What Does a Product Manager Intern Do?

What does a product manager intern do? That’s the burning question among many college students who are interested in this career path.

It doesn’t matter if you’re seeking a product manager internship at a well-known company like Google or a smaller outfit, it’s critical to understand the responsibilities and whether they align with your career goals.

Before we go any further, keep this in mind: product manager internship job listings are few and far between. That’s because these positions are typically advertised as “associate product managers.”

For example, Google’s Associate Product Manager Program is “focused on building Google’s next generation of product leaders.” 

As a rotational program ​​taking place over 1.5 years, it’s designed for new or recent graduates who are interested in exploring the PM career path while receiving professional support within a well-defined mentorship structure. 

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s answer the question: what does a product manager intern do?

Product Manager Intern Roles and Responsibilities

There was a time when interns did nothing more than “grunt work.” Fortunately, those days have come and gone, with these roles becoming extremely valuable.

Not only is an internship a great way for you to learn, but it also brings value to the company you’re working for. It’s a true win-win.

With that in mind, let’s review some of the most common product manager intern roles and responsibilities.

1. Strategy Support

Product manager interns and associate PMs don’t make high-level decisions in regards to roadmap development, but they do contribute to the execution of the defined strategy.

You may find yourself providing support such as:

• Conducting research that’s needed to create a product roadmap, set a price point, and settle on distribution channels. 
• Gathering feedback from current and former customers to improve products.
• Market research to identify new product opportunities. 
• Data gathering. 

The day will come when you have the opportunity to personally develop and carry out a strategy from start to finish. But as an intern or APM, strategy support is where you’re needed the most. 

2. Conduct Tests and Track Results

As noted above, a big part of your internship is observing, recommending, and supporting. Conducting tests and tracking results will also be high on your priority list, as all these responsibilities work together to make for a more efficient process. 

You can suggest tests and experiments that you come up with on your own, while also tackling those that you’re asked to carry out. Either way, these tests and subsequent results can be helpful on many levels. 

In addition to tracking results and collecting data, there’s one last thing you will do: review the results so you can suggest changes and recommendations. 

3. Regular Collaboration

A PM internship isn’t one in which you’ll work alone. Regular collaboration with product designers, researchers, product owners, engineers, and marketing professionals is a must. 

There are many benefits of regular collaboration, including but not limited to:

• The ability to offer and provide support to full-time employees across multiple departments, such as product design.
• The opportunity to learn how products come to life behind the scenes. 
• The chance to share your feedback and thoughts, such as on new features.
• The opportunity to meet with stakeholders to understand their needs and incorporate them into the product.

Collaboration is how you learn. Collaboration is how you bring value to an organization. And most importantly, it’s one of the best ways to show that you’re fit for a full-time position after graduation.

You May be Asked to do More

As you review product manager internship opportunities, pay close attention to the responsibilities that are outlined in the job posting. You may find that they go well beyond what we shared above.

For example, here’s an excerpt for an Amazon product manager intern position:

Product Management Interns are responsible for helping to support partnerships with merchants, on a scalable way, to integrate their product portfolio into Amazon Brazil website. You will collaborate on prospecting, assessing, recruiting and integrating potential merchants to Amazon.com.br. This includes analyze business drivers such as selection growth and pricing as well as build and maintain dashboards, reports and other important processes. This role provides a real opportunity to develop original ideas, approaches, and solutions in a competitive and ever-changing business climate.

There’s a lot to digest here, so we’ll pull out some of the key points regarding roles and responsibilities:

• You will assist with recruiting and integrating potential merchants.
• You will analyze business drivers.
• You have the opportunity to develop original ideas for one of the world’s most well-known brands.

In other words, you’re not pushing paper in exchange for internship credits. You’re learning on the job, connecting with like-minded individuals, and putting yourself on the fast track to becoming a full-time product manager in the future. 

How to Become a Product Manager Intern

As an aspiring product manager, an internship is the best way to put yourself on the right path to a successful career in your desired field. 

Finding a PM internship is easier today than ever before. There are three basic ways to do so:

• Consult with your school’s career development department.
• Search online job boards.
• Search for openings on specific company websites: as noted above, you may have more success searching for associate product manager openings. 

Start with a general list of PM internship openings that pique your interest. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket, as there’s a lot of competition for these positions.

From there, it’s time to prepare for your pending interviews. The best approach is to review product manager interview questions and potential answers. This will prepare you for anything that comes your way, thus improving the likelihood of landing the position. 

Final Thoughts

Now that you’ve answered the question of “what does a product manager intern do,” you can turn your attention to securing a role.

In addition to reviewing common PM intern interview questions, you can also turn to PM Exercises to conduct mock interviews with other people in your position. And don’t forget to stop by our office hours to discuss anything related to product manager interviews with experienced PMs.

Good luck with your search for the perfect product manager internship position!