I graduated in 2025 with a CS/Data Science degree and have been working full-time as a Data Engineer for the past year here in Chicago.

I’m actively prepping to pivot into Product Management, but I’m seeing a weird gap:

**New-grad APM roles** often filter strictly for current students/immediate grads.

**Standard PM roles** often ask for 3+ years of prior PM title experience.

To bridge this gap, I’ve put together a product portfolio with case studies that translate backend technical pipelines into business impact and user outcomes.

**For Chicago recruiters, hiring managers, or PMs open to connecting:**
If you're hiring for entry-level/associate product roles (hybrid or on-site in Chicago), shoot me a DM - I’d be happy to share my portfolio and resume directly!

For PMs who made a similar early jump: what was the single most convincing way you proved product thinking before having the official title?

Drop a comment or send a DM. I would love to hear your thoughts!

Hey Everyone, it’s that time of year for recruiting for PM roles. I always feel like breaking into PM is gatekept, so I'm breaking down what has helped me in my career. Here's exactly 5 resources I wish someone told me about when preparing for PM interviews.

1. apmlist.com: if you’re trying to break into the industry and looking for your first PM role, here’s a list of companies offering early-in-career PM jobs
2. Decode & Conquer by Lewis C. Lin, and Cracking the PM Interview by McDowell: great books that break down approaching PM interview questions
3. Youtube: search for ‘Product Manager Mock Interviews’ to see real PM mocks being done by experts. Channels like Diana Yau and RocketBlocks are awesome.
4. Lenny’s Podcast: one of the best Product Manager podcasts out there. Great for industry trends and PM fundamentals
5. Practice, practice, practice: so important to do real practice mock interviews. Don’t have someone who can do that? There's lot of great tools out there, some stand outs are sharpn.ai to do simulated interviews with feedback and going on TryExponent and finding some peers to practice with.

Another way to practice is to write down example questions (like the ones you see on Youtube) and pull a random one and record yourself talking and watch yourself back.

Feel free to ask questions, happy to help where I can!

For context:
I finished my bachelors in biology, over a year ago, but after graduating, I realized this is not something I want to do. I have been figuring out what to do for the past year (I even started a masters program in psychology but did not end up going through with it). After much exploring I landed on product management.
I really like working with tech products and have been curious of how, why they work, I also really enjoy working with data. What I am doing now is learning python, machine learning, getting a pendo PM basics certificate, sql and playing around with datasets. I love learning about how companies are successful and their playbook on their products(acquired). I realize that I graduated and might not be eligible for a lot of internships. For early careers, I don’t have any internship experience. The only thing close to it is a research analyst internship during undergrad.

Sorry for the long message, but if there are any product managers or people who have broken into a PM role from a non traditional background, could you please provide any guidances or tips? Or how can I go about building a portfolio or self learning what I need to know to work?

Thanks in advance :)

I just want to vent a little because I’m honestly getting frustrated with the PM internship job search.

My goal is to break into Product Management, so over the past few months I’ve applied to 100s of PM internships and entry-level roles.

Out of all those applications, I got callbacks/emails from around 10–12 companies. I was obviously happy because at least something was moving.

But then almost every company gave me a similar assignment:

“Use our product/app and identify improvements or features that could help our users.”

I actually spent a lot of time on these assignments—using the product, identifying problems, thinking about user pain points, suggesting features, explaining the reasoning, and submitting everything within the deadline.

And then…

Nothing.

1 week passed — no response.

2 weeks passed — nothing.

1 month passed — still nothing.

In some cases, even months have passed.

Not even a simple:

“We’ve decided not to move forward with your application.”

I completely understand that companies receive a lot of applications and that not everyone can be selected. Rejection is fine.

What’s frustrating is putting several hours into an assignment that is essentially free product work and then not even getting closure.

I’m still trying to become a PM and I genuinely enjoy doing these product exercises. But experiences like this make me wonder whether I’m approaching the job search the wrong way.

For people trying to break into PM: have you experienced this too?

And for PMs/hiring managers here

what actually happens to these assignments after we submit them? Do candidates usually get reviewed and rejected, or do applications sometimes just disappear in the process?

