In this episode, I sit down with three senior product leaders who just came through the senior job search in this market: Dana Ingraham from Harvey, Briana Ings from Atlassian, and Pei-Chin Wang, who’s founding her own company. While the search itself continues to be exhausting, I was surprised to learn that everything else has changed: the playbook is completely out of date, in at least ten different ways. All three reported feeling something I’ve started calling smiling exhaustion: working hard, going long, and surprised by how good it feels. If you're a senior leader, sitting in a stable role debating a move, weighing how you can ride the AI shift, or quietly wondering if founding finally belongs on your career path, this conversation is for you.

Key topics:

• How AI agents have flipped the first year at a new role from headwind to tailwind, and are even bringing joy to the first year of a new role

• The new founding math: fast, fun, and skill-additive, with a much lower downside than it used to be

• How to navigate the job search when you don’t live in San Francisco—and remote jobs are dwindling

• Why structured AI learning is the wrong move, and what to build instead, so your fluency is hard to fake

• How to signal hard boundaries to a new boss, and differentiate between real respect and performative virtue-signalling

• Why holding your professional identity loosely matters when the role of senior leader is getting reformatted in real time

Referenced:

• Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/

• Atlassian: https://www.atlassian.com

• Claude Code: https://claude.com/product/claude-code

• Harvey: https://www.harvey.ai

• Loom: https://www.loom.com

• Modern Animal: https://themodernanimal.com

Brought to you by:

• Guru—Trusted knowledge for every AI tool and team: https://www.getguru.com/?utm_source=the-skip&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=skip-promo

• Customer.io—The customer engagement platform for human messaging: http://customer.io/skip

Where to find Nikhyl

• Twitter/X

• LinkedIn

Where to find Dana

• LinkedIn

Where to find Briana

• LinkedIn

Where to find Pei-Chin

• LinkedIn

Join The Skip

• Skip Coach

• Skip Community

Find The Skip

• Website

• Substack

• YouTube

• Spotify

• Apple Podcasts

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

04:08 Welcome, and why this is the second job-search postmortem

05:50 Meet Dana, Briana, and Pei-Chin

06:15 What the "smiling exhaustion" state is

09:58 Three career transitions, three different triggers

15:26 Has founding become a must-have on the modern career path?

17:09 Why "AI company" doesn't need to be a hard filter

21:43 The new founding math: Three-month traction windows and "everyone codes"

26:16 How AI agents flipped onboarding from headwind to tailwind

31:33 How to navigate the decline of remote-friendly roles

36:27 Setting hard family boundaries in the 996-company era

40:47 How proactive do senior leaders need to be to build their role pipeline?

43:10 Standing out to recruiters when your CV lacks traditional experience

47:43 Discovering Claude Code: "I felt like a sorcerer"

53:21 Why structured AI learning isn't necessary

57:21 When your resume doesn't fit the pattern, teach the interviewer

58:48 Closing wisdom: hold your identity loosely

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theskip.substack.com

If you're in a career transition right now and wondering whether you did something wrong, you didn't. Every question coming into Nikhyl.AI keeps circling the same idea: do I really have to reinvent? In today’s episode, Carly and I dive into four questions, from people in very different scenarios: A senior PM who feels her career’s gone backwards, an IC5 at a FAANG anchored by immigration constraints, a 50-year-old veteran a year into a job search, and a mid-career operator convinced he's hit a dead end. Each of them feels behind. None of them are. The whole industry is in a state of reinvention — if they'd reinvented five years ago, they'd be reinventing again today.

Key topics:

• Why the first stage of any transition is mourning, and why most people get stuck there

• The builder vs. manager divide: why "capital-P Product Managers" are thriving and "capital-M product Managers" are not

• Why proving to yourself and others that you’re a builder is the currency that keeps you alive in the next round of layoffs

• The uncanny valley of mid-to-late-career PMs and how you can climb out of it

• Why coaching, consulting, and advisory roles are shrinking careers in a world of rapidly-improving LLMs

• The “double-jump” job search strategy and why you should stop optimizing for the 10-year role

• How you can turn a non-PM background into a superpower with AI and product skills

