According to a recent article, the Product Manager is the fourth most valuable corporate job. Unfortunately, there is little agreement on what a person in that position is responsible for, what skills they need, and how they should be evaluated. Given that uncertainty, it’s no surprise that the career path for a Product Manager also lacks clarity and consistency.

We have assembled a panel of Product Management veterans to explore how one can enter the profession, what it takes to be successful and advance, and to what types of senior positions a seasoned Product Manager can aspire. There will be significant interaction with the audience to make sure your specific career questions will be addressed.

Panelists:

Susannah Axelrod, Director of Product Management at Puppet Labs, Inc.

Susannah has over 15 years of Product Management experience from Intel, Intuit, Sage Software, and Thomson Reuters. She is known for combining the voice of the customer, competitive and market research into real, actionable roadmaps and strategies. Susannah has an MBA from the Wharton School.

Pamela Jones, Principal at Jones Partners Executive Search Firm

For more than 20 years, Pamela's firm has recruited board members, C-level executive team members across all functions, and critical contributors to execute on projected growth plans of start-up, emerging, and transitioning technology (high tech, healthcare, and agriculture) companies nationwide. She has served on the boards of Oregon Public Broadcasting, Oregon Entrepreneurs Network, Technology Association of Oregon, and other community organizations.

Olaf Kowalik, Director of Product Management at Janrain

Previously, Olaf was Vice-President of Product Management & Development at Waggener Edstrom, and previously held management positions at Point B, RealNetworks, and Ernst & Young. In April, Olaf led a popular session at ProductCamp PDX titled, “Product Management Interviews: Asking the Right Questions and Giving Great Answers.”

Matthew Lange, Senior Director, Product Management at Northwest Evaluation Association

Matthew has over 27 years of experience in the software industry while working in the Aerospace, Construction and Education markets. Matthew’s Product Management experience spans over 15 years, including both C-level and leadership-level management roles.

The Product Development and Management Association (PDMA) is the premier global advocate for product development and management professionals. The Oregon chapter's mission is to help local professionals and organizations to identify, develop, and launch more innovative and profitable products and services through cross-industry collaboration, thought leadership, and the sharing of best practices and practical knowledge. For more information about the Oregon Chapter of the PDMA, please contact: David Nash, Chapter President, at [email protected].

We encourage everyone in Oregon who is interested in the Product Development Manager's Association to become a member of the National PDMA. For a great explanation on the benefits of membership in the PDMA, click here.

PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE IN VENUE TO LUCKY LAB MULTNOMAH

Schedule:

6:00 – 6:30pm: Gathering / Networking / Refreshments**

6:30 – 6:45pm: Announcements (upcoming events, who’s hiring, etc.)

6:45 – 7:30pm: Panel Discussion

7:30 – 7:45pm: Q&A / Open discussion

7:45 – 8:00pm: Networking

Cost:

$10 on-line registration prior to the event **

$15 at the door

A discount is available for PDMA members.

To register online, click the website link above.

** Note: This is a no-host event. The complete Lucky Lab food and drink menu is available. Grab a cold ale & bite to eat - and bring a friend or colleague to add to the discussion.

"Will they really hire me??" This is far and away the most common question we get from career-changers considering jumping feet first into immersive training with Code Fellows. Our answer is, "YES," but don't take it from us: Come hear from PDX tech hiring managers and their code school-trained developers! Find out what they were looking for and why they hired these code school grads.

CollegeNET Inc.: Ron Floyd, Web Developer // Tyler Roy-Hart Production Manager & Lead Developer

Nike: Laura Kuhner, Web Developer // Katie Boyd, Web Developer

The Urban League of Portland's career fair is a wonderful opportunity for job seekers and career changers to meet face to face with recruiters from over 70 of the area’s best employers. This event only happens once a year, so mark your calendars and don’t miss out!
• Recruiters from federal, state, county, and city government will be there looking for great people like you.
• Connect with recruiters from nonprofits focused on: the arts, education, healthcare, the environment, and social justice.
• Ask recruiters about IT jobs at their organizations.

