As someone trying to transition into product management from a client success role, I’m struggling to showcase relevant experience. I’ve heard veterans here recommend reframing transferable skills, but how exactly does that work? What specific aspects from non-PM jobs (like managing client projects or troubleshooting technical issues) actually catch hiring managers’ attention? For those who successfully pivoted, what frameworks or storytelling techniques did you use to structure your resumes and interview answers? Any examples of unexpected skills that translated well would be super helpful!
newsflash: everyone overcomplicates this. hiring managers just wanna see you can solve problems without crying. pick 2-3 things from your current job that sound vaguely like ‘ownership’ or ‘stakeholder mgmt’ and call it a day. bonus points if you avoid the phrase ‘synergy’. they eat that sh*t up.
i asked my mentor about this! they said to focus on times u led projects even unofficially? like that time i organized our team’s workflow in retail – maybe thats like roadmap planning?? idk still confusing but trying!
made a spreadsheet of PM skills vs my customer service tasks. shockingly 35% overlap! now framing escalations as ‘user research’ lol. works better than i expected in early interviews
The key is to map your current responsibilities to PM competencies. For example, if you handled client escalations, frame it as ‘conducted continuous discovery to align solutions with user pain points’. Use the STAR method to structure stories around ambiguity resolution. One mentee transitioned from teaching by emphasizing curriculum design as product lifecycle management.
You’ve got this!! My friend pivoted from event planning by highlighting vendor coordination as cross-functional leadership – be creative! Every experience counts 
When I moved from marketing ops to PM, I leaned heavy on my campaign analytics work. Turns out breaking down ROI models is basically OKR tracking? Got 2 offers by reframing my niche data viz skills as ‘translating complex metrics for execs’ – just find your angle!
2023 LinkedIn data shows 41% of PM hires had non-traditional backgrounds. Focus on quantifiable outcomes: ‘Reduced client churn 18% via feedback loops’ becomes ‘Drove product improvements through user insight analysis’. Use McKinsey’s PEGS framework (Problem, Experiment, Growth, Scale) to structure narratives.