Jean Kang

Path to PM

"Jean isn’t a program manager coach solely because she’s done the role. She’s a coach because she’s done both the role AND gone the extra mile to document what she’s researched and learned masterfully. 

“Jean’s the real deal, and I couldn’t recommend her more to someone questioning how to take the next step in their career."

Founder & CEO

LinkedIn

Instructor profile: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/instructors/jean-kang

LinkedIn Learning Instructor 

Business Insider

Contributing Writer

Figma

Focus on leadership strategy and helping Product Support operate with even greater agility, clarity and cohesion

Strategic Program Manager

First Program Manager on Product Support, leading some of our most strategic organizational and company initiatives in partnership with cross-functional leaders across Legal, Product and Eng, Marketing, Comm, and Security

Senior Program Manager

CX GTM program manager responsible for how CS goes to market with Product through scaled enablement such as training, communication, and playbooks for 200+ CSMs globally across 11 offices.

Global GTM Enablement Program Manager

Chief of Staff, Women at Linkedin

UN Women

Board Member

Pinterest

Advertiser Ops & Strategy

Facebook

Client Solutions Manager

Intuit

SMB Sales

✨ PM Career Coach, x7 pivoter, helping other pivoters land amazing Program Manager roles and 🔥 thrive on the job | Founder of 🚀 Path to PM | Senior Program Manager @ Figma • Ex-Linkedin, Meta, Pinterest, Intuit

Over the last decade, I led impactful programs at companies like LinkedIn, Pinterest, & Figma.

But here’s the part that surprises people:

- I didn’t have a PMP certification.
- I’m a proud career pivoter. 
- I didn’t check every box.

What I did have was strategy, storytelling, and a clear sense of how to articulate my value.

That’s how I landed multiple 6-figure Program Manager roles at top tech companies not by following the “traditional” path, but by leaning into my superpowers. 

Eventually, I had a spark to do something different..

What if I used the same skills that helped me thrive in Big Tech… to build something of my own?

So I left to bet on myself (again). 

And what served me well in my career also helped me as a solopreneur.

I owned my story, built with intention and shared learnings in public.

I started creating content in 2023 and in 2 years, built a community of 350K+ across LinkedIn, Instagram, and my newsletter.

Today, I’m the founder of the PM Accelerator, a career transformation program where I help senior professionals land high-paying PM roles without another certification or starting over. 

My mission is to democratize access to tech careers + empower folks to design a career, business & life they love especially in this era of AI.

The Results:

→ Partnered with Google, Hubspot, NVIDIA, Adobe, Kajabi, Notion, & more
→ LinkedIn Learning Instructor with 200K+ learners
→ 100M+ impressions over the last year
→ 230K+ follow my journey on LinkedIn
→ Built a $200K+ business in 1 year 
→ 32K+ read my newsletter 
→ (soon TEDx speaker 😱)

If you want to learn the exact framework I used to land dream PM roles + help others do the same… 

📌 APPLY TO THE PM ACCELERATOR (link in bio)

In this 5-week career acceleration program, I teach you how to get interviews, land dream offers and literally thrive on the job.  

I helped 100+ students land PM roles at Microsoft, SoFi, Scale.AI, Adidas, Workday and more (many in under 4–7 weeks)

→ GO HERE: pm-accelerator.com 

📧 jean@jean-kang.com for partnerships, collaborations, and speaking opportunities

📌 Media kit: jean-kang.com

Imposter syndrome is a silent killer.

5 tips to beat it (and change your life 🔥)

—
☝🏼 Step 1: Recognize Your Fixed Mindset

Negative self-talk sounds like:

↳ “I’m not good enough.”
↳ “I always mess up.”
↳ “I’m too quiet.”

These aren’t facts—they are negative thoughts. Recognizing them is the first step.

—
✌🏼 Step 2: Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

Growth lives outside your comfort zone.

