The role of Product Management has evolved into one of the most critical functions for Software and Technology companies, yet finding the right candidates for your business can be challenging, particularly in a candidate-short market where competition is fierce. Businesses often look for a combination of:
• Niche skills
• Specific industry experience
• Tight salary parameters
• Strong culture fit
• Geographical constraints
All of which makes it difficult to find the candidates they need. This incredibly narrow talent pool is enhanced further by the fact that many strong Product Management professionals and leaders are already working for a company. While organisations often need to recruit quickly to reach their goals, a robust hiring strategy is crucial to ensure you can secure the Product VP, Director or Manager candidate you seek.
Current challenges in Product Management recruitment and selection
When looking externally to find senior Product talent, there are several challenges to overcome in the current job market, such as a:
• Shortage of candidates
Hiring Product talent with the necessary skills needed to drive business objectives is difficult. Many businesses look to source candidates with niche skills and industry experience that isn't widely available in the job market. In many instances, companies have had to hire someone with gaps in their knowledge but most of the skills they really need.
• Fierce competition
With great Product talent hard to come by, this inevitably results in intense competition between companies. Not only are businesses competing to attract the best candidates on the market, but they're also fighting to retain them too.
• Greater demand on salary expectations
In a candidate-driven market where organisations are competing for talent, naturally there has been greater demand on salary expectations as Product professionals receive a lofty raise in compensation when joining a new company.
Broaden your search to find senior Product Management talent
To help you meet these challenges head on and recruit the best Product leaders for your business, here are our tips to broadening your search to access greater diversity and expertise that a wider talent pool has to offer:
• Know where to compromise
The more refined the candidate profile the more time the search will likely take. That time is directly connected to cost and missed opportunity, therefore you and your Exec team should consider acceptable timescales carefully.
Whilst recognising some searches present differing levels of flexibility, it important to bear in mind that knowledge gaps can be plugged with training and support. Consider the key challenges the business/department/team is facing and which elements of the candidate profile are essential, important, or just nice to have.
• Flexibility on leadership experience
Consider recruiting below or above the seniority/experience level you seek to widen your talent pipeline. There could be candidates with matrix management exposure ready to take their first direct leadership position, or alternatively there could be an experienced Product Director ready to refocus into an individual contributor role, who requires almost no hand holding.
• Candidates from other industries
This is an area we often challenge clients to consider as there is a richness of talent in complimentary markets. Broaden your pool by considering candidates from different industries outside your own. Product Management professionals in E-tail, Digital, Financial services / Fintech, Online Gaming/Gambling, Leisure Travel, e-Heath, typically respond positively to opportunities from Tech related businesses.
• B2B, B2C and B2B2C backgrounds
Is B2C end customer PM exposure essential? If the key goal is managing hyper growth scale up and the managerial and structural challenges that comes with, how much of an advantage does a B2C versus a B2B candidate have? We're finding more clients opening their search to a mix of B2B and B2C profiles from the start.
• Remote working and talent overseas
With a rise in hybrid working models, many businesses are looking to hire talent outside of their geographical office locations, as many have seen the benefit and success of remote working. This means organisations can cast their net wider to find the best talent available to them, including considering candidates from other countries.
How to refine your hiring strategy
Once businesses have taken steps to widen their talent pool and adopt an element of flexibility to the candidate brief, there are certain recruitment methods to consider to ensure you find and attract the talent you need, such as:
• Conducting market research
To broaden your knowledge of the candidates you're trying to attract, research their profile online or on LinkedIn to gain a better understanding of their true wants and desires. Check what motivates them, their salary parameters and buy-back potential so that you are always one step ahead and remaining responsive to their needs.
• Different sourcing techniques
It is important to consider the most effective techniques to identifying the right candidates. Will you be posting job ads on job boards, promoting on LinkedIn, or talking with your personal networks and using word of mouth to find the individuals you need? Will you partner with a recruitment consultancy or search firm? Consider which path will achieve your commercial goals in the timescales you demand, and why?
• Differentiate yourself from competing businesses
With increased competition for Product Management talent, you will need to do all you can to attract and retain the best professionals on the market. Think carefully about why someone would want to join your business and team? Consider what makes the position, company, people and opportunity stand out? Don't be afraid to highlight problems – you'd be surprised how many senior candidates like to take on a challenge. What's the vision and end game? The 'story' is fundamental.
• Writing effective job descriptions
When writing a job spec, consider the candidate you're trying to target and adapt your technique to ensure your copy is enticing and compelling enough to peak their interest and apply for the role. Consider the points made in the paragraph above. Make sure that you sell your organisation, your work culture and what you can offer the candidate, rather than just listing your requirements.
• Make sure your candidate experience is inclusive
It's no secret that women still remain highly underrepresented in the Tech industry and across the Product Management function. Review your existing hiring processes to make sure that they are inclusive and host a diverse interview panel when screening candidates.
To find out more on how to address the gender gap in the Product function in Tech, head to our blog.
• Make your strategy watertight
To ensure candidates don't fall through the net or get put off at any stage of the hiring process due to lack of communication or feedback, it's important to make sure you have control of each stage of the talent pipeline. Analyse:
- Is your interview process constructive and engenders candidate buy in at each stage?
- Are you setting expectations with the candidates throughout?
- Are you giving constructive feedback?
- Do you have someone monitoring and nurturing candidate leads?
- Is your process efficient and streamlined?
Find Product talent with Target Alliance
If Technology is your world, we're here to give you all the senior level Product recruitment expertise you could need. Over the last 20 years we've seen the sector evolve and with every transition we learn, flex and understand more deeply. Trusted by some of the world's most prestigious employers, our specialist team looks forward to being your executive recruitment partner too.
However complex your Product Management requirements we'll introduce executive and diverse talent to drive your strategic goals and add real value to your organisation. Get in touch to find out more.