My Accidental Journey Into Product

Lessons from my first career inflection point

During my sophomore year at Stanford, I landed a software engineering internship at Google. This was a full circle moment for me: in seventh grade, I visited my uncle in the Bay Area, who took me to the Google campus to get free smoothies. Now, I could get free smoothies on demand! 

I was assigned a meaty and low-stakes project: building a tool for the Sales team. My hosts were excellent, setting up regular checkpoints and answering all my silly questions. Through the program, I was assigned a female Asian engineer as an additional mentor, who answered my questions about building a career in software engineering. All of the other interns were incredibly smart, kind, and humble. I was learning a lot about building software in the real world. 

But despite all of this, the experience ultimately felt deeply unsatisfying. I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that the skills required to be a good engineer may not fully align with my strengths and interests. For example, my co-intern knew all the intricacies of JavaScript inside-out while I struggled to understand the difference between NaN and null. He loved coding on weekends, whereas I preferred to spend my free time meeting new people and exploring different industries. 

I asked myself: was I cut out for engineering?

Discovering Product

To blow off steam, I’d chat with the PM intern on our team, who was conveniently located right next to my desk. He would show me the documents he worked on: market analysis, meeting notes, and product reviews. I thought it was so cool that he waded through so many complexities to make shit happen. For the first time, I felt curious, not intimidated, at Google. He noticed my interest and encouraged me to apply for the APM internship next fall. 

I took his advice and went to the information session. In parallel, I set up coffee chats with the other APMs from Stanford. They gave me helpful insight into what it means to be a good product thinker, their day-to-day, and how to approach interviews. But they warned me that it would be highly competitive. 

So, I put in the work and then more. I started following TechCrunch closely. I practiced practice case questions, especially the analytical teaser and product design questions. The crazier and whackier, the better. I learned about every Google product I could get my hands on, constantly brainstorming ways to make it work even better for users. 

All the hard work and prep paid off because I got an offer for the APM internship class. I was overjoyed about the opportunity but also nervous about the outcome. What happens if I don't like it? What happens if I’m not good at it?

The Internship Experience

Thankfully, the APM internship experience was great. I worked on the Identity team at Google, which was in the middle of breaking out the Google Accounts sign-in page. My manager, Eddie, was kind, thoughtful, and genuinely interested in seeing me grow. I was staffed with running a small experiment on a meaty yet non-critical product problem. I had some skin in the game, but not so much that I’d choke under the pressure. 

Through the project, I learned to work with design and research, run team meetings effectively, navigate the Google launch approval process, and understand the importance of building relationships. I became good friends with the other full-time APMs on my team, who supported me when things got tough. When a new hire engineer on my team became aggressive after I pushed him on why he hadn’t delivered, I thought I was toast. Instead, Eddie listened to my concerns, spoke with the engineering manager, and assigned a new, more experienced engineer to work on my project. 

It was why, when I got a full-time offer, it was a no-brainer to go back. For the first time since getting into Stanford, I felt like I had the potential to be good at something important. And as I’d come to learn, validation is a hell of a powerful drug. 

The Understated Factor: Luck

What strikes me the most about this journey is how much this story is about support, a byproduct of luck. I was lucky to be on a team with a lovely PM intern who nurtured my curiosity about product. I was lucky that I went to Stanford, one of the top feeder schools to the Google APM program, and had people to turn to for interview support. I was lucky that I was assigned to work with an empathetic, thoughtful manager like Eddie, resulting in a great first internship experience. I was lucky that some of my strengths aligned with the skills needed in the role. 

I know it’s unpopular to think that luck is a big part of success in a career. It makes the whole thing seem out of our hands, an act of divine providence rather than intentional labor. But I don’t think these ideas are mutually exclusive. 

For luck to work, I had to play an active role in the process. When things didn’t feel good with engineering, I listened to myself, actively exploring alternative career paths. I leaned on my mentors to navigate difficult situations. I utilized my strengths to work through some of my developmental areas. Over time, the combination of luck, energy, and agency led to higher self-confidence, enabling me to embrace the PM identity. 

So, if you're struggling with a career transition, instead of blaming yourself, I'd encourage you to pause and reflect on what's truly missing. Is it a lack of energy because you're not passionate about your current trajectory? Or perhaps it's lacking the proper support and environment to thrive? Once you pinpoint the root issue, do something - even if it's just a tiny first step - to start chipping away at it. You never know what unexpected opportunities might unfold.

If you find yourself in a similar position and could use a thoughtful partner to help navigate the transition, I'd be honored to work with you. I'm passionate about empowering others to discover fulfilling career paths, and my approach is grounded in the real-world, hard-won lessons from my journey. You can learn more about how I help folks or schedule a free consultation to start the conversation. 

Thanks for Reading! 

I’m on a journey to share honest stories and lessons on owning your product career and the messiness of growing into yourself. This is the first in a series that will explore the big “inflection points” of my career and lessons from navigating those transitions. 

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• Hearing from readers also gives me a ton of energy. Drop a comment to share a story about how external support helped you realize your potential or any other snippets from a career transition!