Max Azemard

Are you kicking off the new year with a job search? ✅ Every week, I talk to product managers who are job hunting and I know it can feel like you’re trying to find a needle in a haystack – in the middle of a tornado.  🪡 🌪️ I’ve been there, and so have the PMs I coach. To make things a little easier for them, I compiled a list of 13 product management job boards targeting roles for product leaders and now I’m sharing it here. From Mind the Product to The Product Folks, these are the go-to places for PMs ready to level up. Chances are good you’ll find something you haven’t seen in your daily scrolling. Feeling stuck? Need a boost to navigate your PM career in today’s competitive market? Maybe you’re happy with your current gig but want to level up and land that next promotion. Let me be your secret weapon. I’m coaching product leaders on six continents, helping them find clarity and confidence in their careers. One of them texted me just yesterday to celebrate a new job offer. Shoot me a message—I’d love to help you take the next step. Know of other great PM job boards? Drop them in the comments—I’ll add them to the list! Please share or repost so we can help as many people as possible. #ProductManagement #JobSearch #CareerSupport #ProductManagers #ProductJobs #ProductCareers #JobHunt #CareerGrowth #WMGPG #DoBetter PS. I left out LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Indeed and some of the other big boards because I figured you know them already...  Here’s the ones I did include: Y Combinator, ProductHQ, Mind the Product, ProductManagerCrossing, VentureLoop, Braintrust, ProductHired, The Product Folks, Product Marketing Alliance, VentureFizz, SimplyHired. PPS. Want to dive deeper in self-serve mode? My book, 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵? 𝘈 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱, is packed with actionable advice from my 50,000+ hours in product management. Grab the first 10 pages or the full set of templates here: https://lnkd.in/gCm52EHW.

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Location-based Pay Bands I'd like to start what may turn out to be a controversial conversation here late on a Friday afternoon. Location-based pay bands for remote or hybrid positions. I don't get it. Certainly it is more expensive to live in certain metro areas. And in our past world where positions needed to be located within commuting distance of major company offices in those metro areas, it certainly made sense to have pay bands that reflected the financial reality for those commuters. But it seems odd to me when I see a position that is listed as being <anywhere, USA> that also includes additional pay if the candidate is located in one of the major metros listed. If you are willing to spend $200k of shareholder dollars in New York, then why pay someone in Albuquerque $150k? It costs the shareholder the same amount. In fact, for $200k in Albuquerque, you might get someone who is lightyears better than the person you can get in NYC for $200k. What a great time for companies to grab rock stars who were previously geographically undesirable. It's the same money. It has the same face value everywhere. Customers don't pay in California Dollars or Alabama Dollars. The balance sheet doesn't document how many Boston Dollars the company is holding in cash reserves. So why? If someone reads that a 100% remote job is paying in metro bands, is that a subtle signal to the applicant that the job is remote <for now> but will eventually get moved to HQ? Or is it just that pay strategy hasn't caught up yet with how we work in 2024? Discuss...

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Please repost for visibility and share the resume attached to my profile with your recruiting and hiring manager contacts. If we've worked together, please provide an endorsement. That's actually step 3. Step 3 usually comes last. Stay with me. Be specific with what you are asking for. One of the biggest misses (and hardest for me to get past myself) is assuming that what's obvious to you and what's obvious to your audience may not be the same thing. "Hey, I got laid off. First time ever!". OK, sorry to hear that. Good luck. "Please repost..." Oh, you want me to do something. Gotcha! Step 2: Gather data. Make your case using facts, not emotion. Unfortunately emotions, and worse, phrases like "I believe...", "should...", etc. work against you. Stick to the facts, and be as accurate as possible. "We are losing $2,000,000 per annum of productive time that can be recovered by this one time $150,000 upgrade." Continue to refine as you progress. Don't lock yourself into your original analysis. Maybe a deep-dive and the data will actually tell you that your fundamental assertion is wrong. As I've read some of the other posts by people that are searching for jobs, Step 3 jumped out at me. I'm not just letting people know of something that happened, I'm asking for help. Step 1: Have a clear objective. I want to ensure that I have income to provide for my family. Having a new job is one mechanism of doing so, but that is not the true objective. It's one possible path to the objective. I've found that Step 1 is usually the hardest to pin down. Most endeavors actually start with a predefined task, not the objective itself. It's a very fine line and almost pedantic. Clarity up-front, however, allows you to plan for detours or even starting over if needed. What if I stepped back and decided to consult (OK, technically still a job, but I'd report to myself) or maybe take some of my hobbies/passions and start selling high-end widgets? Right now, getting hired is my task. Step 2 may show that I'd be better off taking a different tact. If you have background or supporting information, leave it for last. Have it as an appendix. Distill the presentation to the bare minimum and use your supporting information for Q&A. Don't build a wall of text as the main component of your presentation. Provide a 30-second summary that makes your appendix something that your audience wants to read, not forced to read. I joined LinkedIn during one of my first career transitions. It was intended to simply be a way to stay in touch with previous co-workers without joining the move to social media. I very rarely post. I'll occasionally repost. Maybe a few words of encouragement. Pass on a referral and resume if somebody asks. Now, I'm using it for a specific objective and, maybe, my introspection may help others.

