In today’s fiercely competitive job market, landing a Product Manager role — or any role for that matter — takes much more than hitting the “Easy Apply” button on LinkedIn or any other Job Boards. Employers have the upper hand, and simply submitting your resume isn’t enough to stand out anymore. To succeed, you have to take control of your job search in new and innovative ways.

If you’ve experienced the job search like I have, you’re likely all too familiar with the common “automated rejection email,” and sometimes, you may not receive any response at all, even after spending time tailoring your CV.

I’ve networked my way through countless connections, applied to jobs online, and meticulously tailored my CV for every role (for the companies that I really want to work for)— but sometimes, even that’s not enough. What I’ve realized is that you have to be willing to go far beyond the usual strategies to truly increase your chances. It’s about showing resilience and creativity, finding ways to stand out that others might overlook.

To prove this point this is a post from a recruiter:

To avoid sounding transactional when asking for referrals or a coffee chat, it’s crucial to do your research and approach with an offer of value. Rather than immediately seeking help, come from an angle where you can contribute something meaningful to the conversation — whether it’s insights on industry trends or offering help with a project they’re working on. This shows genuine interest and builds a foundation for a more authentic, long-term relationship.

Here are some actionable tips that can help you get noticed:

1. Preparation: Your Secret Sauce

Before you hit that ‘send’ button, remember that preparation is key. Here’s a quick checklist to ensure you’re ready:

• Research the individual: LinkedIn, personal websites, and recent work
• Study the company: Mission, values, recent news, and challenges
• Understand the industry: Key trends, major players, and current issues

Pro tip: Craft a compelling 1-minute self-introduction and prepare 10–15 thoughtful questions. This groundwork will set you apart from the crowd.

NOTE: Finding their email contact through any free e-mail finder app (e.g Hunter.io or Anymailfinder could be really helpful) or getting a free linked-in trial Premium (not recommended to purchase a whole year plan unless you can get a discount, lol).

1. Crafting Your Cold Outreach Message

Now, let’s talk about the message itself. The key here is personalization. Generic messages get generic results (read: ignored). You could consider the template I’ve used before, and has proven effective:

“Hi [First Name],

I hope you’re doing well. I’m reaching out regarding the opportunity at [Company Name] for the [Role Name].

I believe I’d be a great fit for this position because of my experience:

• Over 5 years in [relevant field/industry], focusing on [specific skills or areas of expertise].
• Successfully led a cross-functional team of eight, collaborating with various stakeholders to achieve project goals.
• Regularly provided updates on performance metrics and strategic recommendations to senior leadership.

If you could refer me or connect me with someone involved in the hiring process, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you!”

Thanks in advance!

NOTE: Feel free to customize depending on the job you are looking for

Why This Works

• It’s concise and respectful of the recipient’s time
• It clearly states the purpose
• It provides specific, relevant experience
• It ends with a clear, actionable request

Alternatively you could also approach with even more value by doing this:

Hi [Hiring Manager’s Name],

I hope you’re doing well! I just wanted to reach out and say how impressed I am with your work on [specific achievement or project]. It really stands out!

While looking into [Company Name], I noticed that [specific product or feature] has some great potential for [specific improvement]. I think implementing [your idea] could really boost [specific outcomes, like user experience or engagement].

With my experience in [relevant field], I’d love to share some thoughts that might align with what you’re doing. If you’re open to it, I’d be excited to chat more about this.

Thanks for your time, and I hope to connect soon!

Best,
[Your Name]

Why This Works

• Personal Touch: Acknowledging the hiring manager’s achievements builds rapport and shows genuine interest.
• Value-Driven Approach: Offering insights demonstrates initiative and positions you as a proactive candidate.
• Expertise Showcase: Highlighting relevant experience establishes your qualifications and adds immediate value.

The Art of the Follow-Up

Sent your message and heard crickets? Don’t lose hope. Following up is an art form:

• Wait at least a week before your first follow-up
• Keep it short and reference your previous message
• Add a new piece of information or insight if possible
• Limit yourself to 2–3 follow-ups max

Making the Most of Your Coffee Chat

Congratulations, you’ve landed the chat! Now, make it count:

• Start with a brief self-introduction
• Ask thoughtful questions about their work and experiences
• Share your own relevant experiences and insights
• End by asking for advice on your job search or potential next steps

Remember, your goal is to make a positive impression and potentially turn this chat into job leads or referrals.

Staying consistent will lead to results like this (from LinkedIn) below:

People often say that quality is more important than quantity, but I believe that both quality and quantity together are much more effective. Ultimately, though, working smartly surpasses everything else.

If you want to know more about my journey, job search process, and career insights, don’t forget to subscribe and follow me here!

P.S If you would like me to cover any other topics, please feel free to let me know too.

P.S.S some of the links in this description are affiliate links that help support the channel at no extra cost to you. Thank you for the support! :)

I wanted to share my experience on how can I still keep up by building experience working part-time at a non-profit organization as a Product Manager and job hunting.

Most people think that working in tech is like this: Having Unlimited Free Food, Free Massages, Generous WFH Policies, Unlimited PTO, even Laundry services and best of all, a 6 figure salary — or is it?