↳ Want to improve public speaking? Say yes to that presentation.
↳ Want to become a program manager? Raise your hand to lead that project.
↳ Want to create content? Start posting 3x a week.

The more you stretch, the more you grow.

—
🤟🏼 Step 3: Seek Meaningful Feedback

Feedback starts with you.

↳ Do a weekly retro: What worked? What didn’t? What’s next?
↳ Ask colleagues or friends: What should I do more of? Less of?

Feedback is a gift for growth.

—
🖖🏼 Step 4: Detach Your Self-Worth From Work

You are more than your job.

Grow in areas that align with your values:

↳ Nurture relationships.
↳ Pursue passion projects.
↳ Volunteer or give back.
↳ Prioritize hobbies that bring joy.

—
🖐🏼 Step 5: Add “…Yet” to Reframe

Turn self-doubt into self-belief with one word: “Yet.”

↳ “I’m not a great leader…yet.”
↳ “I’m not in my dream job…yet.”
↳ “I’m not a skilled writer…yet.”

If you can’t beat fear, just do it scared. If not you, then who?

What’s ONE step you can take today? 👇🏼

📌 P.S. And if you're into actionable tips, try out my newsletter.

I talk about leveling up your 9-to-5, building a fulfilling side hustle, and designing a life on your terms.

https://lnkd.in/gc2mu4yK

Repost to inspire someone who needs to hear it & follow Jean Kang for more 🙏🏼

Tech Creator (400k+) with 8M+ monthly views | Ex-LinkedIn, Meta, Figma | Solopreneur, TEDx Speaker & Angel Investor helping you thrive at work using AI

Stop telling yourself you’re not qualified, good enough, or worthy.

Growth happens when you start 
doing the things you’re not qualified 
to do.

Be the person people *want* to work with.

How you collaborate will define your career more than anything else.

Because let’s be real. 

No one wants to work with the person who’s genius but impossible to deal with.

Here are 6 traits that make you an invaluable teammate:

1. Be dependable ☝🏼

↳ Follow through on what you say you'll do.
↳ Show up on time. Physically and mentally.
↳ Be the person others know they can count on.

2. Communicate like a boss ✌🏼

↳ Get to the point (lead with a headline).
↳ Keep people updated before they have to ask.
↳ Listen with the intent to understand, not just to reply.

3. Make other people’s jobs easier 🤟🏼

↳ Offer solutions vs complaints
↳ Offer help before you're asked.
↳ Share resources, knowledge, and wins.

4. Take ownership of everything (Good or bad) 🖖🏼

↳ Give credit where it’s due.
↳ Don't wait for someone else to step up. Be that person.
↳ Say this: “I dropped the ball. Here’s what happened and what I’ll do next time …”

5. Show appreciation 🖐🏼

↳ Say thank you. A lot.
↳ Celebrate small wins. Not just big results.
↳ Recognize someone’s effort, not just outcomes.

People remember how you made them feel. Make them feel valued.

At the end of the day, the best career move isn’t just getting better at your job.

It’s getting better at working with people.

What’s one trait that makes someone amazing to work with? Drop it below 👇

P.S. I just hit 250K on LinkedIn 😭

Here’s how I built an audience of almost 400K followers in < 2 years. 

It’s a letter I wrote to my younger me (and harsh lessons I learned about building a personal brand)

Read it here: https://lnkd.in/eDWXTb3i

Be the person that everyone wants to work with. 

I love this story so much.

Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, owns a $4 trillion dollar company

And yet his LinkedIn profile lists just TWO jobs:

☝🏼 Dishwasher, busboy, and waiter at Denny’s
✌🏼 Founder & CEO of Nvidia

His profile went viral, and people started calling it “the most inspiring LinkedIn profile ever.”

Here’s why his story resonates:

1/ Your first job doesn’t define your success

We’ve all had jobs that felt small or irrelevant. That’s normal.

What matters is what you take from them.

