What Your Biggest Weakness Really Is

Most people misdiagnose what their biggest weakness for getting a particular job is. And this causes them to lose jobs they are qualified for. Here's how to figure out your weaknesses correctly

Oct 11, 2024

One of the most important things to do in the job search is to:

Correctly identify what your weakness for that job is
Flip that weakness into a strength by selling them on your work on it

In coaching PMs through questions like ‘Tell me about yourself’ and ‘Why this company,’ the number one piece of advice I gave PMs was:

You need to do a better job of identifying your weaknesses.

You see, the thing most people get wrong is: they don’t identify the right weaknesses.

So, today we’re going to go super deep on this important job skill.

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Weaknesses Really Matter

Let’s talk another minute here to double-down on this point.

The reason you’re not getting a job you want is because of a weakness.

Yes, there’s the rare case where someone is just a bit more qualified than you. But why?

“They have more e-commerce experience”
- You can also flip this: you had relatively weak e-commerce experience
“They have managed larger teams.”
- You can also flip this: you demonstrated a relatively weaker ability to manage large teams

You can generally reframe anyone else’s victory in getting a job as something that you could have demonstrated better.

So it’s crucially important to get good at this skill - whether you are job hunting now or not.

Today’s Post

Words: 3,111 | Est. Reading Time: 14 mins

So today we’re going to give you all the information you need to read your weakness:

What PM Jobs Really Want
The Hierarchy of Weaknesses
Most Common Mistakes
Why Mindset Matters

1. What PM Jobs Really Want

The first thing to do is get inside of the mind of hiring managers and hiring committees.

What do they care about?

Most importantly - Hiring teams want to de-risk

Product manager is a really high valence role.

They drive what a design + engineering team that costs anywhere from $300K/year in India to $4.5M/year in Silicon Valley works on.

The result is:

A great product manager can enhance the ROI on the investment the company has made in that team
A bad product manager can take the value generated by that team all the way to zero, and even harm other teams - making the total negative

There’s a wide range of options.

So, hiring managers and hiring committees really want to de-risk that decision.

They want to find as much proof as possible in your background that you have done the job before and you can do it even better in this environment.

They also want to avoid as many negative signals as possible:

Any job gaps
Any layoffs
Any signals you weren’t on fast promotion tracks

They also want to be able to defend their decision

I can tell you as a hiring manager for many years, who did I worry most about when hiring someone?

What my peers thought.

So when I was VP of Product at Apollo.io, I cared what my VP of Marketing and VP of Sales thought. Would they think this is a game-changing hire? How do they compare the qualifications of a Director I hire to one they would hire?

One of the greatest measures of any leader is the quality of people they hire, and often the most judgmental folks about that are your peers.

For instance, if you are a VP and are hiring Directors who have been Directors for 5 years, led larger teams, and been at companies more successful than yours…

You’re not going to think it’s impressive when another VP makes a stretch Director hire to someone who has never been a Director, and has worked at companies less successful than the one you are at now.

So hiring managers and committees really care about:

Your years of experience at the seniority level (in that function) in the role
Your years of experience in that industry
The quality of the companies you worked at vis a vis the one you are at now

Notice how important it is to have experience in the role and industry at name-brand companies.

I find most people under-estimate how important these factors are.

Here’s the Data

Back in June & July I surveyed 100 PM hiring managers to get the hard numbers. Let’s take a look:

What are the top three things you look for when hiring a PM candidate? (choose 3)

The top 2 factors are what everyone understands:

Exceptional PM skill
Prior success metrics

But it’s that third and sixth one’s that confirms what I’m saying: background in that type of PM and industry / domain knowledge.

This is especially true in the PM market we are in today

I have found, advising many job seekers, that all of these factors are multiplied several-fold in today’s tough job market.

The reason?

Every job has a bountiful number of qualified applicants.

You can see it yourself online. Every single job gets 200+ applicants within 24 hours. And thousands within a week.

Of course, many of these aren’t qualified. But at the end of the day, most hiring managers I’ve talked to have said that they always get at least 5 folks who are super qualified available.

This means that each hiring team is waiting out for their unicorn candidate.

They know the end of the ZIRP era has dropped a boat-load of good PMs on the market, so they’re much less likely to make a stretch hire than they would have in the past.

This is doubly true if you go after remote or Magnificent 7 jobs

For my money, the demand for remote and Magnificent 7 roles have never been higher.

Just about everyone is seeking out these roles. So having any semblance of weakness is often sniffed out by the ever-lengthening PM interview processes we are seeing in this market.

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2. The Hierarchy of Weaknesses

So why do so many people misidentify their weaknesses?

I think it’s because they don’t have a good sense of what’s more important amongst all those factors.

I’ve been working with many people on getting jobs - and here’s what I’ve empirically found:

Level 1 - Job Gaps, Layoffs, Firings

The most important weakness, if you have it, is any job gaps. This is especially important if you currently are not employed.

