusion.

Define exactly what you want so you're not reacting to randomness.

7. Recruiters Do a Hard Job — and Most Were Brilliant

On the whole, the recruiters I worked with were generous with their time, honest, and genuinely helpful. They juggle a lot, and the more straightforward you make things for them, the better the experience on both sides.

Special mentions to Nicola Morse, Nathan Hoskisson, Max Flint and Richard Saad.

That's it for now, at some point there may well be more.

  • how interviews actually unfold,
  • good and bad surprises,
  • pacing and momentum,
  • managing the emotional side,
  • what I'd do differently next time.