Navigating job transitions in today's competitive tech landscape is difficult. Many people get stuck between roles, and an extended job search can dent your confidence. You might doubt your past achievements, question your current skills, and worry about what's next. In today’s episode, we tackle job hunting in today’s tough market. I share insights from a real coaching session with a design leader who's struggling after being out of work for a few months. The episode is packed with concrete too...
Jun 20, 2024•52 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast Around 10-20% of my coaching calls tackle burnout. Despite being a deeply personal experience, burnout frequently affects high achievers, who often don't have the time to develop effective coping strategies. In today's episode, we dissect several paraphrased conversations, drawing from years of career coaching experience, offering insights and practical advice to help you manage burnout, set healthy boundaries, and cultivate a resilient mindset. – In today's episode, we discuss: Why burnout is a...
May 28, 2024•33 min•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast After a three-month hiatus, The Skip returns with exciting news: April marked my departure from Meta, and I'm now fully focused on The Skip. Though leaving was a difficult choice, the decision highlighted something important: effectively telling your career story matters more than ever in today’s job market. Companies are concerned that some people may have been spectators to growth rather than contributors. Or worse yet, compelling successes at work are ignored or misunderstood due to an articu...
May 14, 2024•41 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast In my fourth live coaching session, this caller felt like they had earned an unfair reputation as someone who struggles with collaboration in the workplace. The caller wanted guidance on transforming past perceptions into a new reality. The caller reveals both their superpower and its shadow. They are an opinionated product manager, blessed with exceptional taste and intuition. However, these traits also lead them to resist compromise. We confront the caller’s shadow, and explore frameworks and ...
Feb 11, 2024•34 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast In my third episode of live coaching sessions, this caller was feeling dissatisfied with their narrow scope of role and lack of cultural fit in their current company. The caller wanted guidance on what their next role should be, given their personal situation and professional ambition. Their situation captures a difficult choice facing many superstars: seeking a sizable impact rarely found outside of startups, while also craving the compensation only late-stage companies can afford. We discuss t...
Jan 21, 2024•33 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast This is my second episode experimenting with live coaching sessions. The format is my attempt to scale insights on common queries and themes I’m often asked about by listeners. This caller was looking for guidance after finding that a role they joined 4 months ago was not what they expected. Their situation exemplifies the kind of hard problems that leaders have to solve, and we speak about the traits and strategies required to approach these problems wisely. Privacy is paramount for these calls...
Jan 07, 2024•34 min•Ep 19•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome back to The Skip; this episode is a little bit special as I’m experimenting with a new format: live coaching sessions. This idea came from the realization that the coaching queries I receive from listeners often have common themes. My hope is that recording and sharing a coaching call like this demonstrates how the frameworks are applied in real conversations and possibly helps others with similar situations. Naturally, privacy is paramount, so we’ve anonymized the content and received p...
Dec 11, 2023•37 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast Much of the career advice out there is for aspiring PMs. But what about those who have one foot on the ladder and are looking to climb the next rung? This episode is about advancing mid to late-stage product management careers. I'm joined by Peter Yang, Product Lead at Roblox, and product newsletter writer, to discuss how established PMs can avoid getting stuck. From pursuing growth over promotion to knowing when to change companies, we discuss a wide range of strategies to help you continue bui...
Oct 01, 2023•51 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast This episode is about mentorship. Mentorship is a powerful personal development tool that naturally attracts ambitious people. However, it can be a complicated tool to maximize. Mentorship comes in many forms, with varying degrees of accessibility, quality, and suitability for a given individual. In this episode, I answer questions on 3 topics surrounding the complications of mentorship: how to navigate the resources available, how to be coachable, and tips and tricks I’ve learned as a mentor an...
Sep 10, 2023•51 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s episode breaks down my 5 rules for optimizing the most important product in your professional life: your career. These rules synthesize some of the key takeaways from all of my other content about product management and career growth. I break down why each rule matters, and outline some associated mistakes and misconceptions that you should avoid. Whether you’re at a career juncture or are firmly positioned in a role, these rules come with actionable tactics you can implement tomorrow. U...
Aug 13, 2023•28 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s episode is the second part, and deeper analysis, on “the shadows of your superpowers”. These are a type of development areas that are associated with your greatest strengths. I use example personas to detail 5 common shadows I’ve noticed across my career and coaching. For each, I breakdown why the shadow is elusive, common reactions to receiving feedback around it, and actionable advice for addressing the development area. Whether these shadows remind you of yourself or of others - in a ...
Jul 30, 2023•39 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s episode breaks down the shadows of your superpowers. These are a type of development area that is associated with your greatest strengths, and these apply to people inside and outside of tech. Shadows are one of the most elusive areas of self-development and, therefore, one of the most limiting to your potential. You may very well be unaware of yours. While shadows are surrounded by complicated personal and workplace dynamics, understanding them is likely one of your best opportunities t...
Jul 16, 2023•31 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of The Skip podcast, Nikhyl Singhal presents an enlightening discourse aimed at aiding tech industry professionals in their career growth. Through a new 30-minute coaching format, Nikhyl explores the transitions between managerial and individual contributor roles, emphasizing the significance of tackling six ambiguities in product management: product, growth, domain, market, organization, and team. He introduces these distinct skills and types of product managers, each uniquely c...