Employers recruiting at this year's career fair will include:
* Bonneville Power Administration
* Bureau of Labor and Industry
* Bureau of Land Management
* Cambia Health Solutions
* Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare
* Central City Concern
* Charter Communications
* City of Beaverton
* City of Gresham
* Clark College
* Clark County
* Comcast
* Country Financial
* Federal Bureau of Investigation
* iHeartMEDIA
* Kaiser Permanente NW
* Lane County Government
* Legacy Health
* Lewis & Clark College
* Metro
* Multnomah County
* NW Natural
* Oregon Department of Energy
* Oregon Department of Transportation
* Oregon Health Science University
* Oregon State Lottery
* Oregon Youth Authority
* Port of Portland
* Portland Community College
* Portland General Electric
* Portland Public Schools
* Portland Trail Blazers at the Rose Quarter
* Portland Water Bureau
* Providence Health & Services
* Reed College
* State of Oregon – Department of Consumer and Business Services
* Travelers Insurance
* TriMet
* U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
* US Bank
* US Forest Service
* Vigor Industrial
* Warn Industries
* Washington County
* Xerox

Come mix and mingle with Portland's tech community at this casual networking event! LaunchCode Apprentice candidates and students will display and discuss their projects and their career paths.

Employers, this is a great chance to meet some gritty, smart, and determined future team members.

Appetizers and beverages will be provided. Bring your business cards — some lucky attendees will win some sweet LC swag!

Advance Auto Parts is hosting an open house hiring event for Full Time Distribution Center Associates for our warehouse in Portland, OR. We're seeking energetic members to be the backbone of Advance Auto Parts as you work to make sure that thousands of parts and tools are in the right place at the right time - ensuring our customers always have what they need. You are why the business works.

Join us on Wednesday, September 13th or Thursday, September 14th to learn more about and apply for this career opportunity, interview with hiring managers, and receive a tour of the facility during this can't-miss open house!

--Date/Time Option 1: Wednesday, September 13th 9am - 12pm --Date/Time Option 2: Thursday, September 14th 1pm - 5pm --Location: Advance Auto Parts/Carquest Distribution Center, 14819 N Lombard St., Portland, OR 97203 --Register/Event Details: https://portlandaapevent.eventbrite.com

To register for this event or to connect with a member of the Advance Auto Parts Recruitment Team: --Email: [email protected] --Call or text: (503) 205-0709 --Pre-register for the event: https://portlandaapevent.eventbrite.com

The end of August means that Fall is around the corner. Are you switching careers this season? Are you looking to get into the tech industry for the first time? This month, pdxFLIT is taking a break from presentations to host a special workshop about professional development! We'll be partnering with our friends from Intel to provide a two-hour event featuring a variety of activities. There will be opportunities to turn strengths into interview stories, participate in resume reviews, practice elevator pitches, and practice answering tricky behavioral interview questions. If you're searching for a job, take a night off to work on these valuable skills!

Workshop events will begin at 6 PM. Our event facilitators will cover introductions and elevator pitches, resumés, authentic interviewing, the STAR method, and more! There will be a variety of activities to help you practice these skills so that you can put your best foot forward when you land an interview at your dream company. If you have any questions about various aspects of this event, please contact Masen or Katie via Meetup, Twitter, email, or Slack.

This event will be fully catered thanks to our awesome sponsors at Thinkful. Pizza will be served and there will be vegan and gluten-free options available. Thinkful is an online coding bootcamp that is helping the next generation of software developers transition into the tech industry. They host a variety of events in Portland and are always accepting new students. If you're interested in learning more, be sure to check out their site at https://www.thinkful.com/.

Are you interested in speaking at a future pdxFLIT event? We're always looking for speakers - no experience is necessary! If you're interested in giving a talk, please contact Katie at [email protected].

We kindly ask that you abide by our Code of Conduct and Puppet's Code of Conduct when attending this event. They can be found at the following destinations:

Puppet: https://puppet.com/community/community-guidelines#event-code-of-conduct

pdxFLIT: https://www.meetup.com/pdxFLIT-Portland-Future-Leaders-In-Tech/photos/28737494/471776346/

Breaching the Cyber Security Job Industry

Despite the growing popularity of the cyber security industry, many job hunters still find it challenging to break into the field. With numerous entry-level cyber security jobs requiring one, two, or sometimes even three years of security-related experience, how are inexperienced applicants supposed to get their foot in the door?

