Day in the Life of a Consumer Product Manager with Mike Petruchik

Mike Petruchick, Principal Product Manager for Apartment Guide, has a real passion for the consumer industry across many different brands. He has worked in financial services, healthcare, real estate, and now tapping into the rental side of real estate, all with the ultimate goal of delivering a great experience for the end user.

In his current role, the end user, or consumer, in question are renters looking for their next home through Apartment Guide.

“I get to tackle new challenges and problems, and with the consumer in mind, find out what makes them tick and build solutions to help them.” says Mike.

What does your day to day look like in your role?

I start my morning by checking in our key metrics. It’s so critical to keep a pulse on what’s going on. Did we see any changes in traffic, conversion, or site performance? If so, I’ll spend more time understanding what changed and why. I really enjoy this time in the morning because it gives me a great baseline for the rest of the day. I can also catch any positive trends and socialize with my colleagues. Everybody likes to start their day with some good news.

We have a really strong experimentation culture at RentPath and I spend a big part of my day evaluating the success of tests and collaborating with the team to decide our path forward. Some tests win, some lose, and we always strive to learn something, regardless of the test outcome. It’s a fun process and helps us continually refine our ideas to be useful for renters and impactful for the business.

The rest of the day is usually spent collaborating with colleagues from across the company. We chat about new projects, brainstorm ways to tackle new problems, or even relax over a virtual happy hour.

How would you describe the team dynamic?

It’s highly collaborative because we are all driven towards a common goal: helping renters find the right home. Team members are empowered to do what’s right for the renter and work interdependently to deliver a great experience.

It’s also very fast-paced. The work you get to do cuts across so many different areas and brings about so many new perspectives. It’s tough to get that kind of exposure in other roles.

How does the work you do play into the bigger picture?

We operate a two-sided marketplace with renters on one side and customers (property management companies) on the other. One side cannot be successful without the other. By delivering a great experience on the consumer side, we’re able to connect our customers with a steady influx of interested renters that are looking for their next home.

What differentiates your experience at RentPath compared to other companies you’ve worked for?

In a product role at some companies, you may only have the opportunity to manage a small piece of something, such as a checkout page or product detail page on an e-commerce site, but here, you are empowered and tasked with a much larger slice of the pie. It’s tough to beat the level of responsibility and impact you get at RentPath.

And again, the team dynamic is truly collaborative because we are all driven to make an impact. Having the autonomy and the empowerment to cut across teams, and make decisions together is super powerful.

Any last thoughts?

From a candidate perspective, when I’ve considered roles at different companies in the past, I’d ask myself a few questions. Will I have the autonomy to make a meaningful impact for the business, will this help me grow and learn, and will it be fun? It’s tough to find a company that can meet all three. I’m proud to say that RentPath has and it’s what keeps me excited each and every day.

We’re hiring! Check out our open positions at workatrentpath.com