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40,000 HackerNews book recommendations identified using NLP and deep learning

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seestrawonApr 17, 2021

I've liked Cracking the PM Interview by Gayle Laakman. It's an interview book, yes, but it gives a good overview of the role and different frameworks to think about it. Also, Youtube videos by Product School.

rahimnathwanionDec 31, 2015

Overview of being a PM:

- Inspired

- The Product Manager's Desk Reference

- The Lean Startup

- Agile Product Management with Scrum

Targeted at interview preparation, but good for breadth:

- Decode & Conquer

- Cracking the PM interview

Other good books for PMs:

- Talking to Humans

- Hooked

- The Design of Everyday Things

- Zero to One

- Traction

nzealandonJan 24, 2017

I recommend reading "cracking the pm interview"

Then try to find a job either in product management or in a related field e.g. development, consulting, marketing, customer success (not QA or documentation)...

source: I'm a manager of PM (product management)

crazygringoonMar 4, 2018

My $0.02, having been a PM for many years:

Read Cracking the PM Interview [1] (for an overview of the job, not the actual interview tips) and The Lean Startup [2] (for general philosophy).

35 is a great age for a PM, especially since PM's often start elsewhere -- maturity is a plus here. I'd say there are 3 main ways into it -- as an engineer, who starts to do PM-type stuff on a team where there's no PM. As a designer, who starts to do PM-type stuff on a team where there's no PM. Or as an MBA who has a good sense for engineering and design. Certifications generally don't mean anything -- communication and leadership skills, good judgment, experience and a proven track record are what matter. But all those things can be demonstrated in previous non-PM roles, in order to make the initial switch.

Also, if you want to be a PM then you'd better enjoy meetings, slides, people, and communicating & convincing all day long, day-in day-out. If those make you say an enthusiastic "yes that's me!" then jump right in. If not... you're gonna have a bad time...

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-PM-Interview-Product-Technol...

[2] https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous...

rahimnathwanionJuly 16, 2014

Two good books for anyone interviewing PMs or being interviewed for a PM position are Decode & Conquer and Cracking the PM interview.

Whilst both are focused on interviews rather than doing the job, they each contain some nuggets about how to think.

As others have said, Inspired, Lean Startup and Four Steps are essential reading.

alanautonSep 17, 2016

Judging from this comment, I would say you lack confidence. Recruiters and interviewers can see this coming from a mile away. Perhaps, you are trying to jump up the proverbial software engineering ladder to fast...

I would highly recommend you read the book: Decode and Conquer. I would also recommend Cracking the Coding Interview and Cracking the PM Interview. If you can solve those problems on a white board, you can pass a technical SE interview.

I would also suggest you:

1. Work on a problem for a few minutes and try to solve it. If you can't, look at the solution and understand how the solution was derived. Go back and solve the problem again. You are not finished here. Go back a few days later and work on the same problem - repeating this several times a week. Over time, you will grow more confident and can quickly recall concepts that are potentially causing you to perform poorly on your technical interviews.

GL

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