Being a Product Manager in different cultures: where soft-skills beat AI - With Alexandra Vera (Carfax)

04/15/23 • 50 min

In this episode, I had the chance to discuss with Alexandra Vera about being a Product Manager in different countries and cultures.
Alexandra Vera is Head of Product at Carfax, and was previously VP of Product at Autotrader Canada. She has been living and working in Product functions in 4 different countries and 3 different continents. Also, she's been working in product and with remote and international teams for the past 20 years. As such, she has first-hand experience with what it takes to work through different cultures, and what are the common traits of great product managers.
Alexandra believes that there are still a lot of opportunities for product managers, even in the current job market. There will be plenty of opportunities for those who are adaptable.
We covered in detail a number of topics, including

The current tech and product job market, and what is changing for product people
Why some tech companies overinvested during COVID, and what will stay after the pandemic-driven digital boom
How AI will make Product managers' life easier...
Why soft skills are the number 1 trait of great product managers, and why it is going to be even more the case in the future
How "non traditionally tech" companies will over time become larger product manager employers
The differences (and commonalities) between product management practices in Barcelona and Canada,
And how the future of work will involve product managers and product leaders being more skilled at managing teams through different cultures
Some practical tips to be successful in a product management interview

You can contact Alexandra through Linkedin, at https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexaveragurdiel/

To stay up-to-date with original Product content and thoughts:
- Follow me on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/salvatorebocchetti/- Bookmark our website: https://reasonableproduct.com

The current tech and product job market, and what is changing for product people
Why some tech companies overinvested during COVID, and what will stay after the pandemic-driven digital boom
How AI will make Product managers' life easier...
Why soft skills are the number 1 trait of great product managers, and why it is going to be even more the case in the future
How "non traditionally tech" companies will over time become larger product manager employers
The differences (and commonalities) between product management practices in Barcelona and Canada,
And how the future of work will involve product managers and product leaders being more skilled at managing teams through different cultures
Some practical tips to be successful in a product management interview

You can contact Alexandra through Linkedin, at https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexaveragurdiel/

To stay up-to-date with original Product content and thoughts:
- Follow me on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/salvatorebocchetti/- Bookmark our website: https://reasonableproduct.com

Previous Episode

undefined - A recruiter's view on the job market for product management: layoffs, salary negotiations and hiring tips - with Doug Bates (Intelligent People)

A recruiter's view on the job market for product management: layoffs, salary negotiations and hiring tips - with Doug Bates (Intelligent People)

2023 seems to be a special year for the Tech job market. Layoffs made the headlines already in January, and several companies have followed this trend since. But is it really so? Is the tech market stuck? What does it take in 2023 to be a great Product leader, and to be noticed by recruiters? In this Podcast, I spoke with Doug Bates, director at Intelligent People, a boutique recruitment agency specializing in Product leadership positions.

Doug is optimistic about the current job market for product people, and he sees the same or higher number of job offers for the top candidates. Yet, product professionals have to know how to "sell themselves", with a recruiter receiving hundreds of CVs per day. We spoke about candidate employability, selling yourself as a product, and how negotiating your next salary.
Doug has plenty of great advice for hiring managers as well, to make the right hiring choices, and to business leaders and CEOs about the right moment to hire a CPO. We also discussed what is turning off the best product people in the market and how a solid product organization that reports to... product leaders is key to attracting talent.

You can find all the material that Doug mentioned in the Podcast here https://www.intelligentpeople.co.uk/

And you can contact Doug via email at [email protected]

To stay up-to-date with original Product content and thoughts:
- Follow me on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/salvatorebocchetti/- Bookmark our website: https://reasonableproduct.com

Next Episode

Unleashing NO-Code superpowers for Product Managers.

In this episode of Reasonable Product, Salva has invited Marcel Schneider (Product Manager at Huggy Studio) to deep dive into the world of No-Code development and its pivotal role in product management. They explore how No-Code empowers product managers to rapidly bring their ideas to life, focusing on high-priority tasks while reducing the time and effort spent on development.

Marcel provides a foundational understanding of what No-Code truly is, and concrete examples of the most powerful no-code tools out there. Most importantly, he also provides practical examples of when No-code is NOT the way to go.
Marcel and Salva discuss various scenarios where No-Code proves to be a game-changer for Product Managers, emphasizing its effectiveness in the early stages of product development. They underline the importance of testing ideas, even before considering development, to validate their viability in the market.
He highlights No-Code as a powerful tool, emphasizing that it's not just for non-technical individuals but can also benefit seasoned developers looking to streamline their processes.

One of the key takeaways is the necessity for product managers to prioritize their core responsibilities, avoiding the temptation of becoming deep into No-Code development. Marcel advises that while No-Code is a valuable resource, it should be used as a superpower to enhance productivity rather than a rabbit hole that consumes precious time.

The conversation also touches upon the future of No-Code, with Marcel expressing his belief that the integration of No-Code and AI will open up new possibilities. He envisions No-Code as a gateway for non-technical individuals to access AI technologies, thereby accelerating innovation across various domains.

Marcel's practical insights and real-world examples, such as the success story of a specialist using No-Code to scale content creation for SEO, serve as valuable illustrations of how No-Code can be harnessed effectively.
Listen to the full episode to:
🚀 Dive into No-Code development's potential.
🔑 Learn how to prioritize core tasks while No-Code handles the technical heavy lifting.
🧪 Understand which no-code tool is helpful for what
🦸‍♂️ Learn to use No-Code as a superpower, not a time sink.
🔮 Explore the future: No-Code and AI integration for innovation acceleration.
You can contact Marcel
- through Linkedin, at https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcel-schneider-149209222/
- through Huggy Studio at https://www.huggystudio.com/

Here are some of the resources we mentioned in the Podcast:
- No-Code tools for early product validation: https://salvabocchetti.com/no-code-tools-for-early-product-validation/
- HuggyStudio guide to No-Code Tools https://www.huggystudio.com/blog-article/the-best-no-code-platforms-and-tools

To stay up-to-date with original Product content and thoughts:
- Follow me on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/salvatorebocchetti/- Bookmark our website: https://reasonableproduct.com

Reasonable Product - Being a Product Manager in different cultures: where soft-skills beat AI - With Alexandra Vera (Carfax)

Transcript

salva:
Hello and welcome to a reasonable product. Today we've got Alexandra Vera to discuss with us. What it means to be PM in different continents. So Alexandra is currently head of product at Carfax, but very briefly before she was VP product at AutoTrader in Canada. She's been working in, I would say, three different continents. Latin America and Canada. She is in a great position to tell us the perspective, and her perspective on this different markets and what is different when he are