UWPM Newsletter: ProdCon Applications Out
Edition 7
We’re more than halfway through the fall semester, and UWPM is busy preparing for our upcoming socials and events, including ProdCon — our biggest event of the year! Sign-ups and applications are linked below. Keep an eye on our Instagram or our website for further updates on these events! Participating in them will help you expand your network, and as such, this edition also features networking tips in the world of Product.
🗓 Upcoming Events:
Mocktails and Cheese Product Social Night — November 9:
Join us for a casual and fun evening of mocktails, cheese, and networking! Experienced PMs will come in to talk about their experiences, and participants will get the opportunity to network and mingle. The event will run from 6-8:30 pm. Follow our Instagram to be notified when sign-ups are released!
📍DC 1301 (DC Fishbowl)
ProdCon 2023 — November 18:
UWPM is excited to announce our annual product case competition is quickly approaching in a couple of weeks.
ProdCon is a Product Management Case Study conference where
Teams of 2-5 students collaborate to tackle a real-world product case study 📃
You get to network with industry-leading PMs and Product focused students 🗣
You get free lunch 🍽
You get to win prizes 🏆
Get ready to create strong connections in the Product world and sharpen your skills with us! Apply here: ProdCon 2023 Application Form
Applications close November 1st at 11:59 pm EST. Don’t miss out :)
We highly encourage anyone who is interested in product to apply, as it’s an amazing opportunity to apply product thinking and network with like-minded students. Follow our Instagram for more updates on UWPM’s flagship event, and make sure you submit your application before the deadline!
Check out a short clip from ProdCon 2022 below:
📰 Tech News:
Apple unveils the new more affordable Apple Pencil
Netflix hikes prices for a few subscription plans in several markets
📙 Resource of the Week:
In PM interviews, it’s important to showcase a product-oriented mindset, as it’s a good indicator that you’ll succeed on the job. A podcast I’ve been enjoying recently is Product Thinking by Melissa Perri.
She invites industry-leading experts in product to discuss a variety of interesting topics related to product management. It’s a great insightful podcast to help improve your product thinking!
🔍 Product Opportunities:
Product opportunities for Winter and Summer 2024 are still rolling out! Check out some of the top opportunities on our radar:
IBM Product Management Internship (Winter 2024)
Ticketmaster Product Management Internship (Winter 2024)
Splunk Product Manager Internship (Summer 2024)
Okta Product Manager Internship (Summer 2024)
Torc Robotics Product Manager Co-op (Summer 2024)
Branch Product Manager Internship (Summer 2024)
Keep checking your target companies for info-sessions and opportunities. Good luck!
🚨 Networking Tips
For many members in UWPM, networking with others helped us find and land product opportunities that we otherwise might not have heard about. In fact, networking is particularly crucial for those looking to break into product. For instance, a common pathway to break into PM is to return to the same company as a PM after interning in a different role and so forth. It’s also a great way to get referrals to help you land internships at your target companies. Here are a few of our networking tips:
Attend PM socials and events
Integrate yourself within the Product community to meet others with experience and interests in PM. At UWPM’s social events and ProdCon 2023, you can meet industry professionals, learn about others’ PM experiences, and build lasting relationships.
Coffee chats
If you’re on co-op right now, I highly recommend you schedule coffee chats with product managers across the company to expand your network — don’t limit these chats to just the PMs you work with! You could also ask your manager or supervisor to help connect you with them. Moreover, since PMs also work with cross-functional teams, having coffee chats with people from various teams can show initiative and curiosity and develop your product understanding.
Cold messaging
On that same note, leverage networking platforms like LinkedIn to your advantage. Don’t be afraid to message students, alumni, or recruiters to ask for coffee chats and build your connections. They’re often more than happy to answer your questions and get to know you!
Ask for referrals
Often, applicants who have been referred by a current employee have a higher chance of receiving interviews for competitive internships, especially when applying externally. This is why cold messaging and having coffee chats with alumni who work at your target companies can be extremely helpful, as they can potentially refer you for internship and new grad opportunities.
Keep your current connections in the loop
Finally, don’t forget to maintain your relationships with your previous managers and everyone you’ve worked with before, and keep them in the loop on your co-op journey! This can increase your chances of getting a return offer, or they can even help connect you with other opportunities.
🤝 Exec Spotlight
Meet Peter, a Podcast Director for UWPM for the Fall 2023 Term.
Hi, I’m Peter. I’m currently in 3B of Computer Engineering and doing the podcast for the club this term. Hobbies-wise, I love watching, analyzing, and critiquing movies. Some of my favs are Dunkirk and Moonrise Kingdom. Also a firm believer that John Wick 2 is the best film of the series.
I just found out about PM by accident actually. It was during my 2B term. I just wrapped up an unrewarding project manager position, and I knew at that point that coding was not my strong suit. I discovered product management because it was under the same filter as project management. Ended up doing some research on the role and found many of my skills aligned with the job descriptions, so I decided to apply to some openings. I landed an 8-month PM internship that term and genuinely enjoyed the co-op.
What draws me to PM is the role’s responsibilities (need to be attuned to all aspects of the company and really understand it) and its creative potential (coming up with actionable solutions to customer pain points).
In the future, I hope to land a PM internship at Spotify :)
🧑💻 Thinking Like a PM:
In this last segment, we will leave you off with an activity to practice your analytical minds. In a Product Interview, you might be asked about how you stay user-focused, or in general, many questions also underscore the notion of user and customer-centricity in product management. One way to answer these questions is to explain how you incorporate user feedback and research to make decisions. Potentially, you could also reference various data collection methods, user personas, user journey maps, and A/B tests.
Feel free to reply with your answers!
📌 Join our Discord Community
Want to connect with other students such as yourself interested in Product? Join our Discord Community, Invite Link Here. Use our Discord Community to connect with other students and alumni to learn more about different opportunities in Product, practice mock interviews + resume critiques and more!
👋 Feel free to reach out
Thanks for following us along this journey! We hope you learned something from this edition of the newsletter. Feel free to drop a line to introduce yourself and reach out if you have any questions.
Until next time,
- UWPM Team