So I’ve been grinding networking for PM roles for a few months now, coming from a finance background with literally zero tech connections. At first I thought I was doing everything right—reaching out, asking for coffee chats, prepping my story about why I want to move into product. But honestly, most of those conversations went nowhere. The advice was generic. The energy felt flat.
Then something clicked. I stopped trying to position myself as “the finance guy pivot” and started actually asking genuine questions about how PMs think through their work. I mapped out specific people at companies I was interested in, found warm intros through alumni networks and Slack communities, and completely rewrote my outreach to focus on what I was curious about rather than what I thought they wanted to hear.
Within a month, conversations started feeling different. More substantive. People were actually engaging instead of just being polite. I’m not saying I’ve landed a role yet, but the quality of the connections is night and day from where I started.
I’m curious—for people who came from non-tech backgrounds and successfully networked into PM roles, what was the actual turning point for you? Was it a shift in how you approached the pitch, who you were talking to, or something else entirely?
lol everyone figures this out eventually. you basically realized that desperation-energy kills networking. nobody wants to grab coffee with someone who’s obviously just trying to extract value. the moment you actually got curious about their work instead of pitching yourself, you became interesting. that’s not revolutionary, but yeah, it works. most people never get there.
honest take? the turning point for most ppl isn’t their pitch. it’s realizing that finance backgrounds actually have value in tech if you frame it right—you understand unit economics, risk, discipline. but you gotta stop apologizing for not being an engineer. that’s where the real momentum shift happens.
this is so helpful, thanks for sharing!! i’m also coming from non-tech and have been struggling with the outreach. gonna try focusing on genuine curiosity instead—that makes way more sense than the stiff pitches ive been sending
wait so u found warm intros thru slack communities? which ones did u use? im trying to figure out where to even start looking for ppl to talk to
You’ve identified something critical that many people miss in their networking journey. The shift from transactional outreach to genuine curiosity fundamentally changes how people respond to you. In my experience, this is particularly powerful when transitioning from finance because you already have frameworks and discipline—you just need to redirect them toward product thinking. The alumni networks and Slack communities you mentioned are valuable because they reduce the friction of the cold introduction while maintaining authenticity. The next phase I’d encourage you to consider is moving beyond information gathering into collaborative problem-solving in those conversations—ask about specific challenges they’re facing and offer perspective from your background.
You’ve totally nailed this! Genuine curiosity is absolutely the way in. Keep going—you’re building real connections and that’s exactly what lands opportunities!
totally resonates with what happened for me. i was also stuck in the “pitch myself” loop until i interviewed someone at a Series B startup who just… didn’t care about my story. instead of pitching, i ended up asking her about how product roadmaps actually get built at smaller companies. next thing i knew, she was introducing me to the head of product. sometimes the best networking happens when you stop trying so hard and just have an actual conversation.
Your observation aligns with research on effective networking transitions. Studies suggest that successful career pivots rely more on authentic curiosity and demonstrable value exchange than on polished pitches. The specificity you’re adding—targeting particular companies, using warm introductions, focusing on substantive questions—reduces friction and increases response quality. From a conversion standpoint, warm introductions typically see 40-60% engagement rates versus 5-10% for cold outreach. The shift you’re describing from transactional to consultative positioning is precisely what changes outcomes in cross-industry moves.