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At my first full time job out of college, I started my first day with a group that included a woman who was visibly pregnant. She and I chatted a bit while we waited for our paperwork to be processed, and she mentioned how fortunate she felt to be hired because in a few months she would be going out on leave. I was fairly new in my career; at the time, I had no idea how unusual it is for a company to hire someone who is visibly pregnant. I’ve never been high up enough to learn about the number crunching and/or analysis that goes into mass workforce reductions. I do know it’s not unusual to lay off a more experienced employee that makes a high salary and replace them with some that has less experience and, so, is cheaper. So it's not surprising the mass layoffs happening in the tech industry have disproportionately affected pregnant women and anyone else on extended leave. Pavithra Mohan discusses how the mass layoffs have impacted workers on parental and medical leave.

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Are you not self-promoting enough during the interview process? Over 10 years ago, I was at a company where my boss told me he was really impressed with my work ethic and results and then said he thought my colleague who started at the same time as me was going to be a “better” hire than me. I asked why, and he said, “He just interviewed better.” My boss said this to me because I was more effective at the position than “the guy who interviewed better.” Mind you, I greatly respect that past colleague and think he is enormously talented in other skill sets that I still need to work on. I ended up being at the same company 3+ more years than said colleague and was promoted a few times. What was the difference in the interview? I can only guess how my interview was different than my colleague's. I am authentic to a fault and naturally don’t BS people. Also, being a child of the 80’s/90’s, I fall into the old ways of not self-promoting myself as much as male counterparts. This is a fault I actively work on. Sidenote to hiring managers: I do not apply for positions if I have any doubt I would excel at that position and make a positive impact. I found these articles useful for advice on how to not sell yourself short: https://lnkd.in/gxQ9heUn https://lnkd.in/gg3WNnsV https://lnkd.in/gfHECP_h https://lnkd.in/gs6UC32p

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🚀 Big Realization: I’ve Been a Technical Program Manager All Along! 🚀 It’s amazing how job titles sometimes don’t fully capture the scope of what we actually do. In my last role, my official title was “Project Scheduler,” but after looking back at everything I was responsible for, I realized that I’ve essentially been working as a Technical Program Manager this entire time! Here’s what I was really doing in my role: • Project Scheduling: Managed complex timelines and coordinated multiple teams to ensure projects stayed on track and delivered smoothly. • Requirements Analysis: Collaborated with stakeholders to gather and clarify business needs, turning them into actionable plans for development teams. • Product Ownership: Prioritized features and managed the product development process to ensure that high-value solutions were delivered, aligned with both business goals and user needs. • IT Service Management: Improved service processes, ensuring that systems ran smoothly and issues were resolved efficiently. • Quality Assurance: Led the testing process to catch potential issues early, ensuring that products met high standards before being released. • Performance Optimization (HPAF Analyst): Focused on improving how systems worked for users, ensuring they were efficient and easy to use, while enhancing overall productivity. I’ve been wearing many hats, leading projects across technical and business areas—exactly what a Technical Program Manager does. It’s been a huge moment of clarity for me to realize that the depth of my experience goes well beyond just “Project Scheduler.” Excited to embrace this title and move forward! #CareerGrowth #TechnicalProgramManager #TPM #ProjectManagement #ITLeadership #MultifacetedRoles #NewOpportunities #RealizationMoment

