When I interview software product manager candidates, the first question I ask them is to give me their elevator pitch in one minute. Many candidates resemble a deer caught in the headlights and I am very surprised. If you cannot explain who you are, what you can do for the company, your strengths in one minute or less – are you a good software product manager candidate?
I give them one minute only because I have sat through 4-5 minutes of torture when I used to ask the question “Please tell me about yourself” – believe it or not, I have heard everything from how the CEO in one of their previous employers sucked to how the candidate filed a patent on some esoteric stuff that had nothing to do with what we do. If the open position is for a software product manager, it is a good question to ask because a software product manager has to help create product positioning statements and give an elevator pitch about his/her products to prospects. This also displays the communication skills of the candidate.
Elevator pitches should highlight your strengths so that it piques the interviewer’s interest that he wants to know more about it – now the ball is in your court where you can further substantiate on your strengths and make the connection as to how those strengths can help the company.
So what is your elevator pitch?
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Software Product Manager by Gopal Shenoy 
Good tip, Gopal.
It is quite amazing how many of the tips that apply to marketing a product also apply to marketing our resume and ourselves as an employee! 🙂
P.S. I like the look of your new blog template, but it doesn’t seem to show your name anywhere. I was wondering whose blog I was reading for a minute!
– Raj
Accompa – Requirement software for product managers