Product Gym by Elevate

Product gym focuses a lot on helping you land your dream product manager job. Rich and Cody work very hard to keep us on track in job search and motivate us to get out of our comfort zone. They are very inspirational and gave me advice on within days starting the program. Before the program, I was frustrated with the search and did not get any interviews at all. Not only was I able to learn the knowledge and skills needed as a PM from the courses, I was able to get 5-10 interviews a week within days after I started the program. Rich and Cody's methodology really works, and you just have to keep up with the program even though it takes a lot of effort! I highly recommend this program if you want to land your PM job.

Before Product Gym, I was barely applying for product manager jobs; I was very intimidated by all of the PM interview practice materials out there that was geared toward people trying to get into Facebook, Google, and Amazon (I had no ambition for any of those companies). I thought I'd have to spend years mastering all of that material, but that wasn't an option for me. I needed to find a hack to get a new PM job. When I came across Product Gym after they advertised their event on how to nail the PM process and interview game, I attended and was immediately intrigued by their whole methodology of playing the interview numbers game. I felt that their approach was fresh and different from what I had heard and read, and they actually had a couple of their PG alums at the event who could vouch for the fact that they got jobs by going through the program. I very shortly signed up; I knew the program would force me to stop dragging my feet with interviewing (you have to let the program know how many jobs you've applied to and how many interviews you got, also for the amount of money that you're paying, you better follow through), I'd have access to Rich and Cody to provide answers to questions you just can't get on the internet, and I would be going through the whole crazy process with a bunch of people whom I could learn from and commiserate with. 

In the end, I got a higher PM title and my salary grew by leaps and bounds  in my new PM role,  so I was happy with the results. 

Some areas for improvement: 

Curriculum: Overall, I liked the idea of learning product management material from different subject matter experts. That is how Product Gym is set up so that in one session you may be learning UX research from an actual UX researcher and the next session you may be learning product marketing from an actual product marketer. However, if you're not already familiar with the entire product development life cycle, learning all of this material in not quite the same order as that life cycle can be a little disorienting. This un-ordered learning may have been due to Product Gym having to work with the trainers' schedules. For this reason, it's important for a student to read the pre-work prior to attending all of the sessions.

Onboarding: I was told that Product Gym would assist me with my cover letter, resume, and LinkedIn optimization -- meaning they would physically help out in these areas. Even though they did do some resume optimization for me, I would say that I mostly optimized my cover letter and LinkedIn profile on my own using the guidance of their teaching materials. It wasn't that big of a deal as I did see results from my efforts, but I think they oversold that part of their program.  

Culture: The culture of the staff at Product Gym can be pretty brash and in your face. I often had a good laugh at this, but I think the staff needs to be mindful that not everyone will warm up to that level of brashness. Sometimes you need to tone it down in order to create a safe environment for people to freely express themselves. I will say that what you get in return is full throttle transparency and honesty from the staff, but you may have to learn to have a tough skin. 

I was grandfathered into my current PM and learned quite a bit on the job and through self-guided learning, but never felt validated due to only working for a single company. I lacked confidence because I couldn’t compare my own product experience to anything other than what I read, which often created an endless loop of over-analysis. Participating in Product Gym helped me understand how to properly organize my thoughts through a PM framework which added consistency and organization to my approach. Suddenly I felt authenticated and empowered to take control of my interviews and exponentially improved my performance. PG not only filled holes in my knowledge but to me meta-skills that I will forever apply to my job hunt for the rest of my life. Completely worth the investment. Beyond the classes themselves, you receive personalized coaching, access to a network of fellow PMs. The support of the students of my cohort and our knowledge sharing have been paramount. Highly recommended. Would do again.

In the words of Tim Ferriss, the most efficient form of skill acquisition comes from studying the techniques of masters and creating a feedback loop so that you're constantly improving and cutting through the noise. That's what Product Gym does.

After spending hours researching product management courses in NYC I could only find ones focused on concepts and fundamentals, then I stumbled upon Product Gym and I'm so glad I did. The program is focused on the practical side - actually landing that product management job you want! Rich, Cody and team lay out a clear and effective process that produces real results - I'm talking more interviews than you can handle and ultimately real offers. Along the way, you'll learn all the concepts, frameworks and lingo you need to know. If you're looking to land a job in product management, even if you come from a different background, joining Product Gym should be an absolute no-brainer!

This program arms you with all the tools necessary to land a PM role, starting with the fact that the skills needed to land a PM role are very different from those needed to be successful as a PM.

Today, because of the popularity of the PM job, the interview process has become quite structured and this course teaches you to master every step of that process.

