The Rise of the PM Portfolio

Designers have adopted the portfolio for decades. Now, PMs are joining them.

I surveyed 325 PMs and chatted with 15 hiring managers (5 in each geo).

Here’s what I learned:

Results of my research and testing into the world of PM portfolios.

Globally, the numbers are pedestrian:

• 16% of PMs have a portfolio
• 61% know of them, but don’t have one
• 23% have never even heard of one!

But — the percentage using them is growing steadily.

The ascent has been accelerated with 3 bumps:

1. The dot com era brought many more people into tech, resulting in some competing with portfolios
2. The great financial crisis led to myriad layoffs, prompting struggling PMs to adopt them
3. The ZIRP era led to a huge expansion of the field, driving former designers and engineers to switch and bring along their portfolios

But this pick up hasn’t been global.

It has been geographically specific:

• Adoption in the Americas is a pedestrian 10%
• In Europe and Australia, it’s nearly double that
• In Asia and the Middle East, nearly 40% have one

In India, EG, many PM job postings even ask for one!

This got me thinking…

Could a great portfolio help distinguish candidates?

So, I recruited 5 interested mentees in my Slack community to work with me on a portfolio strategy.

I’ll be honest: we had lots of fits and starts along the way.

• People not reading the portfolios
• People actually disliking the portfolios
• One mentee giving up on the strategy…

But, ultimately, we’ve been able to figure it out:

1. A CS major got an APM gig
2. A principal PM finally broke into FAANG
3. An aspiring PM finally secured their first PM role
4. A director of Product finally left a toxic manager
5. A PM laid off for 11 months got a job again

The key?

Building a differentiated portfolio that shows not just what you did, but how you did it.

Of course, the portfolio doesn’t do all the work. It’s one piece of the puzzle.

But in a world where so few use it, it can be a massive differentiator.

Interested to see exactly how we deployed portfolios? Check out the deep dive.