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Why Your Executive Presence is Sabotaging Your $300K Career (The 10 Unconscious Habits Keeping You Stuck)
You walk into the conference room with a flawless technical solution. Your code is elegant. Your roadmap is bulletproof. Your market analysis could make McKinsey weep with envy. And then you open your mouth. “Um, this might be totally wrong, but I was thinking… sorry to interrupt, but maybe we could…” Congratulations. You just torched…
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Why 87% of Tech Professionals Pick the Wrong Career Path (+ The $200K Framework That Fixes It)
You just got passed over for promotion again. Your manager praised your “great work” but promoted someone who “shows more strategic thinking”—while you actually shipped three major features this quarter. This is the classic PM vs TPM career trap that’s costing professionals $200K+ in lifetime earnings. After coaching 700+ product professionals, I’ve watched brilliant people…
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Why Startup Product Management Will Either Make You or Break You (And Why Community Might Be Your Only Lifeline)
Startup PM isn’t just FAANG work without resources—it’s professional masochism where community might be your only lifeline. Brutal truths about why most fail and how to survive the transition from big tech.
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Missed the PM Job? Why You’re Closer Than Ever
If you’ve ever walked out of a multi-round product management interview thinking, “That went pretty well,” only to get a rejection email days later—you’re not alone. Recently, a candidate I coached reached out to share that she had made it through four in-person rounds with six different interviewers. Her feedback? Overwhelmingly positive. In fact, one…
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How to Answer “Design a Better Bicycle” Like a PM at Meta (Without Sounding Like a Rookie)
So, you’re sitting across from a Meta hiring manager, confidently making small talk, when they hit you with the classic product design prompt: “Design a better bicycle.” This isn’t an engineering challenge. They don’t care about your knowledge of gear ratios or the tensile strength of titanium frames. This is a test of structured product…
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How Great Product Managers and UX Designers Work Together to Build Exceptional Products
The relationship between Product Managers and UX Designers is a delicate dance—when done well, it’s like a well-rehearsed duet, each complementing the other’s moves. When done poorly, it’s like trying to waltz while stepping on each other’s feet. Both roles are critical to delivering a seamless, user-centric product. A PM ensures that business goals, technical…
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Why the CIRCLES Framework Falls Short in Product Design Interviews—and How Kalena Advisors Can Help
If you’re prepping for a FAANG product management interview like at Meta and Google, you’ve likely encountered the CIRCLES framework. It’s shiny, it’s structured, and it promises to be your golden ticket. But here’s the hard truth: it’s a crutch, not a ladder. Hiring managers want ingenuity, adaptability, and the ability to read between the…
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Why the CIRCLES Framework Falls Short in Product Design Interviews
The CIRCLES framework is often touted as a go-to method for tackling Product Design and Product Sense interviews. While its structured approach might seem appealing, it can fall short in demonstrating the creativity, adaptability, and user empathy hiring managers value most. At Kalena Advisors, we specialize in helping candidates break free from rigid frameworks to…
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Mastering Microsoft Technical Program Management Interviews: Common Mistakes and Career Ladder Insights
Breaking into a Technical Program Management (TPM) role at Microsoft is a significant achievement, but many candidates fall short due to common interview pitfalls. This Kalena Advisor guide explores the top mistakes candidates make during Microsoft TPM interviews and provides a detailed breakdown of the career ladder, including responsibilities, expectations, and skills for each level.…