The Experience Trap: Why Product Management Skills Travel Better Than You Think

Coming back to banking after nearly three years in tech felt like switching from an iPhone 15 to a BlackBerry. Everything was slower, clunkier and more rigid. Naturally I felt uncomfortable and started looking for roles.

But what really threw me wasn’t AI in hiring. Not the candidates using ChatGPT to write CVs or recruiters scanning them with automated tools. What stood out was the sudden obsession with industry experience. Every product role wanted someone who had already done the same thing in the same sector with the same users.

And I couldn’t help but think — since when did product thinking become so narrow?

In a world where everyone is writing about AI, I want to talk about something else. Maybe it’s not product market fit as a topic. But it’s important. Especially now as so many product managers look for roles and start to wonder if their experience still counts.

Because honestly my best ideas haven’t come from staying in one place. They’ve come from working across industries.

“We’re told to think outside the box. But how can you do that if you’ve only ever stayed in one?”

Rashad Mahmood, Principle Product Manager @ ICBC Standard Bank

The Myth of “Industry Fit”

There’s this belief that to be a good product manager you need to have done it before. Same industry. Same users. Same problems. That’s never been true for me.

In fact I didn’t even start in product.

When I helped build an AI platform for non-technical users I leaned heavily on things I’d learned years earlier at Deutsche Bank. I worked under one of the best product designers I’ve ever met. Back then I didn’t even understand what a product designer was.

At Tesco we launched a simulation tool. No one on the team, including me, had simulation experience. If we had waited for someone with the right background we’d still be waiting.

We’re told to think outside the box. But how can you do that if you’ve only ever stayed in one?

My Journey: A Bit of Everything

Call Centre Beginnings

I started in a call centre. One day we switched from a clunky Tetris-style system to a new UI. I wasn’t in tech yet but testing the new system was one of the most exciting parts of the job. I loved being part of change even from the business side.

Banking and Financial Crime

Then I moved into banking. I was a cashier, a relationship manager, then into KYC. Eventually I worked in change across treasury, capital markets regulation and anti-financial crime. I learned to work with large data sets, different delivery approaches and a wide mix of stakeholders. It was intense but it taught me how to think in systems.

SaaS and APIs

At Global Relay I worked on communications surveillance and archiving. I got deep into APIs, oAuth and B2B compliance. I had no idea what an API was when I joined. But my manager shared a few YouTube videos and I learned the rest by listening to engineers and building alongside them.

Tesco and Data at Scale

Then came Tesco. I managed one of their biggest HR data products — more than a million records used by over 100 internal and external teams. It was all about privacy, governance and scale. I also worked on an AI platform that let teams simulate changes before rolling them out. That’s when I learned Rolls Royce used to test jet engines by firing frozen chickens at them.

Back to Banking

I went back to banking. And almost immediately I knew this wasn’t for me anymore. The pace, the mindset, the way decisions moved — it didn’t fit. I started seeing job specs filled with words like B2B, B2C, 0 to 1. I’d done all of them. We just didn’t call them that.

Ten years ago a lot of product managers were still called business analysts. Some might argue they still are.

Charity and Community

I joined an educational charity as a digital product manager. I had zero charity sector experience. But within three months we launched two portals and an app. Why? Because product thinking travels.

Building My Own

I wanted more exposure so I started building my own products. One failed — I learned a lot. One is in the pipeline. I even came across a post on LinkedIn looking for help with an MVP for a values-led city pass. I put my hand up. I got involved. Helped define product-market fit and shaped the MVP in a way that allowed fast learning and iteration.

Across all of these roles I’ve worked with people across the UK, US, India, Germany, Poland, Romania, Canada, Singapore, China, Hong Kong and Australia. So not just cross-industry experience — cross-continent too. Maybe the only time my international business degree actually lined up with real life.

What Transferable Skills Can You Use Across Industries?

If you’ve ever switched industries as a PM you’ll know the job changes on the surface but the core skills stay the same. These are the ones that have carried me across banking, retail, SaaS, AI and the charity sector:

• Asking good questions: digging past the noise to find the real problem
• Empathy: understanding users and stakeholders even when their worlds are nothing like yours
• Seeing systems: knowing how pieces connect and where things break
• Clear communication: aligning people who don’t speak the same language
• Learning fast: whether it’s APIs, compliance rules or call centre workflows
• Navigating ambiguity: because even in structured industries the right path is rarely obvious
• Working with data: not being a data scientist but knowing how to use data to guide decisions
• Thinking in outcomes: staying focused on what actually matters to the user and business

These are skills that go with you no matter where you land. And often they get sharper when you’re forced to apply them in new settings.

What About Localisation?

Another point I hear often is that product managers need to understand the local market to succeed. And to be clear I agree. The Riyadh market is different from Dubai. London is different from Singapore. Culture, expectations, regulation and user behaviour all shape what works and what doesn’t.

But here’s the thing. That understanding comes with proximity. It comes from working in that context, asking the right questions and embedding yourself in the environment. That’s part of the job.

So yes, local knowledge matters. But it’s not exclusive to people who were born in a market or have ten years of experience in it. Great PMs know how to learn fast, observe patterns and work closely with local users and teams to build what actually fits.

So my point still stands. Product management is transferable. Across industries, across markets, across contexts. You might start on the outside but you won’t stay there for long.

But Let’s Be Real - Context Still Matters

I’m not saying domain expertise doesn’t matter. In some roles, especially where regulation, trust or cultural nuance is critical, it absolutely does. Some markets operate with dynamics that take time to understand and mistakes can be costly.

But I’ve hired for product roles. I’ve worked with incredible PMs across markets and industries. And some of the best ones came from completely different domains. They asked the questions I stopped asking. They made connections I didn’t see. They challenged assumptions I’d gotten too comfortable with.

They helped me become a better PM.

So yes, local knowledge and domain experience matter — in the right context. But they don’t have to be a barrier. A strong product mindset, paired with curiosity and a willingness to dig in, can go a long way. Sometimes further than familiarity.

Product management isn’t just transferable across industries. It’s enriched by that movement.

A Perspective Worth Sharing

This isn’t a rant about hiring. It’s a reminder. For anyone in product or trying to get into it that your skills are probably more portable than you think.

I’ve worked in banking, SaaS, retail, AI and the charity sector. I’ve built B2B, B2C and 0 to 1 products. I’ve coached PMs, launched tech festivals and built my own apps.

And I’ve done it by focusing on the user, the problem and the outcome — not the industry.

So if you’re wondering whether your experience fits here’s what I’ve learned:

It probably does.

You don’t need to stay in one box to build great products.

In fact it might be better if you don’t.