If you are a product manager thinking about your next career move or someone looking to move into product management, this is THE book you should read and have as your reference. I have been doing product management for many years and I found the book so resourceful. Gayle Laakmann McDowell and Jackie Bavaro have done a great job covering everything from the definition of a product manager role (remember that different companies have different definitions of what we do), how to transition from a non-PM role to a PM role, how to write a cover letter and resume that gets looked at to potential questions (behavioral, case studies, analytical problem solving) that you could be asked in a PM interview. They have interviewed product managers in companies such as Google, Twitter, Airbnb and Microsoft asking them about their day-day to activities and also senior Product Leaders as to how they have managed their careers.
It is written so well that it is a very easy read. The chapter I loved the most in the book was the one on “Estimation questions” where different examples such as “how many tennis balls can fit into an apartment” are worked out. The only chapter I have not read in the book is the one on “Coding questions”. This is only because I believe that Product Manager’s focus should be on the “Which” and “What” and not the “How”. It is our job to discover the customer problems, figure out “which” market problems are worth solving and “what” the solutions should look like from a User experience perspective. It is engineering’s job to figure out “how” they are going to develop the identified solution. But the chapter does not take anything away from the book.
I am confident that this book can end up to one of the best investments you could make if you are thinking about switching or finding a PM job. I strongly recommend it.
Here is a link to the book on Amazon: Cracking the PM Interview: How to Land a Product Manager Job in Technology
Software Product Manager by Gopal Shenoy 