I've observed hiring managers and recruiters often get super excited when they see a big brand on a product CV – Google, Microsoft, Apple, etc. But I just don’t share that excitement. In fact, all else being equal, a big-name product background is often more of a red (or beige) flag than a green one.

Why?

In my experience, some of the "strongest" CVs can be tied to the weakest PMs. For instance, I once saw a candidate with just one employer over 10 years, working their way up from an operational role. In my view, they outperformed someone with both big tech and startup logos on their CV. Similarly a data analyst-turned PM working at two relatively unknown companies outperformed a 3-name big tech CV. After reflecting on this pattern, I’ve boiled it down to a few key reasons (with the caveat that these are, of course, very broad generalisations):

Owning a Small Part of a Big Beast

People from huge companies often work on a very small slice of a much larger picture, meaning their skill set is usually deep but narrow. For example, they might own the authentication feature in an app, rather than handling all of identity management. Don’t get me wrong; there’s nothing inherently bad about being highly specialised. But when a PM is responsible for a broad area, they often need to prioritise ruthlessly and see the bigger picture to drive impact. If someone has been hyper-focused in one area, it can sometimes be challenging for them to step back and focus on the bigger priorities over the latest innovations in their niche. Of course, there are exceptions – like if they led a strategically crucial area or held a senior position with a wider scope.

Limited Exposure Across the Product Lifecycle

In big tech, many areas are already “mature” – they have a clear market, established demand, and often, the product’s just incrementally evolving to maintain profit (again, generalising here). Incremental improvement is valuable, but it’s a different skill set compared to:

- Building an MVP from scratch (0-1 products)

- Finding product-market fit

- Scaling up

- Driving growth

Each of these stages offers lessons and mindsets that I think every PM should experience, so they have the versatility to draw on different skills depending on the context.

Attitude and Expectations

I’ve also found that some candidates from large organizations have higher expectations of what a business should offer – like generous benefits, competitive pay, big budgets for tooling, social events, clear processes, and policies. Nothing wrong with that, but in a smaller or scrappier environment, flexibility and resourcefulness are key. Further, I’ve observed that PMs without a big name CV feel like they have more to prove and are often demonstrate more humility, a key characteristic of successful PMs.

So, How Do You Separate the Trees from the Forest on a Product CV?

Here’s some of the things I try to look for in product CVs: 

- Skills callouts backed by examples: Research, strategic thinking, communication, data-driven decision-making, collaboration with engineers and designers, and creativity. These might come from a product role or even outside of it. One CV I loved was from an electrician who became a self-taught software engineer. They had solid examples of all these skills in previous jobs

- Outcomes achieved: Centering experience around the impact they drove is, of course, crucial.

- A hint of personality: Are they good to work with? Are they humble? This could come through in a blurb, hobbies, tone of voice, or design

- Good academic performance: It can show discipline and commitment

So, is a big-name CV a hard “no” for me? Of course not. But I’d need to see more evidence that they can adapt and bring a broad, balanced skill set to the table.