Senior Product Manager, Etsy
Please give a brief background on yourself and your career.
Hi Wellesley! I’m a Senior Product Manager at Etsy, where I work with designers and engineers to build features on our website and in the mobile apps. My team works on products to make it easier for Etsy sellers to start and run their businesses. My very first job after college was as a research associate at a non-profit called the League of American Orchestras. Before I came to Etsy, I worked in media as a product manager and a product strategist at The New York Times and at Condé Nast.
How has your career changed since you originally envisioned it at Wellesley? What other careers did you consider as a student?
When I graduated from Wellesley in 2007, I had no idea what kind of career I wanted. I knew only that I wanted make use of my skills to do meaningful work. I double-majored in Economics and Sociology, and at the time the most well-tread path for students like me was to go into banking. Banking was appealing in that there was a clear career trajectory and, I’ll admit, a certain degree of prestige. I was hesitant though, because I didn’t feel personally invested in the work and because I’d heard of burnout and disillusionment from family and friends who’d been in the industry for a while.
I’d really enjoyed my studies in Economics and Sociology at Wellesley, so decided to look for jobs at non-profits and think tanks, with the idea that I would explore social science research as a profession. My very first job after graduating was as a research associate at a non-profit called the League of American Orchestras, a training and advocacy organization for professional orchestras. The position seemed like a perfect fit that put my quantitative skills to use in support of the performing arts, a cause that I cared about deeply as a long-time classical musician. I worked in the organization’s research and development group, where I helped to organize and analyze decades of industry data.
After about a year in the non-profit world, I was yearning for something more fast-paced, but that still fulfilled the goals of using my skills in support of a meaningful cause. I started looking at other places that might fit the bill and applied for an advertising analyst position at The New York Times. I was (and still am) a voracious reader of the news and I loved the idea of working to support journalism. I remember being so nervous that I showed up for my interview 30 minutes early with a notepad full of handwritten notes about all the things I would say and the questions I would ask. Thankfully the nerves didn’t show (much) and I got the job.
After some time as an ad analyst, I eventually moved to the Times’ strategy group, which was tasked with doing market research, financial modeling, and strategic thinking to help answer business questions across the company. We were essentially a small consulting group within the Times. The position was a great opportunity for learning how to approach business questions analytically and for seeing things from a 10,000-foot view. Eventually though, I wanted to not just make recommendations, but also to be involved in building them. That’s what led me to product management.
I first dipped my toes in the product management waters at Condé Nast. There, I had a dual product strategy / product management role and worked with The New Yorker, Condé Nast Traveler, and Bon Appétit. I later went back to The New York Times as a product manager in the digital subscriptions / e-commerce group, and have now been at Etsy as a product manager for about two years.
I love my job. It’s the perfect combination of purpose and challenge that I’ve been looking for since I graduated from Wellesley. The work I do has a meaningful impact for small businesses around the world, and helps to support local economies in places where there might not otherwise be opportunities. I have new challenges every day that let me exercise both my analytic and creative capabilities, and also help me to grow my professional skills. I have autonomy to make decisions and work with smart and wonderful people who care deeply about the things they are doing. I work at a mission-driven company that is as concerned with having a positive impact on the world (socially, environmentally) as it is with business success, where learning and collaboration are an ingrained part of the culture, and confidence, but not ego, is a hiring criterion.
How has Wellesley contributed to your career?
Wellesley is where I found my confidence. I was a shy kid, but small classes and dedicated professors really helped me to come out of my shell. I knew that I had ideas to contribute, but didn’t always have the guts to do it. At Wellesley, I was encouraged to speak up, to be assertive, and to take leadership positions. The Wellesley Alumnae Network has also been incredibly helpful. For example, when I was applying to Etsy, I spoke with alumnae who had shops on Etsy to learn about their experiences. One of those alumnae happened to know someone who worked at Etsy and was kind enough to introduce me. I had coffee with that person the same weekend, and by the following Monday I’d lined up an interview.
What is a typical work day or work week like for you?
Product management can mean different things in different places. For me, the role of a product manager alternates between strategy and project management. Given that, things can look different on any given day, depending on the phase of a project. The early stages of a project focus more on strategy, and often involve consolidating market research, data analysis, and user research findings to determine what we should be building to support user and company needs.
Typically though, I start most days chatting with a team of engineers and designers in what we call a ‘stand up’. Stand ups are brief meetings where we each give a quick update about the work we are doing, the work that is coming up, and discuss any blockers or dependencies. As a product manager it’s my job to make sure that the strategy and plans for our work are clear, to make informed decisions about product direction as questions arise, to coordinate and manage dependencies so that work progresses smoothly, and to generally do everything necessary to ensure a successful product launch.
Once we’ve had our team stand up, the rest of my day can include any number of things, including but not limited to leading meetings to coordinate project details, conducting market research, analyzing usage data, planning development sprints, providing feedback on prototypes, watching usability testing, working with illustrators, writing documentation, and coordinating marketing plans. Every once in a while, when I want a break from coordination and planning work, I also push some code. It’s a dynamic and ever-changing job.
What piece of advice would you offer students looking to get into your area of interest and expertise?
There’s no single path to product management. Some people think you have to have a background in computer science and others think you need a MBA, but there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. If you’re interested in product management, my advice would be to talk to different product managers, learn from their experiences, and get to know the skills involved. Then, with each job you take, look for roles that broaden your skill set to get closer to the ones you need. At a high level, product managers need to be able to manage both the strategic and the operational, so picking up experience in those two areas is a good start.
What do you wish you had known as a student?
It’s okay to not know what you want to do. We all know the archetype of the type-A Wellesley student who has it all figured out. You don’t have to be that person. After all, how could anyone expect you have it all figured out when you’re just getting started with your career? That said, if you’re not sure what you want, don’t be complacent in your ambivalence either. Do the work to figure out what you want because nobody else can do that for you. Much to my surprise, there wasn’t some kind of adulthood fairy that bestowed direction and purpose on me in my mid 20s. That comes through self-reflection. Unhappy with your job? Think about what you do and don’t like about it. Then, look for opportunities that maximize the likes and minimize the dislikes. Self-awareness can be hard and the path forward isn’t always clear, but the results are worthwhile.
If you could come back and take one class at Wellesley what would it be?
I started taking computer science classes as a junior at Wellesley, just for fun. I really enjoyed them but wasn’t even thinking about careers in technology at that point and I also didn’t have enough room in my schedule to take more. Even though programming isn’t required as part of my day-to-day work, I would love to take more CS classes to beef up my theoretical and hands-on computer science skills and knowledge.