How to hire a product manager

In product management, having a person who can combine big-picture thinking with attention to detail and the right technical skills is indispensable to building an outstanding product, be it an accounting software platform or a running app. 

But here's the good news: With a well-planned approach, you can find and hire a skilled product manager who can oversee the development of your product and pave the way for its success on the market. 

One of the most effective approaches you can use to hire the right person for this role, regardless of your specific industry, is using skills tests. Assessing applicants’ skills, such as product management and market research enables you to see who truly has the skills to lead your team and enable them to create a winning product. 

In this article, you’ll find out all you need to know about how to hire a product manager: What project managers do exactly, what skills to look for, how to assess them, and how much hiring an expert will cost you.

What is a product manager?

A product manager (not to be confused with a project manager, although sometimes both are abbreviated as PM) is the person responsible for a particular product, most commonly a software application or platform. 

Essentially, the product manager guides the development of a product from its inception to the final launch and makes decisions on the product’s core functionalities, features, design, and even marketing. The role is a multifaceted one, serving as a bridge between the technical, business, and user-facing sides of a product.

For this, product managers typically need to: 

• Perform market research to identify customer needs and assess competitors’ offerings

• Guide the strategic direction and define the overall vision for the product

• Decide on core functionalities and features

• Evaluate whether the company has the resources to build the product and allocate them as needed

• Set a roadmap and specific goals for the development of the product

• Ensure that the activities of different teams are aligned towards achieving these goals

• Oversee launches, track performance, and identify areas for improvement

They work closely with teams across the company, such as engineering, design, marketing, sales, and customer support, to ensure the smooth development of the product.

In essence, a product manager is like the mini-CEO of a product, planning the daily and weekly tasks of the team and the product’s roadmap over the next 12-24 months. 

They must understand the market, users, and competition, make decisions based on data and intuition, and lead cross-functional teams to ensure that the product is successful in the marketplace.

And after the product is launched? They keep a close eye on it, watching how it performs and making tweaks if necessary. 

The role of the product manager requires a blend of technical expertise, sound business judgment, customer orientation, and excellent communication and leadership skills – plus, a strong understanding of the market. In the next two sections, we’ll look into the details. 

Product manager hard skills

Product managers are problem solvers and decision-makers, ultimately responsible for the product’s success or failure, and need a number of hard skills to succeed. 

1. Business judgment

Defining product strategy is among the top responsibilities of product managers: According to research by McKinsey & Company, they spend 18% of their time on it. 

For this, product managers need excellent business judgment and a deep understanding of the market to be able to prioritize features, define pricing, and track key performance indicators (KPIs). 

2. Technical proficiency

While product managers don’t need to be expert software engineers, having a deep understanding of the technology their team is using is crucial. 

This enables them to be able to plan the product’s roadmap, manage the development life cycle, make strategic decisions related to software architecture, address roadblocks, understand constraints, and effectively communicate with the engineering team and all business units.

3. Data analysis

Understanding and interpreting data is another essential skill for product managers. It enables them to uncover trends, make informed decisions, and measure the success of a product. 

Experience with software like Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, SAS Analytics Cloud, or other business intelligence tools is a valuable asset. 

4. Product-management and collaboration tools

Being proficient in product-management and collaboration software, such as Aha.io, monday.com, Heap, Notion, Jira Software, Airfocus, or Trello is vital. 

These tools help product managers build roadmaps, prioritize features, manage backlog, and keep everyone in sync. They help streamline the product development process and improve collaboration among team members.

5. Market research

Product managers need to be skilled at conducting market research and have a solid understanding of market trends and ecosystems. 

This helps them to understand customer needs, assess market gaps and opportunities, and make informed strategic decisions in cooperation with marketing and sales teams.

6. Proficiency with Agile and/or Scrum 

Proficiency with the Agile and/or Scrum methodologies helps product managers guide teams through rapid cycles of iterative development, testing, and adjustment. This is key for the scalability of your operations, so look for experts who are already intimately familiar with these frameworks. 