Jun 19, 2023•35 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of The Skip Podcast, host Nikhyl Singhal explains how he helps product managers negotiate compensation. An industry veteran in the tech sector, Nikhyl has worked with 50+ leading executives and dozens of companies to ensure they establish optimal pay packages. He unpacks the concept of equity in both public and private companies and offers a method for comparing job offers based on annual expected value and potential liquidity events. He then transitions into salary negotiation t...
Jun 05, 2023•35 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast Get ready for an engaging episode of the Skip podcast, where host Nikhyl Singhal dives into the evolving world of startups, head of product roles, and the fascinating field of product management. Discover how the head of product role has transformed in response to growth and hypergrowth dynamics, gain insights into the current market shifts and challenges, and explore the diverse career paths available, including joining healthy growth companies, considering number two roles, or even founding yo...
May 22, 2023•41 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast Join host Nikhyl Singhal in this fascinating episode of ‘The Skip’ Podcast, as he explores the unique characteristics and opportunities of big tech companies in the current economic climate. Nikhyl discusses the challenges and advantages of working in big tech, defined by companies like Microsoft, Apple, Google, Meta, and Amazon. Learn about the changing landscape of the industry and how professionals can make the most of their big tech experience, such as leveraging transferable skills, network...
May 08, 2023•37 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of 'The Skip' podcast, host Nikhyl Singhal discusses the challenges and implications of ex-growth companies in the current market landscape. He delves into the consequences of overvaluation, the impact on employees and company culture, and the emergence of a new crop of prudent, conservative growth companies. Nikhyl provides valuable insights for those considering joining or staying in ex-growth companies and emphasizes the importance of exploring other stages of companies for mo...
Apr 24, 2023•30 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode, The Skip Podcast host Nikhyl Singhal interviews Markie Wagner, an AI expert and founder of Delphi Labs . Markie and Nikhyl discuss the transformative impact of artificial intelligence and its potential to reshape workflows. Markie shares her early experiences with computers and how her passion for building things and writing code led to her impact on the world through STEM education. The conversation explores the implications of AI for individuals at different stages of their ca...
Apr 03, 2023•52 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast In this podcast episode, Nikhyl is joined once again by Anneka Gupta , Annie Pearl, Briana Ings, and Shirley Lin. The group explores the topics of how to recognize and recover from burnout, as well as to achieve a healthy work-life balance. They discuss the personal nature of burnout and how it's not simply a matter of comparing the two columns of “work” and “life.” The group suggests that if you're feeling burnt out or unsure if you're on the right path, it's time to reflect on your work and ma...
Mar 13, 2023•55 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast #5: Welcome back to the Skip podcast! In this episode, Nikhyl invites Shreyas Doshi to discuss the ever-evolving role that Product managers have in today's business world, finding yourself “stuck” in the ‘middle-stage’ of your career and how making high-quality career decisions is more important than ever. Using more than a decade of experience, Shreyas also describes vastly different experiences in similar roles at similar (or sometimes very different) companies, following your own internal exc...
Feb 27, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast #4: Equity, stock options, and other compensation; a complex topic that has essentially limitless negotiable options. We are going to be walking through the basics to lay a foundation and then we will break down the most common mistakes that people make in this area. If you need to know more about offer letters, vesting stocks, and managing exits this episode is for you! Connect with The Skip The Skip: Newsletter | Website | LinkedIn CPO Group Nikhyl Singhal: LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook Lynda ...
Feb 13, 2023•58 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast Career transitions are filled with dozens of questions and pitfalls. Join Nikhyl Singhal and four product leaders from the Skip CPO group to discuss the challenges associated with big career decisions. Briana Ings (ClickUp), Anneka Gupta (Rubrik), Shirley Lin (Divvy Homes), and Annie Pearl (Calendly) bring dozens of years of leadership experience to the conversation, as they discuss when to leave (and not) leave your company, how to research the next opportunity, manage the interview process, an...
Jan 16, 2023•1 hr 26 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Tech moves fast and is ever evolving. But career worries remain constant and can weigh heavily. In this second Skip podcast, Nikhyl Singhal highlights what he calls “career frequently asked questions”: common concerns people share with him, and how you might approach these concerns to reach the best results for your own professional life. Building a career framework is important, but assessing the complexities branching off of it is vital as well. And he’s hoping you will keep the questions comi...
Jan 16, 2023•29 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast You’re wondering if you should stay in your current role, or maybe you’re stressed about accepting a new one. Well, you’re not alone. In his decade of career coaching, Nikhyl Singhal has often listened to executives wrestle with these dilemmas. And in this first Skip Podcast, he poses five specific questions that he believes can help you create your best path forward and shape your career framework. Connect with The Skip: Newsletter | Podcast | CPO Group Follow Nikhyl Singhal on LinkedIn | Twitt...
Jan 16, 2023•26 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast The Skip Podcast helps tech professionals get ahead in their career. It’s hosted by Nikhyl Singhal, a successful founder, head of product, and executive. He has helped scale four of the most successful tech products ever: Facebook, Credit Karma, Google Photos, and Google Hangouts. And he coaches more than 100 executives, managers, and rising stars in navigating important career decisions, management challenges, and personal crossroads to maximize their happiness and professional life. So subscri...
Jan 09, 2023•5 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