But the reality is different now. There are:

• Layoffs,
• Tough Competition
• Experienced People with tons of experience willing to take on any roles
• Entry-level roles requiring many years of experience

For those who are career ‘transitioners’, it is not like before, where you just graduate from a “bootcamp” and find a job right away. Hi, I’m Robert. I’m a Part-Time Product Manager breaking into my first full-time Product role. In this article, I’m going to show you a day-in-my-life as a Part-Time PM building experience while balancing my time looking for jobs

Also, what kind of framework I use to keep myself motivated and productive despite sometimes having a lack of motivation, the rejections, and the inevitable challenges that come from this current tough market.

Like many PMs out there, I personally don’t come from traditional-background. I tried different things out and ended up realizing that Product Management is something fun to do. The job involves solving problems, and no two days are the same.

But of course, coming from a non-traditional background, it comes with challenges as well.

My Challenges included (but not limited to):

• Moving to Canada as a new immigrant (a.k.a. starting from scratch)
• The issue of years of experience required for an entry level role for many jobs (2+ years, I’ve even seen 5!),
• Keeping myself motivated when having self-doubt,
• Feeling that your previous job experience is not valuable in the current market (impostor syndrome)
• Applying to tons of jobs, getting referred and ultimately getting Rejections
• Updating my resume too many times and realizing that there is no perfect resume (think about disappointment)
• Tailoring my resume for each job post is really taxing
• Getting referred but still getting rejected….

And the list goes on….

P.S Mind you, I’m not complaining, lol.

Despite all these challenges, the only way is to stay positive, be proactive, and do what is within our control.

So that brings me to the next point, which is to show which things I’m currently working on that help me stay focused and be productive by finding ways to keep building my own experience.

Of course, the following schedule breakdown of the things that I do is not necessarily done in one single day, but spread out throughout the week.

Life as a Part-Time PM

Thanks to side projects including Co.Lab and most recently at TechLeap, I was able to equip myself with the skills and the foundation required to grow as a Product Manager, and later on I came across with an awesome opportunity to keep refining my skills as a Product Lead at Tech Fleet.

For those who do not know, TechFleet is a non-profit organization where career changers can build up experience by volunteering and doing open source projects ranging from blockchain to creating social impact projects like a career changer app and teaching Math to kids with ADHD.

I’m working on Phase 1 of an educational learning app with the main focus on helping support the future of the Taino language, which is a language spoken by people of the Caribbean.

Normally, at Tech Fleet, there are 5 phases for each of their projects, and each one of them brings a set of unique challenges and new things to learn.

I’ll break down some of my activities into the following as a Product Lead:

• I typically lead weekly team meeting planning, retros, and stand-ups to ensure meetings are successful. This includes defining and prioritizing weekly tasks and sprint goals throughout the project
• We also actually have weekly meetings with our client to show our progress and make adjustments based on their feedback
• Work on managing the roadmap. A roadmap is a plan of action that aligns the organization around short- and long-term goals for the product
• Creating user stories and acceptance criteria for tasks that are done in the project, making sure that they are aligned across stakeholders. User stories are a way to describe the desired functionality of the product.
• Mentoring others and delegating tasks, which is actually pretty fun
• Explore the product vision with the client and work with the UX team to form objectives each week
• Manage the project backlog and weekly sprint activities on the Kanban board. This means following up with each team and making sure which features are a top priority based on our client’s needs.

It sounds like a lot of work, but for me it takes an average of 15–20 hours a week to work on this project, and the cool thing is that you get to network with like-minded people that could pave your way to find your dream job!

After working part-time, I do activities that help me relax and just not think about “work”. One of the things that I enjoy to keep myself stress-free and healthy is to go out and play some tennis. After all, in life everything is not about work, right?

Hustling after working PT as a PM

Now this is where the real grind starts.

I jump into different job boards (including WellFound, LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, Google Job Boards etc)

I start looking for APM Roles (Associate Product Manager) roles and look for the ones that could be potentially suitable for me. Just for me to realize that that role itself requires more than 3 years of experience (Just being sarcastic).

I also go on coffee chats both online and offline and network with tons of people from the Product field.

I try using EZ-Apply and to take things even further and increase my chance of getting my resume noticed, I just go ahead on LinkedIn and reach out to hiring managers, HR, and people that are relevant in the Product Team.

I also use another extension called apollo.io, which is a CRM lead generation database that helps you find the contact information (e-mails) of the contacts that you find on LinkedIn.

Posting on LinkedIn — Showing Credibility

I use this time to share new skills that I have learned and show my journey that has helped me become a Product Manager. Nowadays, with a challenging market and a lot of supply in terms of talent, it is important to find a way or another to stand out.

Networking

Ideally I try to go to local networking events once a week at least or every 2 weeks. I use Eventbrite and Meetup and try to look for tech related events. Sometimes it can be tiring, but it’ll help in the long run. Who knows, you might even end up making new friends 🙂

Mentorship

This is the best way for me to re-assess if my job search strategy is good. I try looking for seasoned experts (ADP List) within my field or even local area because they understand the local market situation and even give you a few key pointers on where I could improve.

To wrap things up in this article, I learned from my own personal experience that we should focus on things that we can control and not be stressed over things we cannot control.

Follow my journey and I’ll let you know when I get job interviews, land my first full-time PM job or if my experience working part-time if it helped it in the end.