Grow with PROS: Matthew’s Career Journey

From an education and biology background to the Peace Corps to product management, meet Matthew Negron, Associate Product Manager. Matthew shares his personal career journey and the valuable lessons he learned along the way. He talks about the power of networking, the benefits of lifelong learning and the importance of building community – plus has great advice for anyone considering a career change. Outside of PROS, you’ll find Matthew in his happy place at the movie theatre, always with a blanket and sometimes a secret stash of fast food.  

Let’s get to know Matthew!

Tell us about your journey to PROS.

I went to school to be a teacher, graduating with a dual degree in education and biology. When I got evacuated from the Peace Corps in 2020, I moved to Seattle.

During the pandemic, it was hard to find a teaching job. A lot of teachers were transitioning out of teaching because the pandemic year was really tough for them. I noticed on LinkedIn that many were going into technology, which got me looking into instructional design. Not only did it touch on my background in teaching but would also allow me to express my creativity through iOS, and it looked fun.

I saw a job posting for an Instructional Designer at PROS on LinkedIn and soon after joined the training team and the rest is history.

What led you to explore changing career paths?

It started with our HPEL boot camp at PROS, during which leaders would join our meetings to talk about their lives and careers, share the lessons they’ve learned along the way, and give advice for those of us just starting out. They always left the door open for us to reach out with any questions, so I did, and they were really receptive and gave me a lot of really good advice. The format of these discussions was the inspiration behind YoPROS Open Mic.

I started doing the same with different people across different departments at PROS, always asking the same questions, ‘who are you and what do you do?’

At the time, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to do something new and to challenge myself more. I found it was easier to figure out what I didn’t want to do versus what I did.

About a year ago, after sharing my notes from a meeting, Maurice, a Development Manager, said hey, you would make a good product manager. I met with him and asked the same questions, and he connected me with a product manager, Melissa. I then talked to her and asked the same questions and for the first time, I was like oh wow, that sounds fun. I want to do that.

What did your transition journey look like?

Once I knew what I wanted to do, I set out to find a mentor at PROS in product management to learn from. We met monthly for a year and followed a mentoring framework. In each session I would come prepared with a set of questions centered around a specific theme. These themes were based on the Product Management competencies document. I structured the sessions to not only learn how to emulate a great product manager, but also to invest in the friendship.

My mentor would always say, “Chase skills and responsibilities and everything else is a lagging indicator of success.”

This really resonated with me, and when I looked at product management, it looked chaotic and fun. It would provide me with the opportunity to interact with a variety of experts and learn at an exponential rate. And that’s what I was looking for.

Once I knew what I wanted, I became committed and did the work. Kaavya, a product manager at PROS, took me under her wing, and I shadowed her for a year. I took LinkedIn learning courses, changed my Reddit, LinkedIn, and Twitter social media to follow everything product management related because if I was going to be on my phone for 10 minutes, I figured could learn something new. I also listened to product management podcasts which really helped grow my product thinking muscles and start seeing the connections.

I then translated everything I was doing in YoPROS, an employee resource group for young professionals at PROS, and the Interface podcast to product management. So I could say that although I might not have this title yet, the things I’ve been doing relate and this is how. Otherwise, if I didn’t know what I wanted to do, then the things I was doing were just things I was doing. They would’ve had no clear connection to what I wanted to do.

Everyone at PROS wants to see you succeed, wants to make you successful. I think that’s been the nicest part about working at PROS – the culture.

Describe your new role.

I like to tell people to think of a product manager as a conductor of an orchestra. They don’t play an instrument, and you could take them out and everybody could play fine, but who’s keeping them on tempo and who’s making sure they’re playing the right level of dynamics? That’s the value and the role of the product manager.

What advice do you have for how to talk to your manager about your career goals?

I’ll pass along the advice my colleague Jenni shared with me. She gave me the question to ask because it’s always about the questions, not the answers. “Do you have any advice on internal moves?”

In one of my weekly 1:1s with my manager, I asked this question, and it opened the door to a discussion walking through all the different paths I could go down. My manager and team were incredibly supportive of my career aspirations, even though it meant I would eventually leave the team.

PROS has a culture that celebrates success, whether it’s a promotion within your team or moving to another department. I have so many people who have supported me and really given me advice and encouragement, and I am so grateful for that.

What advice do you have for others who want to make a career change, but are hesitant to do it?

Be really clear on what it is that you want and why you want it. There’s a quote, “if you know the why, you can live any how.”  

It’s hard to make decisions when you have no idea what you want because what it comes down to is knowing when to say no and when to say yes. And if you don’t know what you want, then how do you know when to say no or yes? Everything else becomes a distraction and will pull you in a million directions.

I’m grateful for all the people who took the time to teach me new things and supported and cheered me on along the way. Starting a new role in a new department can be scary, but I’m reminded of the importance of being open to new experiences and opportunities, and of the power of community. 

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Learn more about our inclusive PROS culture on our Careers page and become a part of our growing team by applying to our open roles. Follow #lifeatPROS on LinkedIn and Instagram for more stories from the bright minds powering PROS around the globe.