Shobhit Chugh’s Post

Intuit announced the layoffs of 1,800 people. Here is why these ones seem different from any other layoffs. 1. Intuit categorically stated that many of these were performance-related. To quote - CEO Sasan Goodzari said that the company has “significantly raised the bar on our expectations of employee performance” and that underperforming employees will be “more successful outside of Intuit.” 2. Intuit is planning to hire 1,800 people! They just need the right people with more of a focus on AI products “In context of the actions we are taking today, we expect our overall headcount to grow in FY25 and beyond” Bottom line - I believe such pruning will be common as companies adjust to investments in AI.

Most candidates believe's that the resume's job is to help you land the interview. But that's just part of the story. The resume has three roles: 1. Get the Interview: Your resume is your ticket to getting noticed. It’s not just about listing your experiences; it's about showcasing your unique value proposition. A well-crafted resume gets you through the door. 2. Direct the Interviewer's Attention: Your resume doesn't just get you in the room; it sets the stage. The points you highlight can steer the conversation. By emphasizing specific achievements, you guide the interviewer to focus on your strengths. 3. Setting You Apart: In a crowded field of applicants, a standout resume sets you apart from the crowd. It's your personal brand on paper. Distinct achievements and a clear narrative ensure you remain memorable long after the interview. Your resume must reinforce what you spoke to them about because memories cannot be relied on. --- P.S., If this resonates with you, and you: - Are a product manager - You love to take action - You are committed to career growth But if you need help in landing that ideal next role. DM me "dream role" and I will send you details. We only work with selected folks and have started to limit how many people we accept every month.

I was in Croatia recently and saw this scene: two pigeons fighting over a giant piece of bread. Each could have had plenty if they just divided it. But instead, they keep fighting. Does this remind you of something? How often do we humans spend time and energy "fighting for credit" in our careers? We get so caught up in seeking recognition and validation that we lose sight of our bigger goals. Here’s the painful truth: 🤯 Lost Opportunities: While we're busy competing for credit, we miss out on collaboration that could lead to greater success. 😤 Increased Stress: The constant struggle for recognition creates a toxic work environment, leading to burnout and dissatisfaction. 🚫 Stalled Growth: Focusing on personal accolades can stunt our professional development. We overlook learning opportunities that come from teamwork and collective achievement. Imagine what we could achieve if we shifted our focus from fighting for credit to working together towards common goals. Collaboration leads to innovation, job satisfaction, and career growth. Maybe rather than fighting for credit, you can literally "have your cake and eat it too?" --- Thanks for reading, and if you enjoyed this: 1. Save it 2. Repost it to share with others 3. Comment with your favorite takeaway Then hit follow for more posts on product management.

"I just cannot seem to interview well. I've lost out on roles to people who used to report to me." Those were the words of my client, let's call him Steve - a seasoned PM leader who had launched major hit products, driven millions in revenue, the full rockstar package. Yet despite his immense experience, Steve interviewed like a junior employee. Sitting across from potential employers, the impression he left was "Great PM, but not leadership material yet." Can you imagine how gutting that feels? To be the most qualified person in the room but fail to convey your true abilities when it matters most? That was Steve's demoralizing reality. Shockingly, the PMs Steve had personally trained were outshining him. His former mentees were climbing ranks their mentor couldn't, simply because their storytelling abilities, polished presence, and executive confidence allowed them to sell themselves more effectively. Steve's star pupils were soaring past him, landing big promotions he was denied - an emasculating insult to watch others he knew to be less qualified achieve greater career heights. With each rejection, Steve didn't just lose out financially. His self-esteem, the pride he wanted his kids to feel about his career, took brutal blows. Year after year, poor interviewing cost him key roles and millions in compensation. Finally, enough was enough. Steve came to our Intentional PM team, determined to overhaul his approach. Through narrative rebuilding, presence refinement, and elite interview skills training, he achieved a transformative breakthrough. The result? A prime leadership role at a top company, over $1 million in annual compensation, and the respect he deserved. More importantly, an earned aura of executive prowess to own any room. If you're a PM committed to growth, interviewing woes can devastate your career trajectory and self-worth over time. Don't let poor skills deny you success. DM "Dream Role" if you want to invest in mastering interviews to capture your ideal next role. I'll share how we help convey your full leadership value.

