From Final-Round Rejections to PM Lead at Slack | Lynne Levy Coaching Review

Hey Kamini, how are you?

Hey Lynne, I'm doing well. How are you?

I'm fabulous, thank you. I'm so excited for you and your new job, but we'll talk about that in a minute.

Sure, sure.

So I'd love it if you could tell folks out there a little bit about the program. And let's start with what made you decide to join the Inspired Product Leader?

Sure, I'm happy to share my experience on that. So I mean, to be very frank, so I'm currently a product manager. So I've been a product manager last 5 years, but on my current role, I've been kind of missing few things though that was not going right, the right way. I mean, I was not very passionate about my job. I was lacking few things. So last year, I mean, I was preparing very hard for some tech company PM interviews in the month of November and December. So I worked so hard, I did the preparation, and I went to the on-site, and I lost in the final leg of the on-site. I didn't make it through to the, uh, both the tech companies that I've been interviewing. So that kind of bummed me. And in the month of January this year, I, I was like, I was facing, facing an imposter syndrome. Frankly, like, am I, hey, am I really a good product manager? Why am I going to the final round and losing? So what am I really lacking? So I was very demotivated and that's when I came across your program. And I think on a Friday we were on a quick call. I mean, you called me on a Friday afternoon. In fact, I was on a parking lot. Getting back home. So, and during my first conversation, I was really, I mean, I kind of shared, I was very open to you at that time. I remember I shared like, hey, where am I in my PM journey and what I want to do and what are the challenges I'm facing. So, but you kind of talked to me about this program and, and you wanted me to really try. Um, so this is for people who really want to kind of get that edge to the next level of product leadership role. So I joined your program. Uh, so during the first one week, I really loved, uh, what I really liked about the program, it's the community. I mean, uh, the set, uh, it's, it's a program. I mean, I've been part of different, uh, coaching sessions in the past, but it was not, uh, specifically for product managers. So it had people, a mix of people from different backgrounds who are not really in the product journey. So it was kind of little convoluted, but I really liked in your program, it was specifically focused for product managers who want to kind of take it to the next level or who are looking to do something very interesting or creating the impact in the product side of the world. That's where I kind of felt like your program was really perfect for me, uh, in what I wanted to kind of learn and grow. Fabulous.

So what, what were some of the key things you learned?

Um, I mean, your sessions, I mean, uh, every— the weekly sessions was very informative to start with. Um, I think, uh, you had a session where you kind of made me, uh, do some self-reflection exercise on, hey, what am I most passionate about in my job as a product manager? What are your core values and what you want to really do in your next job? I think that really made me, I mean, spend some time to really do some self-reflection on me, like, hey, what I really want to do, because in the past I have not done it. I was just applying for jobs or just whenever recruiters reach out, I just talk to them and move on to the process. But really, I didn't like the vibe of the company, or I mean, it didn't move further. But so you really made me think like, hey, what part of product I really enjoy the most and what I want to do in my next role, and what are the companies that I'm passionate about that I need to target. So all those core things I kind of started writing down, working with you. So that really helped me kind of come up with a 3 to 6 month plan of, hey, what are the areas that I need to focus on in terms of my skills or improvements? And what are the areas that, I mean, through networking, and what are the companies that I want to target? So all those things that I kind of work with you to outline, and that really helped. That's fabulous. And all these sessions, especially, uh, one of the session, uh, that I felt was very useful is the scarf and the communication style. As a PM, I mean, communication plays a very important role for a PM, and definitely you interact with a lot of different personalities. So you have to adjust your communication style based on the personality. So that session was very, very helpful in how I can kind of navigate my communication style with different people and how I can effectively convince them. So those sessions were very, very informative for me. Awesome.

So tell, tell us, where are you now?

Sure. I, I'm going to join Slack as a PM lead for their data products team. So I'm very excited. So Slack is definitely one of the companies that I, I was targeting and I, I really like the culture and the mission of the company. So especially in the collaboration and the product activity space. They have been doing a lot of cool things on their product and they're growing rapidly. So being part of the product team is my dream. So yeah, I'm very excited.

Amazing. I'm so happy for you.

Thank you so much, Lynne Levy Levy Levy. I mean, you have played a very critical role on my journey. I mean, it was not an easy journey. It didn't happen overnight. I really want to tell everyone that, hey, it didn't happen overnight. It's not like, hey, apply for this job and I got it immediately. I've been through the journey of rejections, attending interviews and going to the final stage and having rejections, but keeping my spirit high and staying positive. And with the help of you and your community, that's what made me go and never give up. Like, every failure is a learning— I see failure as a learning opportunity to improve myself and get better in the next set of interviews. And all those interview practice sessions The storytelling sessions really helped me on how I can handle, I mean, any type of behavioral questions. I've kind of prepared stories for each one of them. So I kind of practice during your sessions. So those really helped me.

So if you were to bump into somebody on the street and they were to say, you know, should I join this program? What would you tell them to think about and consider?

Oh, I mean, definitely I would recommend your program to anyone who is really passionate about product and want to make an impact in the space, because this program specifically focuses on mentoring and coaching people in that area who wants to work on creating impactful products. So I would definitely recommend for mid-level PMs who are looking to transition to the next step in their journey. Your program is the one I would highly recommend to anyone whom I come across. Being a job, I don't want people to see job as a job. Like, you need to love what you're doing, and if you're passionate about your day-to-day job, that's the most best gift that you can give yourself and also to your family.

Yeah, work, work and life are tied together. You've got to, you've, you've got to love your job to have an awesome life.

Yeah, yeah.

Thank you, Kamini, so very much. I look forward to watching you grow in your career.