Get to Know Kreg Boyd, Senior Product Manager
Hi Kreg! We’re excited to kick off our Employee Spotlight Series. Let’s begin!
Thanks for joining us! Please share how long you’ve been with Hired and what your role entails.
I just hit my 1-year mark at Hired on November 9th! I’m a Senior Product Manager. I work primarily with 2 separate engineering teams to improve our core product and solve critical problems to help the company grow and become the best place for Software Engineers to find their next career opportunity.
Can you share a little bit about your background and what led you to join Hired? We’d love to hear what brought you into the world of Product Management too!
I started my career as a tech recruiter for an agency back in 2012, and fell in love with the job. In 2016, I had the opportunity to move to another company creating a product similar to Hired. At this company I led our Customer Success Team. I worked directly with our customers and product team to make sure we were always keeping our customers in mind when it came to building and improving the product.
Along the way, I discovered a passion for data analysis, and became a go-to person for our product team when it came to understanding our customers. I began to realize I had many of the skills required to be a strong Product Manager and was given the opportunity to lead a Tiger Team. There, I served as the de facto PM. This Tiger Team ended up being very successful and making a major impact on the company. After that, I was offered the opportunity to move into Product full-time.
Unfortunately, the product I was working on sunset in March of 2020, and I bounced around to a couple of other products at my company. When the opportunity to join Hired came up in late 2021, I jumped at the chance to get back to working on a product I had such a strong passion for.
When it comes to working at Hired, what’s your favorite part?
The people at Hired have been amazing, and are incredible to work with. Being in Product gives me the opportunity to work with almost everyone at the company. From Sales to CS to Marketing to Engineering and Design, everyone here is top-notch.
On top of that, I still have a major passion for recruiting and I love the fact that I get to help build a tool every day to make life easier for tech recruiters and jobseekers everywhere.
What do you like most about your job?
I love getting the opportunity to build incredible experiences for our customers. I know firsthand how difficult it can be to find and recruit top Software Engineers. Working on a product that makes that easier for recruiters is really amazing.
What has been your favorite project at Hired?
We created a way for customers who have their ATS (applicant tracking system) integrated with Hired to see which candidates on Hired are already in their ATS before they reach out to them. The feature is still in the Private Beta stage. However, I think it solves a major customer problem, and we got to be pretty creative in the way we built it. I look forward to getting this in the hands of all our ATS customers in 2023.
How have you advanced professionally since joining our team?
The biggest thing for me has been the ability to jump in and get hands-on experience in so many different areas. When I worked at a larger company, my role felt very siloed. Due to that, my impact seemed to be minimal. Hired definitely feels much more like a startup. I’ve been able to gain a ton of experience and ship impactful work right from the very beginning. I feel like I’m learning a ton in this role, which is exactly what I was looking for.
What is the best career lesson you’ve learned so far?
Never stop learning, and try not to be dependent on anyone else for things that are critical for your job. Someone taught me some basics in Google Sheets years ago and now I can use Sheets for almost anything.
When I was first in Customer Success I couldn’t get access to certain data I needed without going through a PM. I fought to get access to SQL and taught myself to query it in order to get what I needed without relying on a PM. Those types of skills I learned just so I wouldn’t be blocked or dependent on someone else are things I use in my role almost daily now.
What are your passion projects or hobbies outside of work?
As far as passion projects, I’ve been dabbling in using Python to analyze Fantasy Football data. I’m obsessed with the NFL (Dallas Cowboys are my team), and I know a little bit of Python as well. I figure learning by using data I’m very familiar with is a good place to start.
As for hobbies, I play co-ed volleyball with my wife and some friends on Tuesday nights. We’ve been playing for years and have become pretty good. It’s a great way to get out of the house and get a little exercise while also having a blast!
What advice would you give to someone interested in Product Management? Any book, podcast, or influencer suggestions?
Anything Lenny Rachitsky puts out is excellent. He has a great newsletter and a really amazing podcast. For people looking to get into product, Inspired by Marty Cagan is an excellent intro to the job. Andrew Bowker on Linkedin also provides a ton of great content about getting into Product Management.
Last summer, Hired hosted the One Team, One Dream Hired Summit, the first offsite gathering for the company in more than two years. What was one of your takeaways or favorite memories?
I had only been with the company for a few months when OTOD happened so it was incredible to meet so many people in person. I really feel like it made it so much easier to work with people after OTOD meeting them in person.
My favorite memory was getting to play blackjack and craps with several of the Engineers on my team. We played at a low-limit off-Strip casino for hours on the last day before we had to catch our flights home. We had a blast!
Speaking of a good time, what is your go-to karaoke song?
Hmmm, Down on the Corner by Creedence Clearwater Revival
We’re a remote-first company so we have to know: if you could work from anywhere, where would it be?
I just got back from Munich and it was amazing. I think working from somewhere in Germany or Austria would be incredible.
Any WFH pets who keep you company throughout the day?
I have 2 rescue mutts: Mia and Milo. They can often be heard barking in the background of Zoom calls.
Thank you Kreg!
Interested in joining the Hired team? Check out our open roles!
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