Career Tips from a PM (5/30) – Illustrate your approach with case studies.
Case studies are one of the best structured ways to not only show hiring managers how you approach problems, but also demonstrate your expertise and solidify your credibility around a particular domain or topic.
For the sake of simplicity, look back on past projects and achievements (or if you’re working on something interesting now, use that). Then, apply the Scientific Method to it and write-up a report!
Yes, that same Scientific Method from your school days; observe, question, hypothesis, experiment, analyze, and conclusion.
Now, the format doesn’t HAVE to be like a science report; that’s just a means to get started if you’ve never done a case study before. What’s important when you run a case study on your past (or current) work is that you articulate what the problem is, why it’s a problem, what steps you took to address it, and why you made the decisions you made along the way.
By doing this, you give your peers, recruiters, and even hiring managers a better glimpse into who you are as a person beyond the checkboxes of “they know X, Y, and Z.” Let me say that again in a different way, because the value behind it is critical:
You knowing tools like MongoDB, Express, React, Node, or methodologies and frameworks like Agile, Scrum, and Kanban are NOT differentiating factors. You stand out not by what you know, but by how you use them to create value.
Once you have a case study or two in the books, put them up on a publicly accessible website (your own, a GitHub, etc.) and show the world exactly why you’re good at what you do.
Illustrate your approach with case studies.
