Product Gym by Elevate

I first met Richard when I joined a Product Management Resume Building webinar a few weeks prior. I quite honestly had very little expectations about the seminar, but was pleasantly surprised with how much guidance I received from Richard in that one-hour session. Subsequently, we also were able to set up a 30-minute consult to discuss our resume and LinkedIn profiles in more depth (as part of the webinar). Yet again, I went in anticipating that I'd receive a few nuggets of knowledge at best. But... that was far from what actually happened. Not only was I provided a WEALTH of information in that Zoom chat, I also received an astounding amount of tangible data and feedback that I can act on. Say that to say, that I am appreciative of the content that Richard and the Product Gym team have curated, and I highly suggest that anyone on the PM job hun consider it to give you that extra UMPF across the finish line!

I joined Product Gym hoping to propel my career into product management.  2 months later, I have 3 offers with more interviews to come.  This was not a cakewalk.  Product Gym teaches you how to approach interviews differently.  Just like learning anything new in life,  it takes time and a lot of effort to internalize the strategy so it can be applied during interviews.  In my case, I had to rebrand my entire background while thinking and interviewing like a product manager.  Within the first week of applying for jobs, I was already hearing back from 4-5 companies. For anyone who is interested in getting a product management job, put in 100% energy on the Product Gym system and you will be rewarded.  

Product Gym, where do I start? These guys care about you as a candidate, as an interviewee and as a person who is searching a job. They understand the Product Manager job market very well and take serious pride in making sure as a candidate you are equipped with the knowledge, tactics & the experience to succeed in interviews. Their teaching staff is very good and help you prepare for one of the most demanding jobs in the tech industry. Product Gym supports you right from rebranding your resume & cover letter, application strategy, interviewing tactics, take home assignments & offer negotiations. I have received multiple offers, all thanks to PG. To be clear, as a candidate you need to put in the hard work and follow their strategies to be successful. If you are serious about getting a PM role, don’t think too much & just enrol with Product Gym. These guys will take care of you in your journey of becoming a PM.

Prior to joining Product Gym, I had started my search for new roles.  I was already a product manager by title but after getting rejected from countless roles, I knew I needed to talk the talk more than I was currently doing.  I was pretty heavily interviewing before joining PG  but when 3 final round (multi hour in-persons) failed to convert to offers, I knew I needed some coaching.  Product Gym stood out from the other PM options like GA and PS because of the immediate focus on the interviewing process, LinkedIn optimization, and Resume feedback.  After sitting down with Rich, I realized that his “take no prisoners” attitude and insider recruiter knowledge was tremendously valuable and I was sold on the program.  Within days of optimizing my LinkedIn profile, I started seeing results with increased views of my profile.  Over the next few weeks the amount of LinkedIn traction I was getting was unreal.  I successfully landed a new PM role, after a few coaching sessions and case study review thanks to the PG process.  PG was a really solid investment as I was able to get a tremendous increase in my salary with my new gig.  Thanks Rich, Cody and the rest of the team at PG!

Product Gym is a fantastic program for those looking to land a Product Manager job in any industry – especially for those people who don’t have previous PM experience.  They have developed a unique approach where they assist you with both aspects of landing a PM job – 1) Having all the skills necessary to be a PM and 2) Being able to successful secure interview calls and perform well with companies across the nation. They help you from scratch by revising and optimizing your cover letter, resume, and LinkedIn profile which positions you perfectly for the job application process. Simultaneously, their coursework covers a variety of different topics ranging from interview skills to technical PM skills required for the job. This combination empowers you to successfully apply and interview through all the various rounds that one encounters during the PM interviewing process. They are not the typical organization that will just provide you with the content and expect you to land a job on your own. They are with you through every step of the process right up to the point where you receive and accept an offer from a company. I am extremely happy with my time spent with Product Gym and what they did for me, no other organization has been able to offer / accomplish since I started looking for PM roles over a year ago. Thank you to Rich, Cody, and the entire Product Gym team for empowering me to secure a career in Product Management.

My primary feedback to the Product Gym team is that the online experience needs to improve so that people who are viewing the classes remotely have the same experience / value as those who are viewing the lectures on-site. I believe this is a work-in-progress and the PG team is continuously trying to improve the experience.

