Product Management at Big Tech
In recent years, there has been a massive shift in the technology ecosystem. Before, it was often said that Chinese and Asian companies are nothing but copy cats. Now, Chinese and Asian tech companies (Alibaba, Tencent, Bytedance, Didi, Grab, Coupang, etc), rival the world’s best. Below we provide some info on being a Product Manager at a large tech company.
Basics
In the West, a product manager is often referred to as the “CEO of a product”. Likewise, a senior product lead in China is very similar.
The PM’s main role is to transform market opportunities or user needs into actionable feature sets. In many ways, a PM behaves like a designer, thinking how to optimize UX vs. business. PMs interface between product, design, engineering, and operations. At the beginning PMs work very closely with designers to lock down on Product Requirement Documents before handing off to engineering.
Depending on the company, the time between ideation and long varies, but typically there are 2 week sprints. In some companies, the team will identify tasks in the morning sprints and ship code by the evening.
Career Advancement
Before, Product was considered a generalist role. Now, especially at large tech companies, the product function has become an efficient machine. The current trend is that the junior roles have become very specialized (such as product analyst focusing on strategy, or product deployment focusing on launches). Specialist titles are prevalent at Tencent, it’s starting to take off elsewhere. With seniority, the role starts to become more generalist.
Promotions are contingent upon favorable annual reviews. At these reviews, employees are asked to present their accomplishments during the period. At junior and mid levels, PMs are graded on technical or business skill sets (often against OKRs and KPIs). At more senior levels, leadership and people management becomes more critical.
Not too dissimilar from the West, switching companies is often more efficient for advancing levels and getting pay bumps. However, this is only true up until a certain level of seniority. At more senior levels, it’s more conducive to achieve big milestones and have publicized success.
Work Culture and Politics
Getting the obvious question out of the way - 996 is a harsh reality of Chinese companies, even in satellite offices. It is standard to alternate between “Big Weekend” (both Sat and Sun off) and “Small Weekend” (only one day off).
In China, there are labor laws to institute probation periods for new employees. Typically this is a 6 month trial period for the standard 3 year contracts. International offices emulate some of this same sort of underlying concept, despite labor laws differences.
It would be incomplete to suggest that careers are based solely on merit. There are lots of politics at all companies. Chinese tech companies are no different. Seeking advocacy from senior management and key power players is often the secret sauce to getting ahead. At Chinese companies, given how large the talent pool is, there is often intense competition amongst peers to horde work and siphon credit. It’s crucial to make sure you have visibility of your contributions.
Considerations for Returnees or Diaspora
Compared to the West, 2nd gen diaspora or 1st gen Sea Turtles face less of the obvious, well-documented bamboo ceiling. If there are ceilings, they are usually more due to leadership inability and people skills, perhaps due to cultural differences.
There is the notion that the window of opportunity for returnees is narrowing as local talent improves. While there is truth to this, many large tech companies are seeking to expand internationally. This is an area where diaspora and returnees can shine.
It’s also important to note that the Chinese companies do view 1st generation sea turtles differently than 2nd gen diaspora. For 1st gen, they are viewed as Chinese, thus it’s important to have enough international experience to really shine. For 2nd gen, they are viewed as foreigners, and there is more value to their international upbringing but juxtaposed against apprehension of cultural differences.
(Unsolicited) Advice for New Grads
Per Pass Luo (a Senior PM at Bytedance), if you are choosing between a Chinese startup or a large Chinese tech company, choose the latter. While the Product role has become very specialised at large Chinese tech companies with limited personal growth, it’s important to learn about the industry first and what successful companies and leaders look like. Once you have learned what you don’t know you don’t know, then feel free to move to a smaller growth startup to quickly ramp up skills. Also, at large tech companies, you’ll develop good “career habits” and proven processes from top leaders that will follow you for the rest of your career.
Recruiting
At the larger tech companies, they will post jobs across all available channels (such as Linkedin, company website, school boards). In China, one of the major job platforms is Boss值聘. Obviously, referrals are still the best way to get in the door. Good luck!