Are you a Product Manager who recently transitioned into AI product management [in the last year]? If so, I would love to interview you for my YouTube channel. I am creating an episode regarding transitioning into the field of AI product management and want to include 3 to 5 real-life stories of this transition. Please DM me if you are interested with a few lines about your transition.

Life really sucks when your only way of sourcing interviews is online applications. A few months ago, I spoke with a product manager who had been applying to 20 jobs a week for the past six months. He had done five interviews but had no offers to show for it. His conversion rates were dismal, and his confidence was at an all-time low. Not only did he feel trapped, but his work performance also suffered due to the stress and rejections from those "pointless" applications. To top it off, he was worried that his company might have layoffs. And if they did, he feared he would be on the list. I've seen this happen more often than I'd like. Product managers mindlessly apply with a hastily prepared resume, assuming that the market is "fair" and their experience alone will land them good jobs. Sometimes, it works, but most of the time, their resumes end up in a pile of unread applications, receiving the standard "We found a better candidate" rejection. These failures in the job search erode their confidence and job performance, resulting in a downward career spiral affecting their happiness, health, mental well-being, and family life. The good news is that while the majority of product managers play the "online applications" game, a small minority have figured out a better way: 1. **Positioning Themselves as Leaders**: They understand the market and identify roles where they have an unfair advantage. 2. **Effective Networking**: They leverage their network and the broader product management community to ensure their resumes get noticed. 3. **Rebuilding Confidence**: They know they can excel in a job even if they don't meet 100% of the requirements. 4. **Communicating Achievements**: They convert most of their interviews into offers by effectively showcasing their achievements. 5. **Negotiating Offers**: They uncover hidden pockets of money to get paid what they’re worth. Back to the product manager I spoke with. He showed the courage to take the next step and decided to work with us. He landed a new role at a company he LOVES, with a ~45% increase in salary. Above all, he's much happier at work and a more present father and husband. While he did many things right, the crucial step was booking a breakthrough session with us. If he hadn’t taken that step, he might still be applying online, wondering if he's qualified. --- P.S. Don’t fall into the same trap. The job market is NOT fair. You don’t get the next job based on what you’ve done. You get the role based on how you position your skills, knowledge, thinking process, and experience. DM me "dream role" and I will send you details. We only work with selected folks and have started to limit how many people we accept every month.

Why do most product managers drown in a daily whirlpool of triaged tasks and constant firefighting? I've observed product managers often put Strategic initiatives that could actually propel their company and advance their careers on the back burner. Yet, instead of reclaiming their time, most PMs keep piling more onto their overflowing plate. Why? Because they're told that being a selfless servant is the PM job description, immediately answering any Slack pings or unblocking every minor engineering ask is supposedly what "good" PMs do. But that's bullshit advice that slowly grinds you down. My clients don't drown in a deluge of reactive tasks. They reserve dedicated blocks of uninterrupted time to drive strategic, high-impact work - even while managing large teams. How? By taking complete control of their roles instead of obediently jumping through hoops whenever someone lobs an idea their way. By fortifying their mindset and mustering the courage to say "no" to endless demands on their time and attention. By coaching their teams to embrace more autonomy and distributing ownership over the many micro-decisions that don't actually require a PM's input. You have limited hours in the day. You can keep spending them putting out fires, replying to emails, and sitting through useless meetings. Or you can commit to maximizing your impact. Look, I get it - tips and tactics for improving processes are exciting. But this mental overhaul is vital. Without reframing how you assert control over your time and priorities, no PM hack will work. It's time to run your job before it runs you into the ground. --- Thanks for reading, and if you enjoyed this: 1. Save it 2. Repost it to share with others 3. Comment with your favorite takeaway Then hit follow → Shobhit Chugh for more posts on product management.

