Requirements for applicants for the position of “product manager” in the USA

The aim of the article is to present the partial results of a research project, the long-term goal of which is to collect and analyse information on the requirements for candidates for the positions of product manager and brand manager. To meet the research goal, Bernard Berelson’s content analysis method was used, enabling the research to use advertisements on the Monster.com career portal to collect information about American advertisers’ requirements. Analysis of requirements for work experience, technical knowledge and skills of candidates for product manager positions has confirmed that US business practice favours workers with specific knowledge who meet the requirements for a knowledge worker. The unexpected result was the finding that the groups of technical competence as well as the required practice and work experience for product managers and brand managers in the US had statistically significant differences. Recommendations for addressing and obtaining product managers to leverage product managers as an important source of human capital and to retain a leading role in creating competitive advantage in the fourth era of industry conclude the discussion of the results.