What should a Junior PM focus on?

Congrats, you landed your first job as a PM. Now what? (Yeah, that is all the introduction we are writing because who is reading intros now?)

1. Be proactive

Two kinds of people get into PM. There are two types of new PMs. Some come well-prepared, others rely on their intuition. Whoever you are, ALIGN to the organization well. Know what you can contribute towards. If you are type - 1, you know exactly what you can help with, so pitch that. If you are the second type, observe what other PMs are doing & offer to help. Arrange meetings, put numbers on Excel sheets, find users to talk to, and help with a presentation. But, pick something as soon as you can.

2. Better Processes

Since you are new to the system, fix the stuff everyone is pushing away - i.e., processes. So much template alignment, project management process, and PRD standards are haywire if you are in an early-stage startup, so start there. Don't ask permission. Just write them and ask people for feedback. You will make their work way easier & they will begin to trust you.

3. Read data 

Notice how we didn't say analyze? That is because only some people are there & don't worry, no one expects this from you. But, read the data. Understand the nuances & what are the ways data is captured, what sources they come from & how events are logged in the system. Please familiarise yourself with this, and maybe go back to point 2 and write a guide to make it easier for the next hire!

4. Take notes

Don't enter any conversation without a note-taking method. Keep logging what people are telling you. If you are in meetings, people can say, “”h, RRahul's taking notes. We will surely get a detailed summary after this so we can concentrate fully here.” Give value right away! People will trust you with more tasks.

5. Ship small

Even if it is a copy change, ship it as soon as possible. Keep looking at the backlog(if there is one) or develop small changes that might help. Keep asking colleagues if they think your feature will add value. If it doesn't, what can you do? Run experiments? If you are B2C, make an ASO change & test it. If you are B2B, look at features with a low change, high impact & requested a lot, convince an engineer & ship it to one small company that is not a revenue changer or is on a free plan, and observe closely.

It is entirely okay to make mistakes when you start. No one expects you to be an expert already, but keep showing you are ready to learn & question everything.

That is all. This could have been a ten-chapter book, but it ends here ;) OR it may be a book someday. For now, it is free, and we hope it is not completely useless! 🙏