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Today, I would like to share a memorable experience from my time with my previous company that highlights their commitment to discipline and accountability. In my previous role, I had the opportunity to work for a company ZDPM Ziff Davis Performance Marketing ( Earlier Salesify, Inc.) that valued discipline and accountability. One of the noteworthy policies in place was related to the use of I-Cards for daily attendance tracking. According to the company’s guidelines, if an employee forgot to bring their I-Card and consequently failed to record their presence for the day, they were required to submit a formal form endorsed by their supervisor and issued one guest card. This formality ensured that there was a documented verification process, maintaining the integrity of the attendance records. It is also important to note that the missed day’s attendance would still be accounted for and the corresponding amount would be credited at the end of the financial year, regardless of whether the employee was still with the company at that time. I personally experienced this policy firsthand. On two separate occasions, I forgot my I-Card and missed recording my attendance. Following the protocol, I submitted the required form with my supervisor’s signature. True to the company’s commitment, the amount for those two days was duly credited to my account at the end of the financial year. I found this policy to be quite effective in promoting responsibility and accuracy in attendance management. It reflected the company’s commitment to maintaining a structured and fair work environment while also providing a clear and fair resolution for any discrepancies that might arise due to human error. Such practices underscored the importance of adhering to established protocols and contributed to a culture of transparency and accountability, ultimately benefiting both the employees and the organization as a whole. Looking back, I am thankful for the invaluable lessons and experiences during my tenure. Working with such a dedicated and professional team has been an honor, and I carry the knowledge and values instilled in me forward in my career. #HumanResources #PeopleFirst #WorkplaceWellness #WorkplaceCulture #WorkLifeBalance #ZDPM #Salesify #companycommitment Sandeep

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You know that the product manager is urgent when the VP is posting for the product manager role themselves on LinkedIn. You can join me in Skool, where I have a batch of product managers applying to jobs right now while most other people are still recovering from Halloween.  https://lnkd.in/gCsMZ-Ab Seriously folks! Let’s land this job by Thanksgiving, since October was a record breaking month for us in terms of product manager openings being posted and the number of people from Product Gym taking gyms. The roles are out there. https://lnkd.in/gCsMZ-Ab PS Life is way too short to be unhappy especially when there is so much fun to be had :) #productmanagement #speedtolead

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My first AFROTECH experience was absolutely amazing! 🌟 Attending with colleagues and having a plan to learn as much as possible and bring back value to our company made it even more impactful. Today, our team presented our key takeaways to leadership, and the feedback was incredible. It reinforced something important: when your company sponsors you for a conference, go in with a mindset to not only soak up knowledge but also find ways to bring value back. Here are a few of my key takeaways: - Make sure every employee understands your organization’s goals, no matter their role - Keep users at the center of innovation, building features that solve real problems rather than building for the sake of it. Use data and insights to guide decisions - Listen to truly understand, even in facilitator-led sessions. Look for gaps and think about how you can help solve problems by hearing their stories I am so grateful for this experience and cannot wait to put these learnings into action!

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SVP of Product is looking for an Upstream Product Manager position and the pay range is $98.96 - $114.59/Hour. Product managers that are being staffed by tech recruiting agencies in this market are some of the best roles to target as a candidate. There are two type of recruiters in tech. There are internal recruiters who work in house and external recruiters at agency who are paid a commission by the company to staff an extremely urgent role. 80% of the positions in tech haven’t even been posted yet, because everybody procrastinates doing work they and there’s nothing a refuting hates more than posting up jobs. Yuck, just writing this out brings back such painful memories. Here is a link to all the product manager roles being staffed by recruiters along with their name, contact information, pay rate, and remote or hybrid status. See you in Skool! https://lnkd.in/gCsMZ-Ab Don’t be late to Skool! https://lnkd.in/gCsMZ-Ab PS Let me know if you would like me to refer you and if I can I will. I am connected to tons of recruiters in the industry, but I can’t say I am close with all of them. Please RESHARE this post for all your colleagues still looking for a job.

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When you’re patient as a leader, you can give your employees room to grow and develop over time. All of a sudden, you don’t get angry at small mistakes they make in their first few weeks on the job. You’re more comfortable with training and developing young talent over time. You’re more willing to look at their performance in aggregate, rather than overvaluing how they did in week one or week ten. When you’re patient with yourself, you can be patient with others.