Where to find Nikhyl

Twitter/X

LinkedIn

Where to find Carly

LinkedIn

Join The Skip

Skip Coach

Skip Community

Find The Skip

Website

Substack

YouTube

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

00:40 You're not behind, you're right on time

03:23 The senior PM who stepped backwards and lost her identity

04:36 Why "you're in mourning" is the first thing to say out loud

08:38 Builder vs. capital-M Manager: who the industry is actually hiring

12:28 The IC5 at a FAANG, the immigration clock, and infrastructure work

13:31 Why last year's "suck it up" advice stopped working

18:30 If you have builder instincts, you need to make sure people know about it

20:02 Navigating layoff season: Who should be worried and who should relax

23:02 The ageism reframe: Why a beginner's mentality beats pedigree

25:47 The 50-year-old veteran caught between coaching and "a real job"

27:29 Why coaching isn't a durable career in the LLM era

28:51 The "double jump" job-search strategy: get back in motion first

33:12 The mid-career operator who's convinced he's hit a dead end

35:30 Why being "non-technical" is no longer a blocker in 2026

36:09 How to reframe breadth of experience to form a power combination

39:03 "You didn't defer reinvention. You waited until now."

42:27 Embracing reinvention: First, mourn — then get back into motion

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theskip.substack.com

Most interview advice tends to come from the candidate’s perspective - how to prep, share your experiences, and follow up. This conversation pulls back the curtain on the other side of the table. I spoke with hiring leaders from Netflix, Rippling, and EvenUp to learn how three great, yet operationally-different companies evaluate candidates. Surprisingly, all three leaders agreed on one core truth: most candidates are operating from a playbook that’s two years out of date. AI has upended the job-search landscape: old signals are table stakes, and the goal posts have changed.

Key topics:

• The new PM: Why companies are looking for candidates who “push the limits of what’s possible”

• The shift from behavioral to scenario-based questions

• Does pedigree still matter? Why trajectory is the new alternative signal for recruiters

• The three things that now separate a great take-home case study submission from a generic one

• Why case study presentations are still valuable - and help demonstrate core PM skills

• Whether website applications actually get looked at and why referrals are more binary than most people think

• How to signal drive and a frontier-pushing mindset when everyone claims to be a high performer

Where to find Nikhyl

• Twitter/X

• LinkedIn

Where to find McKenzie

• LinkedIn

Where to find Sam

• LinkedIn

Where to find Sarah

• LinkedIn

Join The Skip

• Skip Coach

• Skip Community

Find The Skip

• Website

• Substack

• YouTube

• Spotify

• Apple Podcasts

Timestamps

00:48 Introduction

04:12 Meet our guests from EvenUp, Rippling, and Netflix

09:06 How has the hiring process changed since COVID?

11:17 Is AI fluency explicitly tested in interviews?

12:42 Why quality and speed are favored over prioritization ability

16:16 Past experience vs. scenario questions—where the balance is shifting

19:52 Does pedigree still matter to hiring managers?

23:10 Why trajectory is an underrated signal to index on

26:43 Why the LinkedIn DM isn't dead

29:31 Does the take-home case study still hold value in the AI era?

33:21 Using case studies to screen for brevity, agency, and strategic thinking

39:09 Rippling's product discussion and panel case study process

43:52 Unpacking red flags in case study presentations

45:43 The collaboration test: curiosity vs. defensiveness under pressure

47:56 How to get noticed — are website applications even worth it?

50:56 Where EvenUp proactively sources candidates

53:00 Closing advice for mid-career PMs navigating today's job market

Don't forget to subscribe to The Skip to hear me coach you through timely career lessons. Access exclusive sessions from 100+ top product leaders at skip.coach. If you’re interested in joining me on a future call, send me a note on LinkedIn, Threads, or Twitter. You can also email me at [email protected]

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theskip.substack.com

Work getting political isn't new, but surviving it without derailing your career has never been more challenging. As organizations flatten and restructures accelerate, the instincts that used to work — push back, demand clarity, make noise — often backfire. In this episode, we answer five questions from people caught in reorgs, managing-up dynamics, and situations where the "obvious" move turns out to be the wrong one.

