#21 - Breaking Into Product: Different Paths to PM
ft. Jireh Tan • 26 May 2026
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Do you need the perfect internship to break into product? Before becoming a Product Manager at Shopee, Jireh built experience across HR, operations, and management roles that didn’t seem directly related to PM at first. In this episode, we explore transferable skills, early career uncertainty, and how students can break into product without following a traditional path.
Short on time? This blog recap distils the key parts of his journey and the product lessons that aspiring PMs can take away!
Timestamps
00:35 Background of Jireh
01:26 Working Culture at Shopee
03:04 Jireh’s Career Journey
07:08 Valuable transferrable skills from past experiences
09:37 Challenges faced transitioning into PM
10:28 Job scope as a PM at Shopee
12:55 Myths of breaking into PM
15:17 Challenges faced as a PM at Shopee
20:23: Mini-game: Tiebreakers
26:27 Advice for aspiring PMs
Highlights
Highlights
Catch the key moments from this episode below!
About the Guest
About the Guest
Jireh Tan
Jireh Tan
Jireh is currently a Product Manager at Shopee, where he focuses on building workflow solutions and improving operational efficiency across large-scale business functions. Before landing in product, he built experience across procurement, supply chain, operations, and HR roles — experiences that sharpened his ability to identify inefficiencies and solve complex operational problems.
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