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📣 Don't under estimate the power of your past... I had the opportunity to speak with an amazing educator looking to pivot their career. Our conversation centered around demystifying the limiting belief that they did not have a project management skillset Here is how I drew parallels educator | PM parallels: ✔️ Resource Management: an educator balances time and materials, for students to meet state standards over a year broken up into quarterly tracking. ✔️ Goal Setting and Tracking: an educator sets clear objectives and monitor progress, to ensure deliverables are met week over week and students reach their learning milestones each quarter. ✔️ Communication and Stakeholder management: Educators must communicate clearly with students, parents, and administrators, to inform student progress and address concerns. 🌿 Our career journey does not have a right or wrong it's important to let our experience help us shine 🌟 ⭐ How else would you draw PM parallels for career pivoters ?

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This past weekend, amidst a whirlwind of chores, I was hit with a sudden urge to give up. I was just a cow minding my business on the train tracks when the job search burnout hit me like a freight train. Then I woke up and remembered that I'm not just ground beef; I'm a tech leader and I/O Psychologist! It dawned on me that this sudden shift from solving problems to the #OpenToWork lifestyle is a major change management challenge, not just for companies but for myself. The unstructured days, endless uncertainties, and deafening silence from applications are soul-crushing. It's been tough, with plenty of missteps, but much like Sam Frymer 🧲 I've also learned some valuable lessons: 1️⃣ Maintain a Routine: Treat your job search like a job itself. Set daily tasks, track your progress, and stick to a regular schedule. This consistency provides a sense of normalcy and combats burnout. I wake up at the same time every day, check through my emails, research and custom apply for 5-10 jobs, reach out to 5-10 folks on LinkedIn, and do my daily social media posting. 2️⃣ Start Smart:  Don't flail around aimlessly like I've been. Follow folks like Austin Belcak or Bryan Creely, who have awesome job search advice to strategize and refine your approach. I've been following and reading their advice for some time now, but for those of you new to the 2024 market, it's crazy out there - basing your search on things that are more likely to lead to succeed is a good thing. 3️⃣ Time Blocking: Avoid burnout by scheduling dedicated time slots for job hunting, networking, and skill development. Balance is key! After 4,200 applications, I've realized that 20-hour days are unsustainable. Constant rejection (or, worse, silence) takes a toll. Remember, more of the same won't magically speed up results. Yes, it's a numbers game, but what good are you going to be at any organization when you get on the job only to need a vacation right after you start? 4️⃣ Learning Never Stops:  While you are spending a few hours a day networking and job searching, the rest of your "work day" should be spent sharpening your skills and pursuing relevant certifications. This keeps your knowledge fresh and provides a productive focus during your job hunt. I've personally earned my certified scrum master, along with a few post-grad AI and data science-related courses, finished out all my PDUs for my PMP renewal, and have worked through my Paramedic recertification. 5️⃣ Disconnect to Reconnect:  Don't sacrifice holidays or downtime just because you're job hunting. When the "work day" ends, shut down the computer and engage in activities you love. For me, that's been writing my novel, playing video games, practicing karate, and hanging out with my son at his Boy Scout Meetings. PROTIP - Ignore the pressure from friends and family who think you should be doing more. Your mental health matters – pushing too hard will only backfire.

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To land an amazing role in leadership and strategy in product....you need to remember its not just about what you say...it's about HOW you show up.  When you show up energized and positive…with the right executive energy....it matters. If you show up angry and irritated, you might as well go home What energy are you bringing to interviews? 🔋 To learn how to LAND an AMAZING role in PRODUCT, respond with LAND and I'll send you my new E-Book...How to LAND and LEAD in the World of Product Management. You've got this. #productmanagement #productmanagement #techleaders

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💡 Lessons with Archie 🐶 Lesson 12: Find (and recognize) Joy I like planning. I crave organization I seek answers I am loyal to a fault. I haven't posted lately because my world is testing my core attributes. The reasons matter not; but the lesson is critical, especially this time of year. On the first Minnesota snow fall of the year, I watched Archie experience it, tentatively at first, and then embracing the challenge and finding the joy. He adapted quickly, recognizing something changed; he then set the challenges aside of freezing temperatures, ice chunks in his paws, and his new foe: the snow shovel. Instead, he remembered there's a warm house waiting, snow melts, and his nemesis tosses fun into the air. Bonus lesson: Short legs + deep snow = an exhausted puppy. May you all recognize challenges, but rest easy that there is joy to be found. Your challenges can offer opportunities to find joy in unexpected ways. Celebrate the small wins, even during a time of year when everything screams "do more." #lessonswitharchie #happyholidays

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Reposting for #opentowork #talentacquisition let's help them get back to work so they can help us get back to work!

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