Ken Ward @kward69

Gravitas is crucial

Started in recruitment in 1995, 10 years agency and headhunting, 8 years recruitment leadership roles

So What Does an internal recruiter actually do?

Stages of Recruitment

• Job Analysis • Sourcing – routes to market• Screening and selection• Negotiating Offers• Onboarding• "The head of recruitment is actually the head

of rejection.” Rajeeb Dey, CEO of Enternships.com

Vatican Recruitment Team

So why is it so difficult to hire Product Managers?

JD’s for Product Managers

What are we actually looking for?

Definition of Product ManagerI define the role of the product manager first and foremost as the person responsible for defining – in detail – the product that the engineering team will build – Marty Cagan

Product management is an organizational lifecycle function within a company dealing with the planning, forecasting, or marketing of a product or products at all stages of the product lifecycle. - Wikipedia

How Do We Find Product Managers?

Things We Can Agree on?

• A clear passion for building stuff

• Intelligence/problem solving

• An ability to objectively analyse a product

• An understanding of the importance of the customer experience in a product's success

• Data driven

How to Hire/Assess?

• Product Managers are “already in your organisation, hiding under a different title”

-Marty Cagan - • Like for like hiring from competitor ?• Focus on Core Characteristics – challenge to

identify from a CV?• Rely on a great cover letter (!)

Stages of Assessment

• Screening for agreed core competencies by internal recruiter

• Test Stage – data/product analysis/recommendations

• Presentation – communication/influencing

Product Managers increasingly involved in technical hiring

PM Involvement in Eng Hiring

• Product Involvement in hiring is crucial

• First stage test led recruitment

• Approach to problem solving

• Communication!!!!

How Do We Brief 3rd Party Recruiters

Your Involvement

• Sorry – you HAVE to be involved

• You get out what you get in

• Set the expectations at the beginning

• NOT an opportunity for constant sales calls