2023 was a long year.
For many years I had a close-knit group of friends from high school with whom I kept in touch. Even after we all spread out around the country for college, work, and family, we would still often gather together to celebrate on New Year's Eve in one of our respective cities, flying in from around the US, cramming into this or the other apartment to share food and bubbly and stories.
And we had our own NYE tradition, as well: over the course of the evening, usually close on to midnight, one by one we would recount our best moments and worst moments of the prior year.
Now, as often happens, the passage of time means many of us in that group have either gone our separate ways or are only fleetingly still in touch. But since this was indeed a long year for many (perhaps all?) of you reading this, as well, I figured I'd offer you my own version of the above. I've got personal ones of each kind that don't need sharing here, but from a professional standpoint, here are some of my best and worst moments of 2023:
WORST
Getting laid off in April.
Like well over 200k of us in the US tech sector this year, I was caught up in a wave of companies struggling against the combined forces of the end of cheap money, overhiring and poor planning during the early part of the pandemic, and a glaring lack of courage and creativity by seniormost corporate leadership in terms of how to respond. I saw it coming for a number of weeks or months beforehand, but that didn't make it any easier when it happened to me. Check.
Navigating my state's broken UI program:
I made my first unemployment insurance claim in April; I didn't receive my first payment until October -- and that was only after I contacted the Colorado governor's office directly to escalate my claim. (And, Dear Reader, I was hardly alone in this: the state grossly overcorrected for fraudulent claims in 2023, updating their system to falsely flag many thousands of valid applicants who then were unable to reach anyone at the UI office directly and were just told in the online portal to keep waiting and waiting for approval... for months at a time). Check (or rather... no check?)
Job search and hiring shenanigans:
Screaming into the void: Revamping my resume with professional help, updating my online portfolio and LinkedIn profile, doing my homework on companies in advance, sending out hundreds of carefully targeted and crafted applications, writing high-quality cover letters each time -- but then realizing that cold applying was more pointless than ever. In the present job market, doing all the right things by yourself and being a match on paper is simply not enough; one way or another you still gotta get out there and build those relationships in good faith, too. Lesson learned. Check.
Company A that had me give elaborate presentations on how to improve their product in lengthy panel interviews, but then didn't advance me when I arrived at the same solution they already had in process (and so therefore apparently didn't provide free work for them before they hired me?) Check!
Company B that had me do six (6!) rounds of interviews over 6-8 weeks -- where the first five people said the CEO would make the final call, but then the CEO said, no, it was actually up to the prior five people, instead. Then they asked for another 4 weeks to make up their mind -- and then ghosted me. And to my knowledge still haven't finished the hiring process. Checkity check check! (**Note to self: if they can't hire a PM in less than 3 months, then I'm probably not going to be able to successfully ship software there.... but I digress.**)
BEST
Hanging out my shingle as a PM consultant:
What's the old saying about lemons and lemonade? When I found myself, ahem, suddenly more "available" than before, I took the advice I'd been given and was not shy about reaching out to my network to ask for help. And boy did you all respond in force! Thanks in large part to your referrals, I had the privilege of serving in several capacities of Product or organizational change leadership consulting for smaller organizations grappling with questions of how they do (and can improve) Product Management, how to plan for strategic hires, tooling, project management, budgeting, delivery, company culture, and more. I loved helping set them up for success and can't wait to see where this may lead next in 2024.
Narrowing my industry focus and seeing a response:
We Product Managers are a highly adaptable bunch. We are by definition generalists: one can ostensibly apply the principles of what we practice in virtually any field that builds and ships software. Case in point: in the last five years, I've led teams to build software for data privacy, renewable energy, journalism, nonprofits, and streaming media.But after my layoff (from the role in data privacy-land) I realized that I deeply missed what I cared about most: working on climate.
Two jobs ago I got to help a team build and maintain an amazing platform that served utility-scale renewable energy developers (think of those giant wind and solar farms you see off the highway). While that role in particular wasn't the right one for me in the long run (I was lured away to take on more direct responsibility and a much meatier leadership challenge in data privacy), I missed the space, the work, and many of the people. And there's a lot going on in this space right now. For me, climate tech in general (and renewables and energy markets in particular) are the perfect marriage of my professional goals and personal convictions.
Once I started narrowing my job search -- and changed how I told my story in applications and interviews accordingly -- recruiters and hiring managers responded in kind. I haven't been hired (yet!), but toward the end of this year there was a sharp uptick in both the quantity and quality of interviews, some of which are still ongoing as of this writing. If everybody hiring for Product in 2023 wanted a unicorn, then I decided it was time to become exactly the kind of unicorn I really wanted to be -- for myself.
Putting my money where my mouth is:
As someone who got out of student loan debt a long time ago, I wasn't exactly chomping at the bit to go back to school. And yet while trying to find ways to deepen my overall knowledge of how complex projects in the energy industry get done, I came across the Global Energy Management graduate program at the University of Colorado Denver School of Business. Designed for working professionals in all parts of oil, gas, and renewables, it's akin to an MBA in that you are exposed to all aspects of what it takes to get massive energy projects done at this point in history. And it's amazing. I've only just begun the graduate certificate (and possible further master's program, as well), but what I've already learned and the connections I've made with people up to their eyeballs in renewables in particular and the energy industry overall is just staggering. One of the best decisions I made this year, and can't wait to start my next class soon!
Mentoring younger PMs:
Since I made my own significant career change about 6 years ago, I've had many dozens of conversations with other folks on similar journeys, including those just starting out, those who are would-be career-changers, those who've successfully done it but were seeking more insights along the way, and those committed to Product Management in particular. I definitely don't have all the answers, and in any field there will always be someone else with more experience and wisdom to offer, but I've loved coaching and mentoring so many of you and have learned so much along the way. (And one of you just got your first PM job, post-grad school -- proud mentor moment!!)
Making new friends:
If you're reading any of this and nodding along, well, that may be because you have been one of the many folks in the same or similar boat who crossed paths with me this year. The world often seemed a dark place in 2023, but I also found kindness in droves: humans are social creatures by nature, and so many of you both stepped up to offer me tangible or moral support during many dark hours and/or made yourselves vulnerable to me by asking for the same. (And there were also people who weren't caught up in layoff shenanigans this year who had no reason to be as generous with their time and support as they have been, too.) I'm so grateful for each of you in part because we help remind each other that none of us are alone in times like these.
Yours truly sitting in a glass box many hundreds of feet above the ground in Chicago and simultaneously questioning my life choices and loving the ride... an apt metaphor for 2023?
So there you have it -- my best and my worst of 2023!
Like I said.... it's been a long year, no?
As a final reminder to take my own advice:
Yes, I'm still looking for a full-time Product role (ideally in renewable energy, energy markets, or similar climate-focused work), and
Yes I'd still love referrals for consulting projects or fractional leadership roles, and
No, you are not alone -- please reach out! It's been a crap year for many, so even if you just need encouragement or feedback or general advice, I'm here to help.
All that said, I sincerely that each you have far more "bests" than "worsts" to tally up at the end of 2024. Thanks for reading, Happy New Year, and wishing health, happiness, and prosperity to you and yours.
What about you? What were your own highs and lows of 2023? Truly, I'd love to know: drop your stories in the comments, feel free to DM me on LinkedIn, or reach out via josephgaines.com, too.