Key topics

• What to do when leadership goes dark, and you can't tell if a reorg is coming

• The stay-vs-go framework: when brand matters, when comp overrides it, and why short tenures are more common than most people think

• The one question that puts your manager in an impossible position

• How to navigate an underperforming direct manager

• Why acting before a restructure is announced gives you a head start

• How to build the relationships you'll need on a rainy day before you actually need them

• What happens when VP sponsorship and calibration approval still aren't enough to get promoted

• How to start fresh on a new team when you're leaving a dysfunctional one behind

• The five-point playbook for navigating office politics without getting swept into them

References:

• Claude: https://www.claude.ai

• Floodgate: https://www.floodgate.com

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com

• Meta: https://www.meta.com

• OpenAI: https://www.openai.com

Brought to you by

• Framer—Build websites with enterprise needs at startup speeds: https://framer.link/dFacxBQ

• Customer.io—The customer engagement platform for human messaging: http://customer.io/skip

Where to find Nikhyl

• Twitter/X

• LinkedIn

Where to find Carly:

• LinkedIn

• She Leads Podcast

• Twitter/X

Join The Skip

• Skip Coach

• Skip Community

Find The Skip

• Website

• Substack

• YouTube

• Spotify

• Apple Podcasts

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

03:18 Why organizational politics are so top of mind

04:59 “Everything’s changing, and no one’s telling me anything”

06:35 The two common reasons behind radio silence

12:41 Tough conversations shouldn’t be your first conversations

15:05 Why confrontation isn’t always the answer

17:35 Avoid putting your manager in a defensive position

22:12 Why role tenure is more malleable than you think

26:18 When a company reorg shifts you into a new role

29:55 How modern is your skillset?

33:57 How to identify whether burnout is worth it

40:03 Is the cost of your ambition future regret?

45:12 How to deal with an underperforming manager

55:23 Leaving a dysfunctional team for a new one

59:14 Drive impact first, talk long-term goals second

1:02:06 Why managers respond positively to specific goals

Don't forget to subscribe to The Skip to hear me coach you through timely career lessons. Access exclusive sessions from 100+ top product leaders at skip.coach. If you’re interested in joining me on a future call, send me a note on LinkedIn, Threads, or Twitter. You can also email me at [email protected]

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theskip.substack.com

Most of the conversation about rebuilding product management comes from two ends of the spectrum: AI-first startups with 30 people and no real installed base, or big tech with thousands of PMs and decades of process. This episode is about the third category: companies that went public in the last few years, have real customers and revenue to protect, and are now trying to move like startups again. The CPOs of Hims & Hers, Rubrik, and Figma joined me to discuss what that actually looks like. Several of their findings directly contradict the advice you'd get from either end of the spectrum.

Key topics

• Why going public doesn't mean replacing your PM team with "business people"

• Why AI makes PM workload explode, not shrink

• What happens when engineering is no longer the bottleneck

• The skill Figma values most at scale (and why speed is the wrong thing to optimize for)

• Whether the IPO date is a real line in the sand—and why Yuhki and Anneka land in different places

• Why AI adoption at post-IPO companies requires the CPO to go first

• How Anneka wrote her team's Claude Code onboarding guide, opened the GitHub repos, and built a triage agent between meetings

• Why Dheerja joined Hims & Hers as the "AI Queen"

• Dheerja’s three-part AI framework she’s executing on

• Why Yuhki hired AI veterans first—then immediately hired people with no AI background at all

• The case against take-homes (and Anneka's idea for what should replace them)

• What a blank canvas reveals about a PM candidate that no case study or behavioral question can

• Why every PM is about to become a manager of agents

• How to talk to your team when the stock is down and you haven't announced anything new

• Why Figma deprecated annual planning—and what Yuhki thinks will become core PM work within a year

