In the recruitment market, product managers are a type of existence that seems to be oversupplied but is actually “hard to find”. Resumes are piled up, interviews are frequent, but there are very few that are truly “satisfactory”. Is the candidate not good enough, or is the company’s expectations too high? What kind of misalignment and challenges are hidden behind this? This article will uncover the underlying reasons why it is becoming more and more difficult to recruit product managers from the perspective of the front line of recruitment.
In my 7 years with it, talking to familiar HR or HRBPs, they all tell me how difficult it is to recruit product people. On the surface, this should be straightforward: the job market for PMs has been in a downturn, and all the recent tech layoffs and hiring freezes mean there are a lot of talented people looking for work.
However, hiring a product manager is still difficult because the roles are broad but not standardized – products are “done” differently everywhere! – It’s hard to assess someone’s sense of product during an interview. It’s a cross-functional role that is culturally sensitive, so cultural fit is crucial. In short, success as a product person depends a lot on how you work and what you know, so hiring the right people is destined to be tricky. I always believe: “Product management is fundamentally about thinking independently, being one step ahead of competitors, and being able to project yourself into the minds of colleagues and customers.” ”
Candidates and available positions
We all know what has happened in the past few years. Many companies overbuilt during the pandemic and then things went back to the way they were. After the pandemic, they realized they were overhiring, which led to layoffs at tech companies at various major companies that we have seen in the past few years. Let’s not forget that the threshold for application has been significantly lowered recently. Current technology and platforms like BOSS have made it very easy to work, so people can now propose any job, whether they have the right skills or experience. Coupled with ongoing economic uncertainty, investors are increasingly cautious about putting money into tech startups, and any product manager looking for a job is struggling to navigate the market.
For recruitment, the increase in candidates to choose from creates some problems. This means that the hiring process slows down, and you risk overlooking the right qualified candidates. Additionally, decision fatigue from dealing with so many applications can lead to errors and over-reliance on bias. Overall, hiring PMs have become a bad experience for hiring managers, as well as a bad experience for job seekers, and can damage the employer’s brand and future job seeker base.
The role of technology
Candidate tracking and filtering systems also have their advantages and disadvantages. They offer speed and efficiency and can handle hundreds of applications in minutes. They also provide consistency as they apply the same rules to all candidates and can effectively weed out specific technical skills or experiences. But they can lead to over-reliance on keywords and potentially miss out on potential candidates with unusual backgrounds and potential.
B-end product manager’s ability model and learning improvement
The first challenge faced by B-end product managers is how to correctly analyze and diagnose business problems. This is also the most difficult part, product design knowledge is basically not helpful for this part of the work, if you want to do a good job in business analysis and diagnosis, you must have a solid …
View details >
The HR I contacted said, “If you post a job advertisement, hundreds of people will apply, and that creates a problem. There are tools that can help with an initial scan of candidates and determine some basic knowledge like ‘is this actually a product manager?’ He suggests using technology to do this basic first scan and then hand it over to humans, who can also catch potential nuances and outliers, also because “sometimes candidates aren’t very good at writing resumes.” We see this all the time, even for directors and candidates.
Many job seekers don’t sell themselves effectively and just talk about the work they do, not the impact and effectiveness of the job, making it harder to assess their suitability for a position when hiring and interviewing. Sometimes candidates just get it and they have an incredible resume, but this may only be 5% of what we see.
Recruiters at large companies have begun to use tools like AI to video candidates and then use AI to evaluate their interviews.
Candidates are afraid and disgusted by AI, the idea of being interviewed and possibly rejected by some software with no human interaction at all, which creates trust issues.
The use of AI can also be very insidious – for example, web and recruitment platforms won’t show you all the product managers who might meet your criteria. The AI will try to understand what you’re looking for and only show you people it thinks would be a good fit for your role, while you may want to be able to see and evaluate everyone, including those who may not be looking for a new job.
What does product manager mean?
The job market for product managers has experienced expansion and now malaise, and the meaning of the word product has been so diluted that it is difficult to find a good product manager. There are many companies that call employees product managers, who are not product managers, but project managers or domain expertise managers.
The skills expected of product managers have changed. Business awareness and understanding of revenue generation are now prerequisites for product managers, and in the past few years, product management may have meant “making it beautiful and working.” Now it needs to generate revenue.
Of course, there is also an inevitable reality of AI in product management. AI product management roles (and AI-related roles in general) are exploding.
Most product job openings are looking for AI experience, and candidates’ skills are rapidly improving. Everyone knows the importance of AI, and more and more companies are building AI into their products, so that’s a requirement [for job seekers].
Now I think the question is, do they have real AI experience, what do people actually do with it? There’s a world of difference between real AI and rebranded ChatGPT, so hiring managers want to know if job seekers are building something from the ground up, and if so, what value it creates.
Has the hiring landscape changed elsewhere? Over the past few years, industry and domain expertise has become very important to recruitment, and this risk aversion may have been caused by the post-pandemic economic downturn.
