How to Break Into Product Management Without Experience

The catch-22 is real: every job posting wants 3-5 years of PM experience. But how do you get experience if nobody will hire you?

This is the question my daughter Carlota asked me, and it’s the question thousands of aspiring PMs face every year. Here’s what actually works.

The Problem Nobody Talks About

Most advice is useless. “Build a side project.” “Get certified.” “Network more.” These aren’t wrong, but they’re not the real path.

The real path is simpler: prove you already think like a PM, even if you don’t have the title.

The Three-Part Strategy

1. Get Into a PM-Adjacent Role First

You don’t need to jump straight into PM. Get into a role where you can demonstrate PM thinking:

Product Operations - You’ll learn how product teams work without needing full PM authority
Customer Success/Support - You understand customer pain points better than most
Analytics - You learn to speak in metrics and impact
QA/Testing - You understand product edge cases and user journeys
Sales Engineering - You translate customer needs into product language

The key: pick a role where you interact with the product and customers daily.

2. Start Doing PM Work Before You Have the Title

This is crucial. Once you’re in a PM-adjacent role:

Document customer problems - Keep a log of the top 10 customer issues you see weekly
Propose solutions - Write informal PRDs for features you think would help
Track metrics - Build dashboards showing which problems impact revenue most
Prototype - Use no-code tools to validate ideas quickly
Present to leadership - Show your PM thinking in meetings

You’re building a portfolio of PM work while employed. When you apply for PM roles, you have proof.

3. Time Your Transition Right

Don’t jump immediately. Wait for one of these windows:

Your company hires for a PM role - Internal candidates always have an advantage
You can show business impact - “I identified a feature that increased retention by 15%”
You’ve built relationships with PMs - Your mentor becomes your advocate
You have 12-18 months in the PM-adjacent role - Enough time to prove yourself

What Actually Gets You Hired

Hiring managers look for three things:

1. Customer Empathy - Can you explain customer problems in their language, not just feature requests?

2. Business Thinking - Do you understand how the company makes money and how your work impacts it?

3. Execution Bias - Have you actually shipped or influenced shipped work? Not theoretically, but actually.

If you can demonstrate these three things in your PM-adjacent role, you’re hireable.

The Real Timeline

Be honest about this: it typically takes 18-24 months.

Months 0-3: Get into PM-adjacent role
Months 3-12: Do PM work, build relationships, learn systems
Months 12-18: Start interviewing, get rejected a few times (this is normal)
Months 18-24: Land your first PM role

It’s not overnight. But it’s predictable.

What Nobody Tells You

The rejection will hurt. You’ll interview for roles and hear “you don’t have PM experience.” You’ll have managers tell you “you’re not ready yet.” This is part of the process.

The secret is persistence. Most people give up after 3-4 rejections. If you keep going, something shifts around rejection 7-8. You start interviewing better. You find companies that value your unique perspective. You land the role.

The Bottom Line

You don’t need permission to start thinking like a PM. Start now, in your current role. Document problems. Propose solutions. Build metrics. Prototype ideas. Present your thinking.

By the time you formally apply for a PM role, you won’t be a junior PM pretending to know what you’re doing. You’ll be someone who’s already been doing PM work—just without the title.

That’s what gets you hired.

This is one of the core strategies in “How to Be a Top Product Manager.” The book breaks down exactly how to position yourself for PM roles, what skills to build first, and how to navigate your first 90 days once you get hired. If you’re serious about breaking in, it’s worth the read.