2/ Every experience matters

Jensen doesn’t list every role he’s had.

But even working at Denny’s gave him lessons in grit, humility, and service.

These are traits that shaped how he leads today.

3/ Careers aren’t linear

He went on to earn a Master’s from Stanford, worked as a chip designer at AMD and LSI Logic, while raising 2 children.

In 1993, he co-founded Nvidia while sitting in a booth at Denny’s with “no idea how” to start a company.

30 years later, Jensen is one of the most influential leaders in tech.

Let this be your reminder:

Your resume does not define you.

Your background does not define you.

And no one else gets to define your story except for YOU 💙

image credit: entrepreneurshipquote

The CEO of Nvidia has a legendary LinkedIn profile

Me in my 20s:

- I want to buy a home
- I want to make 6 figures
- I want to work at big companies

Me in my 30s:

- I prioritize peace and presence
- I build products that actually help people
- I crave deep, tech-free time with the people I love

So, what changed?

After hitting my “big goals” by 27, I still felt... empty.

All the titles, salaries, and wins and yet, something was missing.

That’s when I knew I needed to shift my definition of success.

Now at 33, success looks a little different: 

🟢 Freedom > big salary
🟢 Meaningful experiences > status
🟢 Being aligned > being impressive

I’m blessed to partner with companies like Kajabi for making it possible to monetize my expertise so I can build my dream life. 

Kajabi’s new platform updates have made it ridiculously easy to:

↳ Personalize the student experience (hello, new coaching portal!)
↳ Track exactly what content’s performing best
↳ Scale without sacrificing connection

There’s only a a few months left before the year ends.

So, what’s 1 thing you’re doing to make it count? 

Remember, it’s never too late to start something 😉

#KajabiPartner

A career is great.

A meaningful life is better.

Surround yourself with people who fight for you in rooms you aren’t in.

I will never forget those who:

✔️ Advocated for me 
✔️ Believed in my worth 
✔️ Fought for opportunities 
✔️ Gave me credit for my work 
✔️ Praised my work to my manager 
✔️ Articulated my impact to leadership

Because of you, I’m dedicated to paying it forward.

And this is how you create a difference in someone’s life.
 __

6 ways to fight for someone (and leave a lasting impact)

☝🏼 Advocate for better terms

↳ Whether it’s pay, benefits, or recognition, use your voice to push for fairness.

✌🏼 Celebrate their successes

↳ Big or small, recognition will always be remembered.

🤟🏼 Offer nonjudgmental support

↳ Be the person they can lean on without fear of criticism.

🖖🏼 Speak on their behalf

↳ Share their achievements and advocate as though they’re in the room.

🙏🏼 Share resources or connections

↳ Share a simple introduction or resource that can make a difference in their work/life.

🤝🏼 Be their accountability partner

↳ Help them stay on track toward their goals by checking in weekly and celebrate milestones together.

Tag the people in your life who do this and show them your love 💙

P.S. I wrote down my dream of becoming a TEDx speaker (and then manifested it in just 3 months)

This Monday, I’m sharing the exact plan that made it happen. My friends called it genius.

Get it here → https://lnkd.in/gc2mu4yK

You will never forget those who took a chance on you when others rejected you.

Failing is actually a good thing.

But most people let it consume them…

Thank you Costas K. G. for this image 👌🏼 

(instead of building resilience to bounce back) 

I’ve failed A LOT in my life.

↳ got fired twice 
↳ bombed presentations 
↳ stayed too long in toxic relationships

But here’s what it taught me

↳ grit to keep going
↳ take failures as lessons 
↳ made space for something better

And because of these “failures”, I’m right where I need to be:

I met the love of my life.

I’m living my dream and & doing what I love. 

Allowed me to quit tech and create a life on my terms.