Product manager soft skills

While hard skills are important, they are just one side of the coin. Don't forget to assess the candidate's soft skills, such as leadership, communication, and problem-solving abilities, which are also essential for success in this role. 

1. Leadership

Leadership skills aren’t simply about distributing tasks, they’re also about enabling each team member to do their best work and have the right conditions to succeed. 

Product managers need to have strong leadership skills to take charge of cross-functional teams and keep everyone aligned towards the same goals. 

They also need to be able to navigate and manage change – client needs and markets are constantly changing. For this reason, staying flexible and being able to easily adapt to new requirements and circumstances easily is key, as is the capacity to motivate others during times of uncertainty. 

2. Communication

Communication is fundamental to a product manager's role. Product managers need to convey complex ideas in a clear and compelling manner to various people – from engineers to marketers and from executives to customers. 

Strong written and verbal communication skills are essential for product managers to effectively articulate product vision, requirements, and strategies, as well as to provide and receive feedback.

3. Problem-solving

Product management involves constant problem-solving: Product managers may face countless challenges during the product development process, so they need to be capable of addressing them in a way that doesn’t hamper the team’s productivity. 

They need to identify problems swiftly, analyze solutions, and make sound decisions based on available information. Critical thinking and creativity are essential for that.

4. Adaptability

Cognitive flexibility, which has been identified by the World Economic Forum as one of the most essential skills for the modern workplace, is crucial for today’s product managers. 

Market trends, customer needs, and business goals are changing fast, so product managers need to be resilient and flexible, able to pivot their strategies, and be comfortable with ambiguity.

In addition to these soft skills, a product manager's motivation and cultural alignment with your organization’s values are also important considerations. 

How to test product manager skills

Now that you know what skills to look for in your next product manager, you’re probably wondering what is the best way to evaluate them. Thankfully, there’s an easy answer to that: Pre-employment skills testing can help you recruit the best person for the role. 

Pre-employment skills testing platforms like TestGorilla offer several benefits to employers. Essentially, they enable you to: 

• Get rid of the lengthy and inefficient resume-screening process

• Evaluate all applicants’ skills objectively and without bias

• Show applicants that you value their skills and what they can bring to the table, rather than diplomas or certificates

• Save time and resources by focusing only on the best product managers in your talent pool

If you choose TestGorilla, you can combine up to five tests in a single assessment and even add your custom questions or request video responses from applicants.  

Here are some of the best tests you can use in your product manager recruitment process: 

• Product management: With this test, you can evaluate applicants’ capability to come up with viable product ideas and manage the entire product development process.  

• Leadership and people management: Assess applicants’ abilities to lead teams using influence and guidance, and bring the best out of every team member. 

• Communication: Product managers need to be expert communicators; their role serves as a bridge between multiple business functions, so it’s important to assess their communication skills. 

• Market research: Do candidates know how to analyze market data to make informed decisions and how to present it to others? You can find out with this test. 

• Problem solving: Product managers need to tackle all sorts of problems on a daily basis to maintain top team productivity. This test enables you to find out whether they know how to do this; for a more in-depth evaluation, you can also use our Critical Thinking test.

Where to find product managers

So, what’s the natural habitat of product managers and where should you look for one? How can you improve your chances of attracting the best talent? 

Should you hire a freelancer or a full-time employee? 

Let’s look into the details.

In-house vs freelance product managers

While freelancers can offer fresh perspectives and be flexible in their work arrangements, for the role of product management, you might need someone who’ll be directly and closely involved with all stages of the development process and won’t need to juggle between multiple projects. 

If you’re building a simple product, a skilled freelancer might be the right fit, but if you’re working on a complex platform that will take months or even years to build, you might be better served by someone who can dedicate all their time and efforts to building your product and create a long-term vision and goals. 

Here’s a comparison chart to help you decide whether you need an employee or a freelancer: 

Where to find a product manager for hire

Here are some of the best places to start looking for your next product manager, regardless of whether you’re looking for an employee or an independent contractor: 

• Job boards: Traditional job boards like LinkedIn, Indeed, or Glassdoor are great places to start your search. You simply need to post a job ad and invite candidates to apply. 