There have been many hiring committees I’ve been on where it comes down to two good candidates.

But, to de-risk, the committee ends up going with the person who is currently employed or hasn’t had a job gap.

It goes back to the psychology we covered in section 1.

You have to flip this

So you need to create a great story for if you have had a job gap.

What did you do in your free time? Try to construct a story around doing meaningful work.

For PMs, the best story to tell is that you started a company. And this is also a good reminder for all professionals if they do end up laid off: use the time to start a company.

The story you don’t want to tell is, “all I did was job search.” Or, “I prepared for a triathalon.” Or, “I took three months to travel.”

Unfortunately, all of those, when push comes to shove compared to someone who was learning on the job, don’t sound as good.

Level 2 - Years of Experience in Role

The next most important weakness to understand is your years of experience in the role.

That’s right aspiring PMs - the market for non-PMs to switch into PM is virtually nil right now.

The years of experience that make it to job descriptions matter. If they say 4 years of experience in B2B SaaS, they really do mean it.

If you only have 3 years, that’s a big weakness.

Again, you have to flip this

Your best bet to flip this is try to tally up your adjacent experiences and explain how those years were relevant and partial PM roles.

It sounds something like this:

While I may have only 3 years of formal PM experience, I've actually been performing PM-related tasks for much longer. In my previous role as a UX designer, I spent 2 years collaborating closely with PMs, often taking on product strategy and roadmap planning responsibilities. Additionally, during my time as a software engineer, I led several cross-functional projects where I essentially acted as a PM without the official title. This diverse background has given me a unique perspective on product development, allowing me to bridge the gap between design, engineering, and business needs more effectively than a traditional PM might. In total, I've been doing PM work in various capacities for over 5 years, which I believe makes me well-prepared for this role despite my official title history.

This approach allows you to:

Acknowledge the potential weakness (fewer years of formal PM experience)
Reframe your experience to include relevant work from other roles
Highlight the unique value your diverse background brings to the PM role
Demonstrate your understanding of what PM work entails
Present a more competitive total years of experience

Remember, the key is to be honest while also showcasing how your non-traditional path to product management can be an asset rather than a liability. This approach can help you overcome the potential weakness of having fewer official years in the PM role.

Level 3 - Domain Expertise

Next up on our hierarchy is domain expertise. This is where things get really interesting.

You see, many PMs underestimate just how much hiring managers value specific industry knowledge. It's not just about being a great PM - it's about being a great PM in their specific space.

If you're applying for a fintech PM role but all your experience is in e-commerce, that's a significant weakness.

You have to flip this

The key here is to draw parallels between your experience and the target domain. Did your e-commerce role involve handling transactions? Boom - there's your fintech connection.

It might sound something like this:

While my background is primarily in e-commerce, I've spent the last 3 years dealing with complex payment systems and fraud detection algorithms. These experiences have given me a deep understanding of financial transactions and security, which I believe will translate well into the fintech space.

Level 4 - Functional Experience

Now we're getting into the nitty-gritty of PM roles. This level is all about the specific flavor of PM you've been - and trust me, it matters a lot more than most people think.

We're talking about the big four here:

Growth PM
Platform PM
Core PM
AI PM

Each of these roles requires a different set of skills and mindsets. If you've been crushing it as a Growth PM for years, but suddenly you're eyeing that Core PM role at a hot new startup, you've got a weakness to address.

Why? Because hiring managers know these roles are different beasts.

A Growth PM is all about metrics, funnels, and rapid experimentation. A Platform PM needs to think about scalability and developer experience. Core PMs are the product visionaries, while AI PMs need to understand the intricacies of machine learning and data pipelines.

You have to flip this

The key here is to find the common threads between your experience and the target role. Every PM role, at its core, is about solving user problems and driving business value.

Let's say you're that Growth PM going for a Core PM role. Your pitch might sound like this:

While I've specialized in Growth PM roles, my experience has given me a unique perspective on product development. I've learned to rapidly iterate on features, always with an eye on key metrics. This data-driven approach will be invaluable in a Core PM role, where I can apply these skills to shape the overall product strategy. Plus, my growth mindset ensures I'll always be thinking about scalability and user acquisition, even when working on core features.

Or maybe you're a Core PM looking to transition into an AI PM role:

As a Core PM, I've always been at the forefront of integrating new technologies into our product. While I may not have directly managed AI projects, I've worked closely with our data science team to incorporate machine learning models into our recommendation engine. I'm fascinated by the potential of AI and have been taking online courses in machine learning to deepen my technical understanding. I'm excited to combine my product vision skills with this growing AI expertise in this new role.

Remember, the goal isn't to pretend you're something you're not. It's about showing how your unique background makes you well-suited for this new challenge. Hiring managers love candidates who can bring a fresh perspective, as long as you can demonstrate that you understand the core requirements of the new role.

Level 5 - Skills

At the top of our hierarchy, we have specific skills. These might be technical skills like SQL or Python, or soft skills like stakeholder management.