Where to find Nikhyl

• Twitter/X

• LinkedIn

Where to find Anneka

• LinkedIn

Where to find Dheerja

• LinkedIn

Where to find Yuhki

• LinkedIn

Join The Skip

• Skip Coach

• Skip Community

Find The Skip

• Website

• Substack

• YouTube

• Spotify

• Apple Podcasts

Timestamps

(00:00) Anneka on leading from the top: visibly & vulnerably

(00:45) Intro: three CPOs, one inflection point

(05:53) How PM accountability shifts from startup to post-IPO

(07:24) The GM model: when PMs own P&L, not just product metrics

(10:54) Hiring systems thinkers over feature builders

(15:08) Where AI is actually moving the needle in enterprise B2B

(20:37) The three components of AI transformation

(24:13) How going public changes perception management at Figma

(27:00) Navigating stock drops and keeping teams focused

(30:30) Creating space for AI learning when the team is already maxed

(35:12) 3 steps to seeding AI teams

(40:03) How everyone is becoming a manager of agents

(44:34) Yuhki on resourcefulness and the blank canvas take-home

(47:40) Dheerja: go an hour deep on one real decision in the interview

(50:56) Why live pair Claude Code sessions is the future of PM interviews

(53:13) Predictions for 2026 and beyond

(55:34) Why it’s the best time in history to be a PM

Don't forget to subscribe to The Skip to hear me coach you through timely career lessons. Access exclusive sessions from 100+ top product leaders at skip.coach. If you’re interested in joining me on a future call, send me a note on LinkedIn, Threads, or Twitter. You can also email me at [email protected]

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theskip.substack.com

Most job search advice comes from people still in the thick of it—anxious, second-guessing, pattern-matching off too little data. This episode is different. We sat down with three product leaders who recently landed roles at Netflix, OpenAI, and Abridge, and did a full postmortem. What they shared upends a lot of conventional wisdom: the spray-and-pray pipeline doesn't work, your AI credentials matter less than you think, and the relationships that land jobs are often years in the making.

Key topics

• Why you need curiosity, not experience

• The "AI hungry" mindset: searching for environments that match your learning goals, not just your resume

• Why the best job search intelligence comes from people who just landed, not people still looking

• Why prototypes are now table stakes in take-homes

• How Janie built a shortlist of 5–10 companies in a week of 50–60 conversations

• Why Ben's Netflix role traces back to a cold application seven years ago

• What OpenAI's interview process actually looks like—and why it's less about the past than you expect

• Why most AI-native jobs aren't posted, and how to land them

• How to use investor attention as a proxy for company quality

• Why Ben's early interview mistake (not enough AI mindset) became the fuel for his take-home

Brought to you by

• Framer—Build websites with enterprise needs at startup speeds: https://framer.link/dFacxBQ

• Dust—The operating system for AI agents: https://dust.tt/skip

Where to find Nikhyl

• Twitter/X

• LinkedIn

Where to find Ben

• LinkedIn

Where to find Janie

• LinkedIn

Where to find Julia

• LinkedIn

Join The Skip

• Skip Coach

• Skip Community

Find The Skip

• Website

• Substack

• YouTube

• Spotify

• Apple Podcasts

Timestamps

(00:00) How to prove your AI credentials

(04:42) Introducing the three product leaders

(06:00) Ben Dreier: from DoorDash to Netflix, the "AI hungry" move

(08:18) Julia Roberts: nine years at Pinterest, six months off, then OpenAI

(12:46) Janie Lee: going all-in on AI native at Abridge

(15:26) How to build a shortlist: 50–60 conversations in a week

(18:10) Ben's process: VC signals and insider conversations over job boards

(21:45) Cold outreach that actually works

(23:51) Ben: how curiosity, not networking, built his network

(25:14) Julia's different path: cold applies, inbound, and exec recruiters

(27:06) What exec recruiters are actually useful for

(30:30) Ben's Netflix backstory — tracing back to a cold apply seven years ago

(34:06) Staying connected with recruiters, coworkers, and people who said no

(41:10) What the OpenAI interview process actually looks like

(44:55) Authentic storytelling

(46:40) The Netflix take-home: how mid-process feedback became a turning point

(51:40) Janie: how to ace take-homes by using AI

(57:52) Julia’s final takeaway: know what you want before you search

(59:03) Ben’s final takeaway: follow the fun and genuine curiosity

(59:56) Janie’s final takeaway: high agency, high effort, put yourself in their shoes

Don't forget to subscribe to The Skip to hear me coach you through timely career lessons. Access exclusive sessions from 100+ top product leaders at skip.coach. If you’re interested in joining me on a future call, send me a note on LinkedIn, Threads, or Twitter. You can also email me at [email protected]

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theskip.substack.com

It's promo season, and I've gotten roughly 1000 questions through nikhyl.ai—the pattern is unmistakable: people aren't just asking how to get promoted, they're asking whether the system is broken and whether they should quit over it. In this episode, we dissect five real questions from PMs who've been passed over. What becomes clear is the mistakes aren't in execution—they're in how people think about promotions in the first place. The tough reality is promotions are harder to get in this market. The question isn't whether you'll get promoted. It's how you respond when you don't.

