Product Hiring Trends That Actually Shaped the Market
- Career
- 5 min read
By Arnould Joseph – Product Marketing Manager
The product management job market is evolving faster. Demand for skilled product talent is growing, but companies are changing their hiring practices. In the past year, data shows roughly 40–50% growth in product hiring. Growth has been strongest at senior levels, nearly 87% year-on-year, while entry-level roles also rose +16% in India. For aspiring and transitioning professionals, this creates new opportunities and new expectations.
Evolving Product Career Pathways
- Structured career ladders: Employers are explicitly hiring along a clear APM→PM→PPM progression.
Data shows that Associate PMs (APMs) are expected to handle execution and analytics, Product Managers (PMs) manage complex decisions, and Principal/Lead PMs (PPMs) focus on strategy across products. - Launchpads for transitions: Mid-size tech firms and growth-stage companies are becoming stepping-stones into product careers, while large corporations increasingly recruit experienced PMs for leadership roles. One hiring report notes that startups cut many junior PM openings, whereas mid-sized companies increased their junior roles by ~243%. On the other hand, senior product hires at multinational corporations increased by 255%.
- Real-world pivots: These trends are supported by structured career programs. For example, candidates with non-PM backgrounds (QA engineers, designers, etc.) have successfully moved into PM roles after targeted coaching and interviews. Such stories highlight that skilful preparation can bridge gaps from one field into product management.
Skills-First Hiring Takes Over
The traditional methods of hiring were based on the resume, degree or lineage, but the modern recruiters are focusing on actual practical skills and results. Companies are dropping rigid degree requirements and evaluating candidates through work samples, case challenges or portfolio reviews.
- Broader talent pools: By focusing on demonstrated abilities, organizations tap into wider, more diverse talent. One analysis notes that removing degree filters “engages high-potential people from unconventional backgrounds,” greatly expanding the candidate pool. In fact, surveys suggest 80–85% of firms now claim to use skills-first hiring approaches.
- Faster ramp-up: Hiring based on real skills means new PM hires hit the ground running. Data shows that candidates who’ve proven the required skills learn the job in weeks rather than months.
- Technical and data proficiency: Core PM skills (research, roadmap planning, and go-to-market) remain crucial in product roles. In particular, technical fluency and a data-driven mindset are now standard requirements.
Companies are becoming more and more segmented into jobs based on key competencies, evaluated on simulations or by writing code. This has taken place more so in the tech industries, where jobs keep changing fast and education occurs beyond the classroom.
Bridging Gaps: Modern vs. Traditional Hiring
Despite new approaches, gaps remain between old hiring habits and modern realities. A few key points:
- Skills gap persists: Even with talent pipelines opening up, companies report a widening skills gap. A Q3 2025 industry report found tech roles (especially AI, data, cybersecurity) often sit unfilled for 60+ days, and companies are posting jobs but struggling to find qualified candidates.
- Transparency and alignment: One cause of mismatch is poor communication. For instance, successful programs encourage companies to “share interview rubrics, clarify what ‘impact’ looks like for each level,” and even co-host mock workshops.
- Structured support: Data from a career assistance platform showed 76 one-on-one coaching sessions and workshops gave candidates a clear way to turn their experiences into compelling job stories. Hiring events and coaching act like built-in training, candidates who “learn to organize chaos” into structured narratives perform much better in interviews. This emphasis on preparation and feedback is a hallmark of modern recruitment.
- Work models and culture: In tech generally, remote/hybrid roles have become a competitive advantage many companies offer some hybrid work to attract talent. Product-specific data, however, indicates that fully remote PM positions are returning to pre-pandemic levels or even declining.
Salary Benchmarks & Role Expectations
Compensation and role scope vary widely in product careers, but current data offers useful benchmarks:
- India (example market): According to the most recent reports, junior product roles normally pay between 10 and 15 LPA, mid-level PMs 20 LPA median, and senior/leadership roles 40 LPA+ (with leadership positions exceeding 75 LPA annually). This gives candidates a realistic range for negotiating anchoring salary expectations near the median and backing up any ask with concrete achievements.
- Global norms: Of course, pay scales differ internationally. In the UK/EU context, a mid-level PM’s median salary is roughly £67K (~$85K) per year, while a senior PM sees around £109K (~$137K). Growth rates have been modest in 2025 (1–3% in many markets), reflecting a maturing market.
- Role responsibilities: An APM is expected to handle execution details and analytics, a PM leads decisions and cross-functional coordination, and a Principal PM (PPM) sets strategy across products. Hiring managers look for evidence of these at interview: for example, senior candidates may be asked to outline system-level impact or portfolio decisions. Clear examples of “big picture” thinking can justify higher-level roles and salary bumps.
- Trend of rewarding experience: Despite some pullbacks in hiring volume, many companies are rewarding existing PM talent. One industry analysis shows hiring down ~14% in 2025, but median PM salaries still rose ~5% this year. This underscores that, for mid-career and senior PMs, the market values proven success and may offer raises even when hiring slows.
Looking Ahead
Product hiring has moved from assumptions to evidence. Roles are being defined more clearly, expectations are sharper, and decisions are increasingly driven by demonstrated product capability. This shift is changing how careers are built, evaluated, and progressed across the product ecosystem.
For a deeper, data-backed view of the signals behind this shift, captured through real hiring activity and outcomes, here’s the CAP 2025 document to read end-to-end:
Our Popular Product Management Programs
Our Trending Product Management Programs