This talk will discuss some of the challenges that potential employees face while looking for careers in the cyber security industry. It will explore potential career paths for new high school and college graduates, mid-career employees with a technical background, as well as mid-career employees with no technical background. The discussion will also focus on ways to help position yourself for success in the industry, touching on security internships, university diplomas, industry certificates, Portland-based security meetings, and self-study resources.

Ryan Krause is a penetration tester based in the Portland, Oregon area. He has worked in various areas of the security field for the past 11 years for companies such as HP, eEye Digital Security/BeyondTrust, and Comcast with a primary focus on application security and development. He is currently a consultant at NetSPI where he performs web and network penetration tests and assists clients with reducing their overall security exposure.

Following up Ryan Krause's talk on breaking into the cybersecurity industry, May's chapter meeting hosted by Zapproved will offer attendees an opportunity to hear from hiring managers and InfoSec/AppSec leaders on what they look for in hiring for their roles and thoughts on career progression. Attendees will have ample opportunity to ask questions and engage our panel.

Panel:

Zefren Edior - Umpqua Bank

Zefren currently works at Umpqua Bank, and he is the Information Security Assurance Lead. He has 10 plus years of experience in IT operations, information security, risk management, compliance and audit. He mentors and advises students, who have worked at public accounting firms, big tech companies, and startups. He is passionate about technology, cybersecurity, and helping people align their knowledge, skills, and abilities to achieve personal and professional growth.

Patterson Cake - Haven Information Security / PeaceHealth

Patterson has been in information technology for over 20 years, focusing on security for the past several years in offensive, defensive and leadership roles. He is the founder of Haven Information Security, an instructor for SANS, and the Principal Cybersecurity Engineer for PeaceHealth.

Josha Bronson - Bronsec

Josha is a founder at bronsec, working with clients big and small on all aspects of security. Former security team founder at yammer.

Sam Harwin - Salesforce

Sam leads a technical team of security engineers that assess a wide variety of Enterprise facing infrastructure for the organization. They focus on performing technical security testing, risk assessments, and providing business risk guidance on a wide variety of infrastructure technologies such as operating systems (Mac, Linux, Windows, iOS, Android), devices (mobile, embedded technologies, IOT), networks (wired, wireless, cloud), and applications (endpoint, mobile, public cloud).

Philip Jenkins - Zapproved

Philip is director of compliance and IT at Zapproved. He has over 20 years’ experience in IT security, network management, system engineering, and IT processes. His past experience includes Director of Security at Jama Software and CISO at Strands Finance. Philip holds his CISSP and CISM certifications and is a recognized leader in information security. He is active in (ISC)2, ISACA, OWASP, InfraGard, and ISSA.

Registration through Zoom is required to gain entry to this virtual event

Have you ever taken a mental health day or thought twice about putting your therapy appointment publicly on your work calendar? Let’s explore these and other topics at PDXWIT’s virtual Happy Hour themed around Destigmatizing Mental Health Conversations in the Workplace. This lunch hour is hosted by Lytics.

We will have ASL interpretation and closed captioning throughout.

Featuring Jackie Wirz, PhD, lightning speakers will share their stories to help shift some of our associations around mental wellness in the office.

Companies with open roles on the PDXWIT job board will share their open positions (local and remote) during our Recruiter Roll Call. You’ll have a chance to chat with them in breakout rooms after the presentation, so bring your questions, your professional statements, and be ready to share your brilliant skills and qualifications.

Please get in touch at [email protected] with any additional accessibility needs you may have.

Hope to see you there!

Join our Slack channel to continue the conversation: http://pdxwit.org/slack

Get in touch: [email protected]

Agenda: 12:00 p.m. - Event opens 12:03 p.m. - Introductions + Announcements 12:10 p.m. - Guest speakers + Women in Tech History 12:35 p.m. - Face-to-face/on-camera networking 1:00 p.m. - Event ends

We are building a better tech industry by creating access, dismantling barriers and fueling belonging.