How to hire a junior product manager

How to hire a junior product manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step junior product manager hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a junior product manager job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new junior product manager
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a junior product manager do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a junior product manager, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A junior product manager's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, junior product managers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of junior product managers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Junior Product Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Junior Product Manager	Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers plan programs to generate interest in products or services. They work with art directors, sales agents, and financial staff members.	$24-65
   Business Development Director	A business development director specializes in crafting plans and strategies to develop the relationship between the brand, clients, and other key characters in the industry. It is their responsibility to examine and understand everything about the brand and figure out which areas require improvement or changes... Show more	$34-92
   Marketing Director	Marketing directors are responsible for the overall branding and marketing direction of the company. They are in charge of identifying goals and strategies related to marketing... Show more	$32-92

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Project Management
   • User Stories
   • Cloud
   • Market Research
   • Product Development
   • Product Roadmap
   • Market Trends
   • Digital Marketing
   • Acceptance Criteria
   • R
   • Business Analysis
   • Promotional Materials
   • Product Training
   • Business Plan

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage COOP/MDF spend and evaluation ROI with advertising dollars.
   • Manage the promotional activity, POS materials elaboration for department stores, and price guidelines.
   • Modernize and manage MSDS labeling system within the division, as part of the development of ISO.
   • Manage marketing budget, evaluates program ROI, and ensure they are in-line with quarterly and annual budgets.
   • Manage encode, streaming bit rate quality, content uploads, meta-tagging, and XML imports for CMS.
   • Patrol agent for Unix is a server process which is deployed on the managed device to monitor it.

   More junior product manager duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your junior product manager job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A junior product manager can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, junior product managers' average salary in florida is 47% less than in washington.
   • Seniority. Entry-level junior product managers 63% less than senior-level junior product managers.
   • Certifications. A junior product manager with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a junior product manager's salary.

   Average junior product manager salary

   $83,812yearly

   $40.29 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level junior product manager salary

   $51,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 19, 2025

   Average junior product manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$117,346	$56
   2	Washington	$112,704	$54
   3	Oregon	$102,301	$49
   4	Massachusetts	$90,923	$44
   5	Connecticut	$89,184	$43
   6	District of Columbia	$88,778	$43
   7	Arizona	$86,759	$42
   8	New Jersey	$85,889	$41
   9	Texas	$85,512	$41
   10	Pennsylvania	$83,602	$40
   11	New York	$83,403	$40
   12	Utah	$78,173	$38
   13	Virginia	$73,919	$36
   14	Wisconsin	$71,995	$35
   15	North Carolina	$71,667	$34
   16	Missouri	$69,354	$33
   17	Nebraska	$69,150	$33
   18	Colorado	$65,058	$31
   19	Mississippi	$64,973	$31
   20	Tennessee	$62,765	$30

   Average junior product manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Broadridge	$106,162	$51.04	37
   2	Deloitte	$89,141	$42.86	711
   3	Mattel	$88,469	$42.53	1
   4	Caliber Home Loans	$84,245	$40.50
   5	L'Oréal	$84,182	$40.47	6
   6	SG Americas Securities Holdings, LLC	$83,541	$40.16
   7	Northrop Grumman	$83,375	$40.08	19
   8	ASML Holding	$82,682	$39.75	1
   9	Buckle	$82,377	$39.60	2
   10	Alamar Biosciences	$79,784	$38.36	1
   11	Wells Fargo	$79,501	$38.22	18
   12	Dynamo Software	$75,758	$36.42
   13	K2 Integrity	$75,508	$36.30
   14	American College of Cardiology	$74,222	$35.68
   15	Motion Recruitment	$67,819	$32.61	8
   16	Randstad North America, Inc.	$66,640	$32.04	5
   17	O'Reilly Auto Parts	$66,478	$31.96	1
   18	BSI Financial Services	$55,472	$26.67
   19	The Place Family Restaurant	$44,070	$21.19

4. Writing a junior product manager job description

   A junior product manager job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a junior product manager job description:

   Junior product manager job description example

   Job DescriptionSalary:
   

   SetSchedule is the software punch behind the Nation’s most successful Realtors and Professionals. Our future is bright! We have grown tremendously in the last couple of years and we can’t wait for you to join our company and be a part of that growth. Whether it’s being ranked 184th on the America’s Best Startup by Forbes, Inc, or Best Company for Diversity and Culture by Comparably, this is just the start!

   
   

   Positive Culture We have the best and brightest employees which are the real strength behind our company. When we put our heads together we have the ability to offer clients something powerful, cutting-edge, and distinct on every level. Our company culture centers around that effort, but it’s also about ensuring that we enjoy making it happen. Work hard, play hard! That’s our motto. Whether you’re looking for a work life balance, or you want to drive your professional career, there’s a spot for you at SetSchedule. We understand the driving force behind any successful company are its people and we love ours!

   
   

   What you will do :

   • You will participate in the creation of new products and features, driving the idea from concept to launch.
   • You will work cross-functionally gathering product requirements and prioritizing the implementation of features to ensure the roadmap exceeds market needs and is highly usable to our users.
   • Understand the product and the needs of clients.
   • Use customer feedback, competitive analysis, and other metrics to guide product roadmap
   • Work in an Agile/Scrum environment with cross-functional teams

   
   

   Skills and Requirements

   • 1-3 years of Product Manager experience in an Agile / Scrum Development team preferred but not required
   • Strong verbal and written communication skills

   
   

   Who we are?

   SetSchedule is a technology company based in Irvine, California that focuses on Real Estate information SAAS Products, consumer cloud communication products, artificial intelligence, and autonomous business flow applications. Some of the company’s key products and applications include the SetSchedule App, SetHello, SetValue™, SetAds, Referral Radar,and Jessica 2.0.

   
   

   What our product does ( how we are different )

   As a technology company, SetSchedule provides a wide variety of patented business development tools for professionals. Through the new SetSchedule 3.0 application which creates a revolutionary way to connect and collaborate with professionals in any industry, we created a new one of a kind business networking platform for entrepreneurs.

   
   

   Move Fast. Make it Happen. Mold History.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right junior product manager for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your junior product manager job on Zippia to find and recruit junior product manager candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as swipe files, exit five, marketinghire, american marketing association.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit junior product managers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new junior product manager

   Once you've found the junior product manager candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new junior product manager. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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