• Directories: The recruitment of passive candidates is definitely another avenue worth exploring. LinkedIn doubles as a directory, enabling you to search for talent and contact product managers who might not be actively looking for a job (and who might therefore not be looking at job ads). You can also use specialized directories like ProductHire, which is dedicated to product management professionals.

• Internal hiring: Sometimes, the best candidate is already part of your team. Look for employees who have the right product manager skills and could transition into the role with some training.

• Networking events and meetups: Attending industry-specific events and conferences is a great way to connect with potential candidates who are looking to network and explore new opportunities. Examples include ProductCon, Mind the Product, and Product-Led summit. 

• Social media and online communities: Platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit have groups and communities dedicated to product management where you can find potential hires, freelancers and potential employees alike.

• Freelance platforms: Websites like Upwork and Toptal are packed with freelance product managers from around the world. These platforms allow you to view profiles, portfolios, and reviews of potential candidates.

Product manager job description template

Job Title: Product Manager

Location: [Specify whether the role is location-specific or remote]

Overview

We're looking for a highly motivated, detail-oriented Product Manager to join our growing team and help us build [type of product]. The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker, excellent communicator, and experienced in product management. You’ll work closely with cross-functional teams to strategize, plan, and execute our company’s product vision and roadmap.

Responsibilities

• Conduct market research and competitive analysis to inform product strategies

• Define and communicate product vision and goals based on understanding of the customer, market, and business needs

• Create and manage the product roadmap, prioritize product features based on business value

• Collaborate with engineering, design, marketing, sales, and customer support teams to ensure smooth product development and execution

• Work with stakeholders to gather requirements

• Monitor and measure launched products and feed insights back into the product-development process

• Manage cross-functional collaboration to ensure all team members are working towards the same goals

Skills and qualifications

• Proven experience as a Product Manager or similar role in product lifecycle management

• Excellent understanding of Agile

• Strong problem-solving and critical-thinking skills

• Proficiency in product management software, data analysis tools, and familiarity with modern product-development practices

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex ideas to diverse audiences

• Exceptional project management and organizational skills

• Experience in [specific industry or technology] is a plus

To apply for this position, please fill out this form [link]. We’re committed to having a fair and objective hiring process, so we’ll send all applicants a skills assessment to evaluate their experience and skills. We look forward to hearing from you! 

How much does a product manager cost?

According to Glassdoor, the average product manager salary in the US is around $145,000/yearly, which includes base salary and bonuses.

The salary will depend on several factors, including job location (and the local cost of living), industry, the person’s experience and expertise, and seniority level. Consider those factors when deciding what to offer to applicants.

Product manager interview questions

Once you evaluate your candidates’ skills with the help of skills assessments, you simply need to invite the best ones to an interview to gather more in-depth insights of their expertise and abilities. Here are some ideas of questions to ask: 

1. Can you tell me about the last product you've successfully brought to market? What was your strategy and what specific tactics did you use?

2. Tell me about a time when you disagreed with a key stakeholder. How did you manage the situation and what was the outcome?

3. What’s your process for prioritizing product features? 

4. How do you handle disagreements or conflicts within your team during particularly busy periods? Can you give me an example?

5. Describe your approach to gathering and using customer feedback in your decisions.

If you need more inspiration, check out our 25 product-manager interview questions and sample answers.

Hire the best product managers with the help of skills assessments

With the strategic use of skills assessments, you can significantly simplify the complex task of finding the right product manager for your team. Skills tests give you a deeper understanding of a candidate's capabilities, shining a light not just on their hard skills – like product management and market research – but on their soft skills as well, such as leadership, communication, and problem solving.

This helps you gain insights into how a candidate may perform in real-world scenarios and find someone who can lead cross-functional teams successfully.

So whether you're hiring for a startup looking for your first product manager or an established company seeking to launch a new product, you can use skills tests to find the right candidate to help your team succeed. Sign up for a free plan today to see for yourself how much easier hiring can be.