Learn, Build, and Test

What are common mistakes APMs make when hired straight out of university?

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I can tell you 3 things I was doing wrong after I took the job post-graduation:

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1. Jumping to a solution without validating the problem.

From kindergarten to university, our mind is hardwired to immediately solutionize.

"Here's a problem. Find x." & off we go.

Even my "research" projects were about delivering something before a deadline & less about a genuine quest for knowledge.

But as a PM, the trick is to first question the problem. Does it even exist? Be curious. Define the problem. We're just not used to this starting out.

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2. Developing needlessly complex solutions.

In most of my university courses, sophistication was encouraged & rewarded.

That's why when I starting sketching user flows, they would come out "dense".

Also, I used copy that was esoteric & assumed the user was a part of my thinking process.

I had to unlearn that and pursue simple, elegant solutions. Dumb it down.

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3. Not having an iterative approach.

I'd release something.

Now, if I got criticism or metrics bombed, I'd think I failed.

It felt like a mid-term where I only managed a C minus. Gut-wrenching.

The reality was that the job was all about "learn, build, test".