How Dorra Discovered Purpose & Got A New Role at Amazon

Stuck in My Process & Stuck in My Role

There were two key challenges I faced before Prod MBA:

Firstly, in terms of my day-to-day work, our company had no clear process. For example, if we came up with new ideas, we didn’t know how to qualify those ideas. What to work on.

Leadership simply decided what we would work on and, although I tried to challenge this, I had no better alternative to suggest.

I needed a new, stronger process - as well as see what was possible by doing a bootcamp that was going to be hands-on and where I could take a process & adapt it to our company.

The second challenge I faced was in terms of my career development. It was unclear to me how I would grow from being a PM to a Product Lead & beyond. I’d talked about promotion with my boss, but neither of us were clear about what specifically I should do to become a strong, effective Product Lead.

The title would be great, but I wanted to actually excel in that role. To be truly ready for that role - and deserving of it.

It was extremely frustrating.

I felt stuck in an out-dated product culture with no true product team, structure, or understanding of product management.

Even if I got promotion, I kept asking myself:

Would I actually deserve it? Was I ready to truly lead?

I wasn’t even sure what good product leadership really even looked like…

Coaching & Hands-on Learning With Real Impact

As soon as I started Prod MBA, it was clear that this was something different.

Firstly, the network is very valuable. By meeting other Product Managers, you build a great support network, but also a better understanding the market - so you have an idea of your own capabilities and level.

Secondly, it’s very hands-on, meaning you actually put things into practice and build real experience in a really short time.

Third, I loved the balance between pre-recorded content and the live sessions. I have a baby & a busy job, so being able to get through the work early every morning & seeing clear instructions & expectations after every video was great.

Finally, the support of the mentors was so authentic. From the accountability of submitting & getting personal feedback on your assignment, to 1:1 sessions that didn’t just help me on the course - but with big career questions - you get genuine, personal mentorship and career support.

“I Now Know What I Want From My Career”

I realised Prod MBA was having a big impact on my career from the first 2 weeks.

In the onboarding, I had to come up with a lot of “acute problems” I could try to solve with a solution.

One of those - helping people get their first product role - was always in my mind in the past 2 years, but I never had the courage to give it a chance

Thanks to Prod MBA, I gained the self-confidence to actually pursue my idea, as well as understanding how to validate demand from the market in Week 2, which gave me even more confidence moving forward.

Getting My Dream Role at Amazon

Throughout the course, I became more & more confident in my abilities & in the direction I wanted to take.

I was able to bring in a strong product process and be confident pushing that process.

More importantly for me personally, I realised exactly what I wanted from my career: To work in a strong product company where I could really grow as a product leader.

This helped me land a job at Amazon, working in a product-led environment (and helping me determine my exact level as a Product Manager in the process).

Dorra now works as a Senior PM at Amazon, securing the role after graduating Prod MBA

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