Navigating Product Growth: Interviewing and hiring your first Head of Product

As your company's product offerings evolve and diversify, a Head of Product role becomes increasingly vital. A Head of Product is responsible for steering product development, aligning it with market demands, and driving innovation.

However, early Product hires can often fail if they aren’t brought in at the right time or align closely with the goals of the company.

So, questions arise like: When is the right time to bring in a Head of Product, and what skills should this hire possess? In this post, we'll share our advice on key indicators that signal the need for this hire, as well as timing and interview advice.

1. First of all, make sure you really need a Head of Product.

 Some indicators that you may need to hire a Head of Product include:

 If you have an expanding product portfolio. If your company is on a trajectory of expanding its product portfolio, like adding new features or product lines entirely - a Head of Product can provide the leadership needed. This professional can oversee product managers, align strategies, and ensure each product meets market expectations while contributing to the company's overarching goals.

 Your CEO or Founder needs to focus on other areas of the business. In early-stage companies, especially startups – it’s common for the CEO orFounder to take on a highly product-centric role in the beginning. After all – that’s likely how the company was started, out of need for a product in the marketplace. But after a while, your CEO may need to focus on other areas of the business more closely – like operations, hiring, or fundraising, and leave the day-to-day product operations up to a Head of Product.

You need someone with a specialized skill set. Perhaps you discover that your product has become much more financial in nature or requires someone with an extensive hardware background. A Head of Product can drive innovation by providing specialized skills in these areas, encouraging ideation, and guiding the development of groundbreaking solutions that differentiate your company.

2. Time hiring your Head of Product with other staffing needs. 

Let’s say you know that you’ll need more product management hires within the next 9-12 months – and need someone to manage them.

As your company grows, it's vital to nurture leadership talent within your organization. A Head of Product can mentor and develop product managers, fostering a strong leadership pipeline that will contribute to the company's long-term success.

If you have upcoming product launches, or plan to invest in your product significantly over the next several months – having a Head of Product already in place well before this timeline can help greatly.

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3. Consider market expansion plans when interviewing.

As your organization matures and expands into new markets or regions, it's important to have a dedicated leader who can focus on the bigger picture of your product strategy. A Head of Product needs to work closely with executive leadership to align product efforts with business objectives, driving revenue growth and sustainable success.

Think about what markets you want to enter, or what type of customers you want to sell to. Does your candidate have experience unlocking these markets or customers?

4. Look for candidates with vision, but who also have the flexibility to pivot.  

This one can be difficult. You want people who are passionate about their vision and want to lead, but who aren’t so stubborn that they resist changes, and the natural pivots that come with a business. Heads ofProduct need to have a comprehensive plan that lasts months, or sometimes even years to bring their products fully to life. But will they react well if the business model changes, funding cuts happen, or you find out that you don’t have the right product-market fit?  

5. Ask candidates a lot of questions about how they work with customers and interpret customer feedback.

 Any Head of Product will need to have an innate understanding of how to collect customer feedback, what to listen for, and what to do based on it. But like #4 – you also need to make sure that your Head of Product isn’t adjusting product features or plans based on the feedback of a few customers. It’s important to stick with plans for a while.

For other Product Manager interview questions, check out our post on 25 common interview questions, or our post on types of Product Management to learn more about other roles.