Skip to main content

Why Good Recruiters Make Great Product Managers

Ever felt like your job as a recruiter involves juggling flaming swords while riding a unicycle… blindfolded? 🎪

Surprise – you’re already halfway to being a Product Manager.

Let’s break the myth: Product Managers aren't just hoodie-wearing folks drawing diagrams on whiteboards.
If you've been in recruitment long enough (especially agency or startup side), you’ve already lived the PM life—minus the title.

Here’s how:

1. Stakeholder Drama? You're Already a Pro

You’ve dealt with hiring managers who wanted a “rockstar-fresher-with-10-years-of-experience” and convinced them to settle for reality.
You’ve sat in on client calls where no one knew what they wanted—until you helped define it.

PMs define product requirements.
Recruiters define role requirements.

Translation? You’re already doing half the JIRA tickets.

2. You’re a Master of User Experience

Think about it:

  • You optimize job descriptions.

  • You personalize follow-ups.

  • You obsess over candidate experience.

That’s user flow, customer journey, and retention metrics—just in recruiter language.

Recruiter Speak: “Candidate didn’t show up.”
PM Speak: “Churn at onboarding stage.”

3. Data? You Breathe It

Offer-to-join ratio, time-to-fill, source-to-hire, pipeline velocity—you’ve been tracking KPIs since before it was cool.

Guess what PMs do?
Track metrics, A/B test, analyze funnels.

📊 You’ve been A/B testing JD formats and LinkedIn messages before it had a name.

4. You’re a Storyteller

You sell companies to candidates. You build employer brands. You pitch roles like they’re Super Bowl ads.

PMs? They pitch roadmaps to stakeholders. They build buy-in. They tell the “why.”

If you’ve ever convinced a DevOps engineer to join a fintech startup with a five-day notice period and no ESOPs… you can pitch a roadmap to a VC.

5. You Handle Rejection Like a Boss

PMs kill features. You kill requisitions.
PMs get feedback from users. You get feedback from candidates who ghost you after four rounds.

Both survive. With snacks.

So, What’s the Catch?

You might need to learn some new tools (Figma, Jira, roadmapping), understand Agile frameworks a bit more, and get used to saying “MVP” without thinking of cricket.

But the core?
You’ve got it.

TL;DR:

If you’re a recruiter with a strategic brain, people-first mindset, and a knack for solving chaos—
You’re not just a recruiter. You’re a Product Manager in disguise.

Maybe it’s time to switch lanes. Or at least update that LinkedIn headline. 😉


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Recruitment Reality: Navigating the Rollercoaster with Candidates, Colleagues, and Clients!

 Hi All! 👋 Welcome to my very first post on recruitment! 🎉 Having been in this space for over 4 years, I’ve had the privilege (and the occasional headache) of hiring for both non-tech and tech roles. On top of that, I've been juggling client coordination – because, who doesn’t love a little multitasking, right? Now, let me share my point of view (POV) about the three key players in this recruitment game – candidates, colleagues, and clients. Candidates – The First Call & The Never-Ending Negotiation Let’s face it, candidates are super interested during the first call! It's like they’ve just been handed the golden ticket! But as soon as the interview is done, they become like that friend who constantly texts, "What’s the feedback?" And then… drum roll … once the offer is rolled out, the tables turn. Suddenly, the ball is in their court. We find ourselves in a game of persuasion, convincing them to join despite a myriad of “What ifs.” Sound familiar? 😅 Colleagu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Effective Selection of a Candidate: The Art of Smart Sourcing 🕵️‍♂️✨

Selecting the right candidate is like finding a needle in a haystack, but with the right steps, you can make the process feel more like a treasure hunt! 🏆 Let’s break it down into three essential steps: Client Call, JD Understanding, and Candidate Persona – with a sprinkle of sourcing magic! Step 1: The Client Call – Where All the Magic Begins ✨ Before you dive headfirst into the candidate pool, you need to have a deep understanding of the client’s needs. The first step is to make detailed notes from the client call. Here’s where you’ll jot down the must-have skills, those nice-to-have skills, and – this is crucial – the types of candidates that should absolutely not be included in your search. The client’s preferences will guide you in filtering out the right talent. Also, take note of any domain-specific skills, whether they want candidates from services or product companies, their max budget, preferred work mode, and the pedigree of the candidates. It’s a checklist that’ll save ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Turning Theory into Practice: The Hunt for the Perfect Backend Wizard 🧙‍♂️🎯

In my last blog, we cracked open the secrets of smart sourcing with steps like Client Call, JD Understanding, Candidate Persona, and Sourcing. Now, let’s stir those secrets into action with a real-world example. Here's how I donned my recruiting cape to find a senior backend developer for a fintech startup. Step 1: The Client Call – Decoding the Quest Scroll 📜 Our client – let’s call them "FinTech Spark" – was on a mission to find their backend wizard. During the call, I uncovered the critical pieces of the puzzle: Must-Haves: Mastery in Python and Django, startup battle scars, and a knack for fintech wizardry. Nice-to-Haves: Experience crafting microservices and taming the AWS cloud. Absolutely Not: Wandering academics or knights from non-tech realms. We also conjured up a few specifics: a treasure chest of 25 LPA max, hybrid work magic in Bangalore, and a preference for product company warriors with 4+ years of experience. Step 2: Understanding the JD – Cutting ...
Post a Comment
Read more