At Singular, one of the things that we really appreciate as part of our company culture is knowledge-sharing. In this article, we put the spotlight on Ana Jovanova, our Product Manager, who started teaching Product Management at Brainster, a local academy center. We asked her a couple of questions about her experience and we’re sharing them below with you. Maybe they will inspire you enroll in her course and become a Product Manager! 😊

Tell us a bit about your beginnings in product management. What made you fall in love with this field so much that you decided to make a career out of it?

Product Management is a domain which requires a combination of business acumen, technical expertise, as well as strong communication and collaboration skills. The role of a Product Manager can be both challenging and rewarding, as it involves navigating complex business and technical landscapes while working to create solutions that meet customer needs and drive business success.

Diving into Product Management happened for me quite spontaneously, as part of a given Product Development Team at the time, providing me with an opportunity to work at the intersection of technology, design and business, exploiting the above mentioned to the fullest.

What do you enjoy the most about working in product management at Singular?

The opportunity of synergetic collaboration with cross-functional teams, consisted of great professionals, all of us jointly developing the story of our in-house Singular Platform Product.

A while ago, you started working as an instructor at Brainster’s Academy for project & product development. What inspired you to take over this role?

This Product Manager instructor position reached me as an opportunity offered by the Brainster Academy, spotting my professional profile on LinkedIn. I didn’t hesitate even for a minute whether to accept it, considering mentorship and teaching as quite a fulfilling and rewarding experience. Even now, once already actively covering the position, I can just more confidently confirm that.

I cannot express enough the pleasure and joy of the opportunity for unreservedly sharing my expertise and my most personal experience with the students, receiving their valuable feedback and appreciation in regards, which is the absolutely priceless and most meaningful reward for me as their instructor.

What does it take to build a successful career in your area of expertise, and how does your teaching contribute to this?

Building a successful career in Product Management requires mastering diverse set of:

• Skills (communication/negotiation/critical/analytical and strategic thinking/prioritization/ presentation/leadership/empathy),
• Competences (business/technology/user experience/management/…), knowledge across multiple disciplines (business domain/methodologies/tools/…)
• Experience

I perceive this teaching experience of mine as part of the most important segment which comes on top of all of the above – the continuous improvement one. Professionally, it helps develop and deepen my skills, staying up-to-date with the latest trends, methodologies, technologies, tools, industry developments, ensuring that my knowledge remains relevant and useful. Personally, it results in valuable networking with other professionals in the industry, providing invaluable sense of purpose and fulfillment, helping others to learn and grow.

What is one thing you’ve gained or learned while working as a Product Manager at Singular that you want to share as advice to future product managers?

It is a challenge to choose one thing among the palette of take outs and experiences accumulated while working as Product Manager in Singular; there are plenty, each of them equally important and beneficial for this type of profile.

I would advise it carefully sublimed as user-centric approach applied, based on active listening and empathizing with the clients, as essential for understanding their needs, pain points, understanding their perspective and underlying motivations, combined with a deep understanding of the market landscape in which they operate, thus ensuring preserving competence in a rapidly evolving market.

Ana, we’re so proud of you for starting this new professional chapter! Without any doubt, we know that your students are very lucky to have you as an instructor. If you want to join the Ana’s team and work on award-winning software among the coolest of teammates, then check out our Career page.

At Singular, we are always looking for the top talent that’s willing to grow and contribute to our products with innovative ideas, a challenging mindset, and eagerness to become outstanding in what they do.