Are we product managers getting caught up in the daily grind, losing sight of what truly matters? The Pareto principle reminds us that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. This is especially true in our Work. The high-value tasks—like shaping product vision and strategy, prioritizing effectively, and preparing for major meetings—are all examples of Deep Work. 🧠 Deep Work requires large, uninterrupted chunks of time, free from the constant pressure to reply to every Slack message instantly. Sure, we can keep running meetings and answering questions, but if we neglect Deep Work, we risk becoming product janitors instead of product managers. So, how do we embrace Deep Work? Here’s my approach: 1. Pick the right Work: Prioritize tasks that will have the most significant impact on our business. 2. Do the Work: Set aside undisturbed time in your calendar specifically for Deep Work. 3. Share the Work: Get feedback and iterate to improve. 4. Facilitate deep Work across your team: Respect others’ time and encourage asynchronous communication. In a world of shallow Work, Deep Work is a competitive advantage. Use it effectively to boost your product management career and enhance your team’s productivity and happiness. Let’s embrace Deep Work and build exceptional products together! --- Thanks for reading, and if you enjoyed this: 1. Save it 2. Repost it to share with others 3. Comment with your favorite takeaway Then hit follow → @shobhitchugh for more posts on product management.

Have you seen the videos of the recent shark activity in Florida? Drone footage has picked up dozens of sharks swimming in the Florida Gulf, and there have been people seriously injured in separate incidences of shark attacks, including a woman who lost an arm and a teenager with critical injuries. A member of our team had two teenagers vacationing with friends near the area of the shark attacks last week. The mom was obviously concerned about the increased shark activity so she sent a video of the drone footage to her teenage son. His response? “Aww Mom...why did you have to ruin my vacation?” There is an old saying that “Ignorance is bliss.” I’m not sure who came up with this phrase, but most of the time, ignorance is…well…ignorant. This mother wasn’t trying to ruin her child’s vacation; she was trying to protect her child from injury. We see this same type of thinking with people looking for product roles. They are early in their job search and have not faced much rejection yet. Maybe they have been in the same job for 8 years and have not been interviewed forever. Or, their last interview experience was during Covid when money was flowing and companies were desperate to hire. Or they have used their personality or connections to get a job in the past and think it will be easy to get through several rounds of product management interviews now. Ignorance is bliss because they don’t know how tough it is going to be. Our message to product managers looking to uplevel their career with a new role is clear…there are sharks in the water. People are hiring, but it’s extremely competitive. Every part of the job search strategy has to be excellent, from your first impression to your last interview questions. The more senior positions you go after, the more difficult the process is. Each step up the corporate ladder requires a different level of excellence. Is ignorance bliss when it comes to your resume, interviewing, and negotiation? Or do you think you will get the best results from understanding what to watch out for, what to expect, and how to prepare to show up as the best version of yourself from others who are used to navigating the water? We would love to help you know what to watch out for and what mistakes to fend off so you can avoid the tragedy of an unsuccessful job search. Book a breakthrough call with us today, and let's ensure that you are avoiding the mistakes that most product managers make. The link is in my bio.

Join us as we chat with Nora Hughes, a seasoned product manager with a decade in the tech industry. Nora shares her journey from being laid off in October to navigating the challenging job market. She talks about her initial struggles, including the overwhelm of job searching during the holidays, dealing with COVID, and the loneliness that came with it. Nora discusses how she discovered the Intentional Job Search (IJS) program and her thought process before joining. She highlights the structure and quality of the program, and how it helped her regain focus, prioritize effectively, and build confidence in her job search strategy. In this candid conversation, Nora also reveals her aha moments, including the value of peer interviews and the comprehensive support from the IJS community. She explains how the program's personalized coaching and strategic guidance were pivotal in helping her land a dream role as a Staff Product Manager in AI and ML at a large public company, achieving a significant pay raise and working alongside best-in-class professionals. If you're curious about how the IJS program can transform your job search and career trajectory, this video is a must-watch. Nora's story is a testament to the power of structured support and intentional effort in achieving career success.