While important, these are often the easiest weaknesses to overcome. Why? Because skills can be learned relatively quickly compared to gaining years of experience or domain expertise.

You have to flip this

If you're missing a specific skill, your best bet is to start learning it immediately. Even if you're not an expert by the time of your interview, you can show initiative and a growth mindset.

Your approach here might be:

"I noticed that strong SQL skills are required for this role. While I've primarily used BI tools in the past, I've recently started an intensive SQL course. I'm already comfortable with basic queries and joins, and I'm excited to continue developing these skills to drive data-informed decisions in this role."

Move Up Each Layer and Address Weaknesses

Remember, as you move up each layer of the hierarchy, the weaknesses become more challenging to overcome, but also more critical to address.

Always start at the bottom and work your way up.

By understanding this hierarchy and learning to flip each weakness into a strength, you'll be well-equipped to tackle even the toughest PM interviews.

It's not about being perfect - it's about showing your potential and your ability to grow into the role.

3. Most Common Mistakes

Alright, we've covered a lot of ground.

But knowing the hierarchy isn't enough - you need to avoid the pitfalls that trip up even the savviest PM job seekers.

Let's dive into the five most common mistakes I see people make when it comes to addressing their weaknesses:

1 - Not thinking job gap is biggest weakness

This is the granddaddy of all mistakes. I can't tell you how many times I've seen candidates obsess over their lack of a specific skill or industry experience, completely ignoring the glaring 6-month gap in their resume.

Remember our hierarchy? Job gaps are at the top for a reason. They're the first thing hiring managers notice and the hardest to explain away. If you have a gap, address it head-on. Don't hope they won't notice - they will.

2 - Focusing too much on skills

On the flip side, I see tons of candidates fixating on skills they don't have. "Oh no, I don't know Python!" or "I've never used Jira!"

News flash: skills are at the bottom of our hierarchy for a reason. They're the easiest to learn and the least likely to disqualify you. Don't waste your energy here when you could be addressing more critical weaknesses higher up the ladder.

3 - Ignoring the specific PM role type

This is a subtle one, but it's becoming more and more important. As we discussed in Level 4 of our hierarchy, not all PM roles are created equal. A common mistake is to treat all PM experience as interchangeable.

If you're a Growth PM applying for a Core PM role, or an AI PM going for a Platform PM position, you need to address this head-on. Don't assume your PM experience speaks for itself - show how it translates to the specific role you're after.

4 - Underestimating domain expertise

In today's hyper-competitive market, domain expertise is more important than ever. Yet I see countless PMs applying to fintech startups with zero financial experience, or healthtech companies without ever having worked in healthcare.

Don't get me wrong - it's possible to switch industries. But you need to have a compelling story about why you're making the switch and how your experience translates. Ignoring this weakness is a surefire way to get your resume tossed in the "no" pile.

5 - Failing to flip the weakness

This is the cardinal sin of weakness management. Identifying your weaknesses is only half the battle - you need to flip them into strengths.

I've seen candidates lay out all their weaknesses in an interview, essentially talking themselves out of the job. Don't do this! For every weakness you identify, have a ready-made flip that shows how you're addressing it or how it actually makes you a stronger candidate.

Remember, the goal isn't to pretend you have no weaknesses. It's to show that you're self-aware, proactive, and constantly improving.

By avoiding these common mistakes and applying the hierarchy we've discussed, you'll be miles ahead of other candidates. You'll show hiring managers that you're not just another PM, but a self-aware, growth-oriented professional who's ready to tackle any challenge.

4. The Value Bomb

Here's the nuclear truth that most career coaches won't tell you: Your biggest weakness isn't on that hierarchy. It's not your skills, your experience, or even your job gaps.

Your biggest weakness is your mindset.

If you approach your job search as a supplicant, begging for a chance, you've already lost.

Instead, approach it as a value exchange. You're not just seeking a job - you're offering your unique blend of skills, experiences, and perspectives to solve their problems.

This mindset shift changes everything:

Suddenly, your weaknesses become opportunities to demonstrate your problem-solving skills
Your non-traditional background becomes a fresh perspective
Your career gap becomes a story of personal growth and initiative

Final Words

You've just read the PM job search bible. This isn't just another fluffy career advice article - this is the distilled wisdom of years in the trenches, hiring and being hired.

But knowledge without action is just trivia. So here's your call to action:

Identify your place in the Weakness Hierarchy
Craft your flip for each weakness
Revamp your resume to address these head-on
Engage your network with your new value proposition

Remember, the PM market is tough, but you're tougher.

Your dream PM role is waiting. Claim it.

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Up Next

I hope you enjoyed Tuesday’s post on How Lempire Grows.

We have several awesome podcasts coming up with Gagan Biyani, Hila Qu, and George Harter.

We also have several awesome newsletters:

Storytelling for PMs
The LA Tech Market Deep Dive
How to Rock Your Annual Planning Process

Look forward to sharing them with you!

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