Product managers are able to reduce the number of meetings their teammates need to attend because they’re able to represent the team to other groups and find productive ways of communicating that don’t require meetings.

Companies tend to use technical experience as a proxy for the real qualities they’re looking for: Able to form a relationship of mutual respect with engineers. Companies almost always hire a product manager to join a team of engineers who already work for the company. They’re not willing to hire someone who won’t get along with the team or who can’

While some product managers have project management as a large part of their job, most do not. Project managers are mostly concerned with timelines and coordination. While they might be responsible for gathering the project requirements, they don’t have much say in identifying and choosing the requirements.

Another key metric is the percent of times your ad is clicked, called the click-through-rate (CTR). To calculate how much you’d pay to have your ad shown one thousand times, a metric called CPM, you can multiply: CPC * CTR * 1,000. For example, if the cost-per-click (CPC) were $1.50, and the click-through-rate (CTR) were 2%, then the CPM would be $

You can’t be afraid of going into an area that you don’t know much about – you have to be comfortable getting up to speed quickly in new and potentially intimidating areas. You need to be a consummate and life-long learner. The key is to ask questions, be curious and learn from your team.

Consider what it is that drove the success or lack of success. It’s okay to fail sometimes, but you need to know why you failed.

What is your style – analytical, technical, design-focused, creative? How does it fit with the culture of the organization? Does the product of the company resonate with you? Are you excited to serve the types of customers the company attracts? Do you see yourself working long days with the people you meet during your interviews? Are the problems t

When I’m interviewing, the thing I check for, no matter what, is passion. Do you care enough about your work that you’re spending your free time learning about it?

Startups can be great places for PMs to make an impact and have a part in shaping their own role.