If you work in the fintech industry, you must have fintech experience. You have worked in the retail industry and you need to have retail experience. Trying to break this is the biggest problem I currently face with recruitment.
Challenges in recruitment
Recruitment is a tough field for both those looking for a job and those who want to recruit, and it’s not good for either party at the moment. So how does recruitment solve this problem?
I think resumes have limited value in assessing product management skills, and you can’t really know if someone is a product manager unless you actually talk to them and do all the things we refer to when we talk about product managers. A few years ago, when I was recruiting an intern at a large factory, I would actually talk to more than 10 candidates.
Interviews don’t take up to an hour and use techniques like 10-minute phone calls to quickly screen candidates early in the hiring process, ask a question, and you can quickly get a sense of whether they’re really a product person.
Test tangible and intangible skills
Intangibles such as soft skills and product thinking are harder to measure. I like to ask questions that can make him feel someone’s curiosity. For example, when interviewing junior and intermediate product managers, pencils, markers, chalkboard markers, and ring pens are sometimes placed in front of candidates and asked to choose one and explain why. People with a non-product mindset will just choose one and start talking about it, and people with more intuition and context awareness may start asking how I want them to handle it, this kind of question can give you an idea of someone’s curiosity, intuition, and communication style.
I think it depends on the product you have to build, your urgency, and the level of recruitment. But the more experience you have, the more you can recycle, and a lot of times it’s people who think a little outside the box.
You must have some underlying business acumen and drive to be truly successful and credible in modern product personas.
The reality of product managers
A colleague of mine received a gift package at the beginning of this year, she has 6 years of industry experience and has worked for several well-known manufacturers, so she is confident that she will at least get some interview opportunities.
Weeks passed, only a few of the internal pushes were connected, and the others did not reply, and she was confused – something seemed wrong with the market.
After 5 rounds of interviews, she received the same email she had seen too many times: “We regret to inform you of ……”
In fact, there are people around me who know that product managers or internet workers like her are stuck in the same cycle and face a hiring process that feels uncrackable.
Tougher markets, focused on growth:Hiring has shifted from offering new products to steady growth and maintaining existing plans. Product managers who make a real impact in similar areas are more likely to thrive.
The growing demand for senior product managers poses long-term risks:Senior Product Managers are the most in-demand product positions in 2024, with 65% of hiring managers prioritizing mid-level hiring. This focus on steady growth is crowding out leadership roles and entry-level positions, creating long-term risk.
The role of a product manager is evolving – it’s more about delivering results than injecting AI:The future of Product Manager is not about delivering output, it’s about driving business outcomes. Product managers who can interpret analytics, connect the dots, and drive business outcomes are in the greatest demand. AI-specific roles remain exploratory.
The generalist’s advantage remains—but there’s a catch:Hiring managers want versatile product managers, but those with domain expertise and experience stand out in a crowded pipeline. Now, the ability to act immediately is critical.
Tougher markets, focused on sustained growth
Everyone’s misconception about the current market: it’s not that companies stop hiring altogether – it’s that they change the purpose of hiring.
Over the past few years, company funding and product recruitment have been driven by the promise of high-speed growth. More users, more revenue, more teams – more everything.Welcome to the era of cautious hiring, where efficiency trumps expansion.
In 2024, only16%of hiring managers say new product plans are their top priority (down from 32% in 2023). Instead, companies are obsessed with efficiency — optimizing, simplifying, and making existing bets more effective.
This is likely to change as the market haze subsides, but for now, product managers who have made a measurable impact in the company’s core areas are more likely to get jobs.
Senior product managers are winning, but it’s a short-term solution
The hottest job title in 2024?Senior Product Manager.The demand for senior product managers has increased year-over-year13%。Why? The company needsPlug-and-play product managers who have enough experience to drive near-term results, but not so deep that the salary required at the VP level.
But here’s the problem:This recruitment strategy is short-sighted.
- Leadership recruitmentstagnantNo, this means that no one guides middle-level recruitment;
- The junior product role isdisappear, which means that future leaders have no channels;
- The industry will be in a few yearsThere is a leadership vacuum;
Why is this happening?Product leaders are typically hired in two situations: high growth or strong integration.For now, the market is playing it safe — no crazy expansion and no major restructuring. This means that the need for product leadership is lukewarm at best.
Market caution also explains why jobs and recruiters seem to disappear during the interview process. Some companies struggle with this uncertainty every day, and hiring managers have to explain the number of employees per employee after thinking their roadmap is approved.
As for junior product managers?When companies are willing to bet on new talent, they thrive.Traditionally, large tech natives fill this gap with dedicated Associate Product programs that nurture new talent into the pipeline. But now, the company is not in the mood to train, they are in the mood to deliver.
I understand why hiring only experienced senior product managers may seem appealing, but it’s very short-sighted. These senior product managers will not have the opportunity to develop leadership skills, all will compete for the same leadership opportunities, and the entire industry will suffer from the lack of an upcoming pipeline of product managers.