Key topics

• Why promotions are harder now—and why that's not dysfunction

• The five-point framework for what to do when you don't get promoted

• The self-fulfilling prophecy that derails your career

• The one question that changes everything when you're passed over

• Why treating promotion as a game to win backfires

• The Peter Principle: why companies make you prove it before they promote you

• When "my career has flatlined" actually means you've hit the expected difficulty curve

• Why the skills that got you here won't get you there

• Why leadership might not be your destination—and that's okay

• The feedback gap: why your manager says you're great but leadership won't promote you

• Why leaving gas in the tank puts your career at risk

• Why you work for the company, not your manager

• What to do when your skip starts building a case against you

Brought to you by:

• Framer—Build websites with enterprise needs at startup speeds: https://framer.link/dFacxBQ

• Dust—The operating system for AI agents: https://dust.tt/skip

Where to find Nikhyl:

• Twitter/X

• LinkedIn

Where to find Carly:

• LinkedIn

• She Leads Podcast

• Twitter/X

Join The Skip:

• Skip Coach

• Skip Community

Find The Skip:

• Website

• Substack

• YouTube

• Spotify

• Apple Podcasts

Timestamps

(00:00) Why you're not being promoted

(03:42) Why promo season brings more angst than any other time of year

(04:57) Question 1: L5 at Google denied promotion twice—is this organizational dysfunction?

(06:22) Why assuming your company is broken becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy

(09:50) What to do when there's literally no next-level job in your location

(11:45) Question 2: Six years at my company, seven rounds of interviews—still passed over for Executive Director

(14:06) The Peter Principle: why companies make you demonstrate next-level skills first

(17:18) Why promotion as a game to win is dangerous thinking

(21:12) When you've hit the ceiling—and that might be okay

(24:41) What to avoid when being passed over

(26:48) Question 3: I'm on track for promotion but political meetings drain my energy

(27:57) When the next level isn't for you—finding companies where leadership looks different

(32:11) Question 4: Three years since my last promotion to PPM—has my career flatlined?

(32:58) Why the IC-to-leader skill gap takes years to close

(35:50) The soft skills problem: leadership presence can't be taught in a class

(36:56) Question 5: My skip is suddenly giving me feedback my manager never mentioned

(38:42) Why you should never leave gas in the tank

(43:30) You work for the company, not your manager—why that matters

(45:25) The five biggest mistakes to avoid when you don't get promoted

Don't forget to subscribe to The Skip to hear me coach you through timely career lessons. Access exclusive sessions from 100+ top product leaders at skip.coach. If you’re interested in joining me on a future call, send me a note on LinkedIn, Threads, or Twitter. You can also email me at [email protected]

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theskip.substack.com

The "join a hot company" narrative gets even more complicated once you enter the AI-native part of the market. In Part 3 of our PM Career Framework for AI series, we close out with the doors everyone's obsessing over: AI labs, hot AI startups, ex-growth companies, and founding.

We unpack what these companies actually look for (spoiler: it's not "AI experience"), why hands-on builders win over managers, how location and pace become make-or-break constraints, and how to think about risk and chaos when the upside is real.

If you're trying to figure out whether you should stay put in 2026, or make the leap into the AI frontier, this episode breaks down the tradeoffs.

Key topics

• What AI labs are really hiring for (and why "productized research" is the core skill)

• Why AI labs want radically hands-on PMs, not managers

• Why Big Tech experience can become "inside-the-building skills" that don't translate

• Which companies expect 9-9-6 culture, and the self-selection problem it creates

• Why some struggling-company VP roles are still worth taking

• When equity becomes a psychological trap (and when to cut losses)

• Why remote leadership roles are rapidly disappearing

• The founder litmus test: why it's an emotional decision, not a spreadsheet decision

• The upside of founding even when it fails: the career story compounding effect

Where to find other the parts of this series:

• Part 1: https://theskip.substack.com/p/the-pm-career-framework-for-ai-how

• Part 2: https://theskip.substack.com/p/the-pm-career-framework-for-ai-part

Where to find Nikhyl:

• Twitter/X

• LinkedIn

Where to find Carly:

• LinkedIn

• She Leads Podcast

• Twitter/X

Join The Skip:

• Skip Coach

• Skip Community

Find The Skip:

• Website

• Substack

• YouTube

• Spotify

• Apple Podcasts

Timestamps

(00:58) The “doors” framework: building a personal stack rank for AI

(04:57) The “productized research” skill: turning magic into product

(08:29) Why AI labs want hands-on builders, not managers

(15:00) Does AI domain expertise matter?

