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Written by Risa Kahn, Recruiting Manager of New Dimensions in Technology, Inc. (NDT)
As we all gear up for fresh beginnings and new schedules after the Labor Day holiday, it is an ideal time to assess where we are coming from and how we choose to intentionally steer career growth and development going forward. We first need to begin with the current state of the job market and projections for the remainder of the year.
Over the past two quarters, NDT has worked with many growth stage companies to find Director/VP level product talent. These client companies have asked us to recruit experienced product professionals who will join as senior individual contributors – even though their Director or VP titles might connotate that they will manage a team.
These client companies want to hire product leaders who are tactical and ready to “get things done” but can be strategic when needed. Often, these product leaders are brought onboard to build out the structure and processes for a new Product discipline and lead the introduction and cross-functional collaboration with Engineering, Marketing and Sales. The intent is typically for these Product leaders to establish the Product discipline and then grow a small team over time. Companies might define “over time” as a mere 6-12 months or as long as 24 months. For those Product people currently only focused on applying for team leadership opportunities, you may be overlooking some hidden gems of opportunity by not considering a new role where you will grow a team over time.