The leaders and teachers of Product Gym are dedicated to finding you the right positions at great companies across the country. Many qualified individuals have the abilities to apply their knowledge and abilities to be a Product Manager. The curriculum and teachers understand the underlying processes to obtain the best positions and how to brand yourself. They will get you through the process much quicker than on you would on your own, given the immense resources and advice they can provide. Their main goal is to get you a position you love. You can learn the basics for free online, but actually landing the right job can be very wasteful and time consuming with a bad process. I was able to pivot industries and obtain interviews within the first month of the program. The program is a solid investment and benefits the hard-working students.

For me, it completely upended 20 some years of conventional wisdom of how to go about the job search process.  In one $12.24 informational session in early October 2018 I learned more about the current job search landscape and what it would take to get a product management job than I had in the previous 12 months going to meetups and networking with people in industry and HR roles as I searched for my next role.

I bought in, within 10 days of that initial informational session I had a call with Rich (our scheduled 30-minute call almost reached the 90-minute mark), joined the November 2018 Cohort, modified my resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn Profile and by the first week of November, I started applying in scale.  The Product Gym Community built by Rich and Cody is a gold mine, I used some piece of knowledge or insight from every interaction with the Product Gym instructors, Alumni and Cohort participants.

Highly recommend this program to anyone looking to land their first product management job, whether new to product management or career changers.  Also, recommend to current product managers that are looking to level up and land more senior product management roles.

This review is long over due and I really want to give Rich and Cody along with the entire team at Product Gym a huge shout out. I couldn’t be happier at my current job right now and I owe this position to PG. These guys know what they are talking about and they mean business. I met Rich years ago at a talk and chose to not enroll immediately, because I believed I had the network, skills, and most importantly time to figure this out on my own. I made a huge mistake doing so and after watching PG grow I decided to take the leap of faith 8 months after my first meeting with Rich. I don’t regret my decision at all. The coaching that his team offers is absolutely invaluable. 

My game plan before was simply to flex my Stanford MBA and expect to get any PM job that I wanted. It didn’t work. Much to my dismay I wasn’t able to garner many interviews through the Stanford network either. I made all the textbook mistakes by targeting only the companies I wanted to work at without accounting for the fact that other people also wanted to work there (just like Rich is always saying). Product Gym provided me with a much better foundation for success. 7 days into to program, my resume was already revamped along with my linkedin, and cover letter than communicated a story of how my background was a value add. In less than 22 days after my first installment, I had more phone screens than I could attend. They even helped me with my case studies and Rich personally coached me himself on how to conduct the offer negotiation. Even now, I still reach out to Rich from time to time to plan out my next career moves and he has never EVER not picked up the phone when I ring him. 

Nobody was ever taught how to job hunt effectively, especially for a PM position which has become the most desired title. If you are planning your next job hunt you need Product Gym. The $3,500 I made was worth more than my entire time at Stanford, because although I learned a lot there; the intention was always to land my dream job. Go and schedule the call today! 

There are many good resources available for learning how to be a good product manager but none that come close to Product Gym's niche: how to LAND the product manager role. Below are some of the many unique aspects of Product Gym that ultimately gave me the confidence to choose Product Gym over the numerous resources available regarding Product Management. I was part of the remote/online cohort.

1. Rich (Founder)'s "rich" background in technical recruiting
This is incredibly valuable because he knows what it takes for a candidate to be successfully hired and that's what the whole Product Gym course is all about. He came up with a process that optimizes the job application + interviewing process, which is critical for those that are time-limited and want to see results right away.

2. Accountability
In addition to great instructors, Product Gym is a community of current/aspiring Product Managers and everyone is open to sharing resources/perspectives & growing together during the interviewing process. Everyone is gunning for the same purpose and staff will keep you accountable in your job searching process.

3. Coaching
Knowing principles isn't enough to get hired. You have to be likable so individual coaching and Q&A sessions help to sharpen your pitch/interview responses so you can continue to iterate. Interviewing no longer was scary; I started spending only 10-15 min prepping because I knew exactly what kind of 'flavor' I needed to deliver.  

I landed a role in the exact timeframe I had in mind. Don't even bother looking anywhere else- trust in Product Gym. Trust the Process.