(19:14) Location constraints: The SF requirement for PM roles

(21:39) The Atlassian → OpenAI decision: Upending everything for the skip job

(30:16) Inside the high pace at AI Labs

(32:00) Hot AI Startups: the IC role that’s a step forward

(39:12) The 9-9-6 Reality: who's actually doing it

(41:59) The power years problem: Gender, biology, and self-selection

(46:13) The brand value of hot AI startups

(48:32) When equity becomes a psychological trap (and when to cut losses)

(54:12) Why some struggling-company VP roles are still worth taking

(58:53) Why remote leadership roles are declining

(63:10) The ex-growth equity risk: Why your compensation might never materialize

(65:24) Choosing between YC offer vs AI lab internship vs college

(73:41) The founder litmus test: why it's an emotional decision, not a spreadsheet decision

(80:24) When to join vs found

(82:31) Constraints + doors = your personalized career advice

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theskip.substack.com

The “join a hot company” career narrative is getting a lot of PMs into trouble. In Part 2 of our PM Career Framework for AI series, we get practical: how to pick the door that fits you — and spot when a prestigious logo is quietly costing you career momentum. We break down nearly 600 listener questions, then map the first set of doors, from Big Tech and public enterprise to the “quality middle” of elite private companies and recent IPOs.

Key topics

• The “doors” framework: building a personal stack rank

• Golden handcuffs: when staying in Big Tech is rational

• Why L7+ doesn’t translate to startups or AI labs

• The “step down” that’s actually a level up

• How to know if you’re a fit for AI-native companies

• Debunking the myth of “coasting” in Big Tech

• Why APM programs can be the fastest way to learn the craft

• The stay/leave test: can you produce a career story?

• Who is suited to public enterprise tech

• The “quality middle” sweet spot

What’s next (Part 3):

Next episode, we assess the doors everyone’s obsessing over: AI labs (OpenAI / Anthropic), hot AI startups, ex-growth mid-stage companies, and founding. We will also cover why the rules change dramatically once you move into the AI-native part of the market.

Where to find Nikhyl:

Twitter/X

LinkedIn

Where to find Carly:

LinkedIn

She Leads Podcast

Twitter/X

Join The Skip:

Skip Coach

Skip Community

Find The Skip:

Website

Substack

YouTube

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

Timestamps

(00:46) The “doors” framework: building a personal stack rank

(11:50) Golden handcuffs: when staying in Big Tech is rational

(17:12) Why promotion often doesn’t translate to your next job

(19:29) The “step down” that’s actually a level up: from learning to teaching

(22:55) How to upgrade your product intuition without quitting your job

(26:23) The Big Tech fit test: why some builders struggle (and some thrive)

(31:03) Early-career exception: why APM programs can accelerate you

(34:26) Career stories: opinion → ship → impact → learning (and how to collect them)

(39:17) Public enterprise tech: when stability + liquidity is the smart move

(42:30) The hard question: are you unlucky, or are you the problem?

(48:44) If your company is behind on AI: be the change agent or move on?

(53:49) The “quality middle” sweet spot: elite teams, near-liquidity, durable brands

(57:55) Domain expertise vs “chasing AI”: where you’ll have the most impact

(62:17) Builder vs fixer: choosing the work you’re actually signing up for

(65:03) Key takeaways + what’s coming in Part 3

Don't forget to subscribe to The Skip to hear me coach you through timely career lessons. If you’re interested in joining me on a future call, send me a note on LinkedIn, Threads, or Twitter. You can also email me at [email protected]

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theskip.substack.com

The old PM career playbook doesn’t work in the AI era. In this episode of The Skip, we lay out a new career framework for product managers, and it’s a lot more “choose your door” than “climb the ladder.” If you’re wondering whether to stay in big tech, jump to an AI startup, double down as a builder, or rethink your whole path, this one’s for you. We talk about why your hard-won product intuition is quietly becoming obsolete, why some ex-VPs are happily taking senior IC roles, and how to prepare for what’s coming next.