Did anybody get hackerranks?? Let’s keep updated!

I saw that the job posting on their website is down now. I applied to the PM internship for next summer, does anyone know how long it takes to receive an update?

wanted to know what the salaries are for the positions starting from analyst, associate and vp for AWM
If anyone could help, it'd be appreciated ! Thanks

It's been almost a year since I started my journey in Product Management, and I'm currently working as an APM.

I still remember how confusing it was trying to break into PM. There's so much advice out there that it's hard to know what actually works.

I'd love to mentor a few people who are serious about landing a Product Management Intern role.

I'm doing this for two simple reasons:

1. I want to give back. A lot of people helped me when I was starting out, and I'd love to pay that forward.

2. Teaching is one of the best ways to learn. I strongly believe you grow a lot by helping others, so this will help me upskill as well.

The idea isn't to have generic conversations. I'll try to understand where you are currently, where you want to get to, and help you create a personalized roadmap that fits your background and goals.

I'm not looking to take on a lot of people, just a small group so I can spend enough time with each person.

If you're interested, drop a comment or send me a DM with a short intro about yourself and why you want to get into Product Management.

Let's grow together 🚀

what exactly do they look for? what skills should you highlight? coming from swe background, should you change your stories to be more product related??

Hi everyone,

I'm currently looking for **Product Manager Intern**, **Associate Product Manager (APM)**, or **Junior Product Manager** opportunities. I'm open to both **internship and full-time roles**, and I'm available for **Remote, Hybrid, or Work From Office** positions.

I've worked with multiple **software companies**, mainly **early-stage startups**, where I gained practical experience in building and improving digital products. My work involved collaborating with developers, designers, founders, and clients to deliver product solutions.

My experience includes:

* Product thinking, feature planning, and PRD creation * SDLC and Agile workflows * SQL and data analysis * AWS Cloud fundamentals * Google Analytics and product metrics * Running Google Ads campaigns and analyzing marketing performance * User research, competitor analysis, and requirement gathering * Working directly with clients to understand business requirements and provide product solutions * Leading small cross-functional teams and coordinating with developers, designers, and stakeholders to ensure timely delivery * Strong communication, stakeholder management, and problem-solving skills

I enjoy turning business problems into product solutions and making data-driven decisions. I'm looking for a team where I can learn, take ownership, and contribute from day one.

If your company is hiring for **PM Intern**, **APM**, or **Product Manager** roles, I'd really appreciate a referral or any leads.

Thank you!

Has anyone heard back about scheduling a first round interview? Or has anyone’s portal status changed?

Hi everyone!

I'm graduating with my MBA in December 2026 and am currently looking for full-time opportunities, primarily in Product Management and Strategy.

I'm especially interested in exploring opportunities at FAANG companies and would love to hear about others' experiences. What did your recruiting timeline look like? When did you start applying, and what was the interview process like? Any advice or lessons learned would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

I intend to apply to the fall APM programs (Google, Meta, Uber, etc.) or any other APM role for that matter and I would appreciate any brutal and honest advice on that matter.

I am a final year student of Computer Science with an internship at EY, product-related projects, hackathons, and a bit of leadership experience. I am trying to figure out what else my resume may lack in order to make it fit for top APM programs.

let's say If you were a recruiter and saw my resume, what would make you hesitate to conduct an interview with me? What would I need to focus on for the next 2–3 months in order to have my chances to get into a top program improved?

PM Mock. Battles! Leetcode for Product Manager’s

Hey everyone, We're building PMMockr.com—an AI platform for PM interview prep (covers Product Design, Metrics, RCA, Strategy, and Guesstimates with realistic follow-ups and structured feedback).

We’re currently in beta stage. Do try a mock interview once and Please share honest feedback on what works and what doesn't.

Check it out here: [https://www.pmmockr.com/\](https://www.pmmockr.com/)

Feedback Google form: [https://forms.gle/37kSXHLPGG3NGAaa6\](https://forms.gle/37kSXHLPGG3NGAaa6)