Product managers need to drive results, not just introduce AI
AI seems to be in product job descriptions and hiring discussionsEverywhere。 In fact, more than50% of product managers believe this is an emerging skill that product managers need to acquire.But let’s separate the hype from reality – what exactly is “AI skills.”
- Core Product Managerwill AIImplemented toof their products;
- Growth Product ManagerImplement AI to optimize parts of the product;
- Manage AI models or AI teamsAI Product Manager;
While AI product managers are recruited in all 3 categories, the hiring acknowledges that they are still theretrialInstead of expanding your AI-powered product team, onlyA small number of specialized product rolesCompletely focused on AI.
What practical skills do product managers need?Use data and AI to improve their own productivity– Whether through:
- Generate rapid prototypes using low-code (code, Dify) AI tools to accelerate discovery;
- Automate workflows or generate more data-backed artifacts to improve clarity in decision-making;
In the early days of the mobile era, there was a rush to hire mobile product managers. Over time, mobile expertise becomes a basic expectation rather than a specialized skill.
I expect the same for AI — right now, AI specialization is a differentiator, but soon it will be a bargaining chip. The real transformation is not about AI;Business awareness。 Product managers who truly stand out are those who can connect AI advancements to business outcomes, not just understand technology.
What is another essential skill that is becoming more and more important?Data literacy.Product managers who can analyze metrics, connect insights to strategy, and drive results are hired.
The reality is that as a product owner, I’m more nervous than ever, so I want product managers to take on more analytical roles. Tell me which metrics drive business value. What do our results reveal about customer behavior and product direction? If you can bring me these insights, I can focus on strategy more clearly.
The generalist’s advantage remains—but there’s a catch
The debate has been raging for years:Generalists and experts. Generalists are adaptable, have strong basic product foundational skills, and are able to work in different industries or problem areas. Experts have deep expertise in specific areas, such as AI, consumer products, or enterprise SaaS. In 2024, this has evolved into something more subtle. Here’s what really happened:
HR says that 65% of the product managers they have hired in the last 2 years are generalists. 40% of candidates have no domain experience in the fieldScreening phaserisk rejection.
So, what explains this problem? Given the large number of resumes in the application funnel, HR is forced to choose additional screening criteria, and product managers with relevant industry experience inevitably win.
We always say that we need generalist product managers who are broad thinkers with new perspectives, resourcefulness, and adaptability. But recruitment rarely happens in a vacuum. When a role is vacant, it’s almost always to fill a direct, high-priority gap. This means we look for experts – people who can act immediately, often with deep industry expertise or experience with competitors. The reality is that while we value long-term versatility, short-term pressure from investors and leadership can push us to hire for urgent needs.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that product managers should choose specialization (in fact, some roles are true experts), but most rolesStrong breadth and depth are required。 Recruiters who screen candidates will only take a few seconds to review, so to really stand out, candidates need to demonstrate:
- They solve problems in similar fields (e.g., fintech, healthcare);
- Strong results in similar business models (B2B, B2C, etc.);
- Track record of rapid cultural adaptation (e.g., prior experience operating in a fast-paced environment if applying to an early-stage company);
The best candidates are able to grasp the basics, but are excellent
Screening is only part of the barrier. Hiring managers are now more critical than ever. The strongest candidate? They do it better than everyone else – here’s what hiring managers have to say about product managers who stand out:
- Enthusiasm is easy to spot: “ You can tell when a candidate has a real, genuine passion for the position,” said one manager. Passionate job seekers bring energy, ask thoughtful questions about the company, and show genuine excitement in the interview. They have done extensive research on the industry and have a clear understanding of the market;
- Clarity and structure win: The best candidates’ answers are concise, structured, and backed by data rather than blindly loyal to the framework – whether it’s a case study or any behavioral question thrown at them. A large part of product work inevitably brings clarity to ambiguity, and product managers who can prove that they think clearly stand out;
- Showcase Your Superpowers: Hiring managers love candidates who clearly demonstrate what they have and others don’t – whether it’s a deep understanding of an industry or experience gained through previous solving that particular problem. “They understand the problems we will face before joining the business. One hiring manager revealed that it was clear from talking to them that they had done it before;
- Influence is better than title: Hiring managers are more concerned with results than ever, and the strongest candidates are clearly changemakers who can articulate how they achieved results in their previous roles.
Follow-up hope
The chaos in the recruitment market is not over yet,But the worst may be over。
For hiring managers, the path forward is clear. The most successful teams are not built through strict standards or endless theoretical exercises. They will come from candor about what matters – whether it’s domain expertise, efficiency, or new perspectives. The best candidates are drawn to clarity rather than complexity. The market can be challenging, but it rewards those who are open to honest conversations. For job seekers, it’s not about playing the number game, it’s about precision, finding the right position, telling the right story, and showing why you’re the best candidate, that’s how you get hired.
