What I am learning from hiring managers

You might say that as part of my job search process, I am collecting data. In particular, what is it that keeps me from getting that second interview? When I revamped my resume, extending it from 1 to 3 pages and adding as much detail I could about my roles and fit for the current position, I got more bites. Now I can get a phone screen with the hiring manager. What I am finding now is this interview seems to go well, but it's been the end of the line for me. No second interview.

I need to consider what am I missing. I am aiming for the modest Product Manager positions, a lateral move. Nothing too glitzy, not Global Marketing Managers or even Senior Product Managers. Still, the first and foremost objection is my lack of formal experience with the title. Part of the problem as I see it is the lack of those types of positions available. Generalizing from the events at my former company, it seems that...

1. Companies have undergone and continue to undergo a huge amount of restructuring. Heads who fronted very high profile and seemingly successful business units are "retiring".

2. In place of these big guns are smaller, younger, very ambitious guns with big ideas. They are bringing in director-level people to support them infusing 'new life' to these tired business units, ie., do things differently so the organization can do more with less.

3. New roles are created by those new directors. Trends in sales and marketing include consolidating resources that were formally siloed. In the niche I am looking, these roles focus on downstream marketing activities, acting as a resource hub for something like partner management, training, and or business process management, but highly cross-functional.

My experience is highly cross-functional and the good recruiters and hiring managers see this. But the big objection these hiring managers hold is my lack of "formal experience", as least that's what I hear if I can get that sort of input. (There could be something less easily changed, like my personality, that is the real problem!) So it is my job to counter that concern.

My first step is to practice talking the talk. I rehearsed how I position my experience to be everything but the title, but I also know there are some ins and outs I might be missing.

I've been asking former sales and marketing colleagues who have been hiring managers themselves what they think a PM needs to know, what they've learned, what they are looking for when they hire.

It is interesting how views split. Keeping in mind that this is very restricted sampling, I get the sense there are a couple of buckets. First is the kind that knows what he/she wants. Degrees and titles don't matter that much. They care about drive, native intelligence, and fit. This manager has confidence in his/her own abilities to get things done and enough experience managing to know how to spot good raw material and convert it to a useful resource. These people are the ones that give clear directive feedback. "Check this and that company, these contacts might help you...Get in front of as many people as possible...Make sure you are x, y, and z...Make sure you clear objections...Make sure you get firm next steps..." (By the way, only one of these people is hiring for a position I fit and I am unwilling to relocate now.)

Then there is the other type who says, "Go get an MBA, take classes...focus on what you've done before." In terms of hires, they look for the very specific experience and might be second-guessing themselves. For whatever reason, it seems they are afraid of making a mistake. They might be inexperienced themselves in their current role and unsure of their own abilities. I hear the desire to hire someone who can "hit the ground running" from these types. Or based on recent events (massive lay-offs), they might be uncertain of their own changing company landscape. They don't trust their own instincts anymore and are looking for someone the company would see as a good hire.

This experience does fly in the face of advice columns I read about hiring and product management that espouse enthusiasm and a broad mix of qualities that are not based on title. As much as I want to believe there are those hiring managers out there, I believe the behavioral-based hiring practices with its dependence on certifications, and formal experience are ruling the day.

It is still Q1 2013, on the heels of 2012 shake-ups and ensuing aftershocks as restructuring continue. Sales meetings are generally held in February and end of Q1 is just around the corner, so there is the rush to make numbers with fewer resources and to fill the open reqs in mid-upper management. What this means for me is the roles I am perfectly suited for title-wise might not crop up until the second half of this year, when these newly hired directors and senior managers realize they can't possibly do everything expected of them by themselves.

So my options are to...

1. Wait until positions I am well-suited for title-wise become available.
2. Back it up. Go for positions I did in the past. This is very much not a preferred strategy.
3. Consider other options--school anyone?
4. Convert the ones I've got going.

Of course, my preference is to work on converting current opportunities while networking. To do this, I have to figure out how to assure this hiring manager that I will indeed hit the ground running.