It not only teaches you the right combination of skills to be impactful in a PM role, but also how to highlight and communicate them via the right language to all decision makers as part of your PM interview process.

I first met Rich through a meetup on how to go from finance to product management. My god, that was probably the best thing to happen to me. We went over my background and resume, he was able to connect me with other product managers who were hiring, and was able to get me interviews within a week, when before I was just applying with no responses.

Once I joined product gym, it wasn't just a quick check-in and calling it a day. There was bi-weekly meetups where I learned the skills required to be an excellent PM, as well as chats with the founders to see where I could improve in the interview process. Because ultimately, you're here not just to learn what it takes to be a PM, but to also land a PM job in as short of time as possible. Product Gym could not have helped more with my professional development, and I cannot rave about the quality and promote them more.

I am in the middle of my training with the Product Gym and so far I am beyond impressed by their dedication to deliver real value to their students. The classes are tailored to real business problems and interview processes. They know by heart each and everyone of their students and support them based on their individual needs, in addition to all the good material that is provided to all students. I believe whether or not I land a job that I truly want is from now on entirely dependent on my personal effort because PG provide all the support that one needs to succeed.

Product Gym is the program I've been looking for my entire PM career. Product is a nebulous field with no clear requirements, skillsets, or philosophy. As a PM working at a big tech company, I thought I would have an easy time interviewing for PM positions but I was wrong. Very wrong. Just like interviewing for any other type of position, there is a method to the madness and the gatekeeper for this method is Rich. Hands down. After learning the method from the master himself, I was able to secure 10X more interviews and learn how to speak intelligently about my product experiences. You will not find anyone more qualified to help you secure your next PM job. Rich not only has the understanding of the field and the company landscape, but he also has the drive and determination to push you when the going gets tough. He doesn't quit and will not let you either until you have secured the job and salary you want.    Although Rich is the co-founder of the program, he is still heavily involved in the day-to-day operations and is aware of each student's progress and areas of improvement. His weekly coaching calls provide insight to the black hole that is the job-hunting process. The Product Gym staff offer constant support and answers to any and all questions that a student might have. On top of all of this, Product Gym offers in-depth classes and workshops on improving and refining PM skills.    Let me end with this thought. Rich is a character. He is blunt and won't sugar coat the truth of how hard interviewing for PM positions can be, but he is never wrong. He has a method that he has battle-tested, that he knows will work as long as you listen to him. I guarantee you he will write a book one day outlining it but don't wait for the book. I took the leap of faith and it worked wonders for me. Trust Rich and Product Gym - they are the only people who understand how to get you the PM job that you want. 

I really like Rich and Cody’s approach. These guys are the best. I first met Rich when he was presenting How to Land Multiple Offers in 45 Days in San Francisco. I have to admit at first his attitude kind of rubbed me the wrong way, but something he said to me made a whole lot of sense. Getting the job and doing the job were 2 different things. At the end of the day, I have met so many people that were great at “doing” the job, but horrible at “getting” the job. The best part was I also met other working Product Managers that felt the same way. 

 

Considering that Rich had come all the to SF from New York and he brought with him a few success stories two other people that were a part of his program, I was sold! This turned out to be the best investment I had ever made. Within 2 and half weeks I had more phone screens than I could possibly handle! This was insane! I couldn’t handle all these calls and work full time anymore, but I really grinded through it all. The most helpful thing was how Rich PERSONALLY conducts weekly coaching calls. I mean who does that? 

 

Every week he checked with me and my group to make sure we were good. We were okay. Thanks to Rich I landed 3 offers in 5 weeks with more to come. 

 

I learned more about how to do this job interviewing than I ever did reading. I was averaging 16 interviews per week. Sometimes even taking interviews in the staircase or in my car on my lunch breaks. 

 

Pros

 

Man just keep doing what you guys are doing!

 

Cons 

 

Coaching calls are getting bigger, you might want to start splitting people up. 

 

 

 

I’d already been a Product Manager before I joined PG. 

  At the end of August I left my job. The offer that I was waiting for ended up going to an internal candidate. So, I had no job and no idea how to accelerate the search process and find my dream job.  I reached out to Cody and Rich to help me improve my interviewing skills (that was important as I’m not a native speaker of English), give me advice on how to get more offers and most importantly advice on how to find the right product manager position.  It totally worked out for me:  - My employer is a huge public company, where I have every means to grow and develop myself; - Awesome boss, who hates micromanagement and wants me to focus on one thing instead of working on multiple things simultaneously; - Area of the business that I absolutely adore.    All thanks to Product Gym! I couldn’t be more grateful!