Key topics

• Why your product intuition is outdated — and how to “go back to school” without quitting your job

• Why company quality now matters more than your title, comp band, or level

• What elite AI companies are actually looking for in PMs

• The builder vs factory mindset: are you obsessed with the product, or with the machine that ships it?

• How to choose between Big Tech, hot AI startups, healthy growth companies, or founding

• A three-part reality check on constraints: compensation, location, and pace

• The truth about 9–9–6 and AI startups: when extreme pace is worth it, and when it’s just branding

• Why “coasting” in big tech is mostly a myth

• Remote vs hub tradeoffs: what you gain and lose by moving to SF or NYC

• Why this is Part 1 — and what we’ll go deeper on next in the PM Career Framework for AI series

Where to find Nikhyl:

• Twitter/X

• LinkedIn

Where to find Carly:

• LinkedIn

• She Leads Podcast

• Twitter/X

Join The Skip:

• Skip Coach

• Skip Community

Find The Skip:

• Website

• Substack

• YouTube

• Spotify

• Apple Podcasts

Timestamps

(00:53) Why the PM career framework needs to be rewritten for AI

(03:35) Why ex-VPs are happily taking senior IC roles

(06:07) Why your current product intuition is becoming obsolete

(11:46) Why AI-first companies only want hands-on PMs

(14:40) How to choose between Big Tech, AI startups, growth companies, or founding

(18:06) How to actually upgrade your product intuition on the job

(25:13) What’s really happening with PM compensation in 2025

(33:46) Why true AI startups are rarely remote-first

(42:42) What 9–9–6 culture at AI companies actually looks like

(50:52) The myth of work–life balance in growth environments

(55:40) The builder vs factory mindset

(60:29) Are you obsessed with the product or the factory that ships it?

(67:11) The key takeaway for PMs making career moves in 2025

Don't forget to subscribe to The Skip to hear me coach you through timely career lessons. If you’re interested in joining me on a future call, send me a note on LinkedIn, Threads, or Twitter. You can also email me at [email protected]

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theskip.substack.com

Career ladders aren't just changing—they're being demolished and rebuilt in real-time. In this emergency "weather report," Carly and I decode four career dilemmas that have completely flipped in the last six months. We explain why directors are taking IC roles (and thriving), why your Big Tech salary might be a golden trap, when to finally leave that stalled growth company, and why founding is suddenly on everyone's radar. If you're making any career move in 2025, your old playbook will hurt more than help.

The New Career Math:

• Why senior IC roles now trump management positions—and when stepping down is stepping up

• The Big Tech paradox: 3x market comp but career stagnation (what's your breaking point?)

• Ex-growth company reality: Why staying another month makes things worse

• The founding surge: Why 8x more product leaders are starting companies

What's Actually Happening:

• How AI and flat orgs killed the traditional ladder (and what replaced it)

• What elite companies want now: hands-on builders, not ivory tower managers

• The talent gravity effect: Why your coworkers matter more than your title

• The "elite middle" strategy: Which companies offer both growth and stability

Your Action Plan:

• How to evaluate if you're becoming obsolete (and what to do about it)

• The unnatural acts worth taking (hint: it involves a pay cut)

• Six-month forecast: Where the opportunities will be and who will win

Timestamps:

(03:45) The rise of Super ICs

(07:59) Why IC roles are considered premium

(18:56) “I work at Google: should I stay, or should I go?”

(27:05) How Nikhyl gives career advice to tech leaders

(31:12) What are startups hiring for?

(37:10) Why are more people leaving ex-growth companies?

(42:21) Advice for choosing the right company to join

(46:24) You need to work with great talent

(48:21) How to navigate the wealth of career options

(52:37) The career trap you need to avoid

(56:29) Should you found a company?

(59:09) Nikhyl’s forecast for the next six months

Where to find Nikhyl:

• Twitter/X

• LinkedIn

Where to find Carly:

• LinkedIn

• She Leads Podcast

• Twitter/X

Join The Skip:

• Skip Coach

• Skip Community

Find The Skip:

• Website

• Substack

• YouTube

• Spotify

• Apple Podcasts

Don't forget to subscribe to The Skip to hear me coach you through timely career lessons. If you’re interested in joining me on a future call, send me a note on LinkedIn, Threads, or Twitter. You can also email me at [email protected]

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theskip.substack.com