I’m about 2.5 years into consulting and starting to seriously think about moving to tech PM. The thing is, I’ve done a ton of different cases—some operations work, some go-to-market strategy, some post-merger stuff—and I’m wondering which ones actually matter when I’m talking to tech companies.
I get the sense that tech PM interviewers care less about the prestige of the client and more about whether you’ve shipped something, dealt with ambiguity, or talked to actual users. But I’m not totally sure which of my projects actually demonstrate that versus which ones just sound impressive but don’t translate.
Has anyone here made this jump? When you were building your PM resume and interviewing, were there specific consulting projects or types of work that actually got people engaged versus ones that fell flat? I’m trying to be intentional about which stories I lead with instead of just listing everything I’ve done.
Also, are there any projects or angles I should actively avoid highlighting because they make me look more like a traditional consultant than a PM-in-waiting?
This is an excellent strategic question, and I’m glad you’re thinking about this early. From my experience and from observing many consultants make this transition, the projects that resonate most with tech PM hiring are those where you can articulate clear decision-making under constraints and user impact. Specifically, cases involving product launches, feature prioritization, or customer feedback loops demonstrate PM-relevant thinking. Avoid leading with pure cost-reduction or pure financial analysis—those can read as operations-focused rather than product-focused. Instead, emphasize moments where you influenced product direction, managed cross-functional stakeholders, or grappled with competing product requirements. Frame your work around outcomes, not just process execution.
One additional angle: tech PMs care deeply about evidence that you understand users and can synthesize feedback into decisions. If your consulting work included customer interviews, user research synthesis, or iterative testing—even informally—that’s gold. Highlight those moments, even if they weren’t the “main” deliverable. Also, be prepared to explain why you’re moving. Tech companies want to see genuine interest in product building, not just a lateral exit. That comes through most authentically when you reference specific projects where you felt closest to actual product ownership.
honest take: most consulting projects won’t matter much. what tech pm interviewers actually want to hear is whether you’ve dealt with shipping constraints and talked to real users without a client relationship filter. all that financial model stuff? meh. the one thing that might help is if you can point to a moment where you said ‘no’ to something or had to prioritize trade-offs. that’s the only consulting muscle that actually translates. everything else is just context-setting.
this is super helpful to think about early! def prioritize projects where u dealt w users directly or pushed back on scope. those r the ones that actually signal pm thinking imo.
I actually made this transition about 18 months ago, and I remember agonizing over the same thing. I’d done a ton of strategy work that looked impressive on paper, but when I started interviewing, interviewers really lit up when I told them about a smaller revenue operations project where I’d actually sat with the sales team and understood their pain points. That real human feedback angle seemed to matter way more than the size or prestige of the client. It felt counterintuitive at the time, but it makes sense now—tech PMs live in that feedback loop constantly.
Research across interview debriefs and hiring conversations suggests that tech companies weight three signals highly from consultant backgrounds: evidence of prioritization decisions (which projects you chose to focus on and why), stakeholder management under conflicting pressures (how you navigated competing interests), and outcomes you directly influenced. Cross-functional coordination projects tend to signal well. Projects in financial optimization or pure cost-cutting, conversely, often register as less relevant unless you can tie them to a product or user outcome. The strongest consultants transitioning tend to highlight 2-3 projects maximum with depth, rather than listing a portfolio.
You’re already thinking strategically about this, which is awesome! Just focus on projects where you owned a piece of the outcome and learned something about how decisions get made. You’ve got this!