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Filling the Gap: How Interim Product Management Helped Me Grow Between Roles
Career transitions often create gaps between roles that can slow momentum. Rather than seeing these as downtime, I’ve used interim product management assignments to sharpen my skills, gain fresh experience, and stay ahead in a fast-changing field, exploring a wide range of new technologies and trends, with generative AI featuring prominently in my learning.
Making the Most of Transition Periods
After completing full-time roles, I took interim product management positions to fill gaps. These short-term assignments allowed me to tackle new challenges and collaborate with diverse teams without long-term commitments. I focused on broadening my expertise, learning new tools, refining user experience, integrating advanced AIs, and staying current with the latest technologies shaping product innovation.
During this period, I delivered some of my most rewarding achievements. I successfully simplified complex processes that had previously frustrated users and stakeholders, and introduced automation that dramatically reduced manual effort and error. These improvements not only delivered measurable business results, like faster turnaround times and improved accuracy, but also brought a real sense of relief and satisfaction to clients and teams. Seeing the immediate impact of these changes was both motivating for me and energizing for everyone involved.
Continuous Learning in Action
Interim roles come with tight deadlines, accelerating my ability to solve complex problems quickly. Each project kept me connected to emerging trends across the product landscape. Among these, generative AI and large language models (LLMs) stood out as transformative technologies, and I dedicated significant effort to understanding how they can enhance product strategy, automate workflows, and unlock new user value. This hands-on experience reinforced my conviction that product management demands continuous curiosity and adaptation across all relevant technologies - not just AI.
Why Interim Work Matters
Filling gaps with interim work isn’t just about staying busy, it’s about staying relevant. In today’s rapidly evolving environment, mastering a broad spectrum of tools and trends, including but not limited to generative AI, is essential for driving innovation and maintaining a competitive edge. Interim roles gave me the space to build these critical skills, expand my network, and prepare for my next full-time challenge.
Looking Ahead
After this period of focused growth and exploration, I’m now actively seeking my next permanent product leadership role. I’m eager to bring the diverse skills and insights gained during my interim assignments into a full-time position focused on sustained impact and innovation.
Final Thoughts
The time between jobs doesn’t have to be a pause. Interim product management has been a rewarding way to bridge gaps, deepen my expertise, and stay at the forefront of product innovation. If you’re between roles, use that time to learn, lead, and grow, embracing all relevant technologies and trends shaping the future of product management.