Try these 5 things to get back up (even when you don’t want to):

☝🏼 Feel the pain
   
  → Give yourself permission to feel it fully. 
  → Your emotions are valid (and it’s okay not to be okay)
   
✌🏼 Zoom out
   
  → You are not your worst moment.   
  → Recognize that this too shall pass 
   
🤟🏼 Find the lesson.
   
  → What is this trying to teach you?
  → What would you do differently next time?
   
🖖🏼 Rewrite the narrative.
   
  → Stop calling it failure. The only way to grow is through falling.
  → You are a beautiful work-in-progress.
   
✋🏼 Start slowly
   
  → Commit to taking 1 tiny step (any step) 
  → Raise your hand at work. Post 3x a week. Have one hard conversation.
   
I look back and realize:

My collection of failures added up to a far more meaningful life.

What’s one thing you’ve learned from failure that made you stronger? 👇🏼

Helping you land a 6-figure Program Manager job you love | Ex-Big Tech PM → Founder & Creator (375K+) | Solopreneur sharing insights on Careers, AI, & Project Management

FAILURE
Fall
Acknowledge
Investigate
Learn
Understand
Realign
Evolve

Stop waiting for your work to speak for itself.

In 2025, that's not enough.

You can be amazing at what you do.

You can have the degrees, experience, and referrals.

But if no one knows you exist… none of it matters.

We’re not in a job market anymore.

We’re deep in an attention market.

Here’s the reality:

↳ People are Googling you before they meet you
↳ They’re judging your value before you even show up
↳ Recruiters aren’t just checking your resume (they’re scrolling your LinkedIn)

So if you’re doing what you’ve always done and expecting different results...

It’s time to switch it up.

Here’s how to go from invisible → visible:

1️⃣ Share what you're learning.

Example: “Just wrapped up a speaking cohort and learned more in 8 weeks than I thought possible. Here are 3 things that surprised me…”

2️⃣ Post about your job search journey.

Example: “Applied to 12 roles this week. Got 2 interviews. Got 5 referrals. Here’s what helped me land the referrals:”

3️⃣ Comment with insight on posts in your field.

Example: On a post about remote leadership —
“Totally agree. I’ve seen async tools make or break team culture — especially for introverts.”

4️⃣ Let people know what you’re great at and what you’re looking for.

Example: “If you need someone who can translate big ideas into action steps, I’m your person.

Looking for my next role in project management and GTM strategy for a mission-driven AI startup.”

Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.
And that’s power.

You weren’t meant to feel stuck, underpaid, or overlooked.

You were meant to lead, to be respected, and thrive not just survive.

If you're ready to own your voice and land a role where you're paid well, valued deeply, and excited to show up…

I’d love to help. I work with senior professionals to level up their leadership and land strategic program management roles they love.

✔️ Apply now to chat with me + my team: https://lnkd.in/eN_pc9rX

I would bookmark this 🔖

Google launched a free AI learning tool

(and it’s so cool) 😱

It’s part of their new AI experiment called Learn Your Way,

and it’s one of the most intuitive tools I’ve seen for modern learners.

A few standouts:

☝🏼 It adapts to your grade level and your interests
✌🏼 It converts material into formats you’ll actually use (audio, mind maps, slides, etc.)
🤟🏼 It checks in with quizzes and memory boosters so the info actually sticks

Say you’re learning physics.. it’ll literally teach you with rocket examples if you’re into space.

No more boring, generic explanations (bye to old textbooks)

This is still early (and in testing) but this is what I call learning BEYOND the classroom.

You’re not just learning new things.

You’re learning in a way that works BEST for YOU.

And I’m so HERE 👏🏼 FOR 👏🏼 IT👏🏼

📌  Here’s the link to try it out: https://lnkd.in/eB6J6CeF

What do you think?

HarbourVest Partners

I lead strategic technical assessments, prioritization, and implementation of projects for new private market fund product execution. I ensure program success from requirements to change adoption, collaborating with product leads, technology leaders, and project teams. With PMI and Six Sigma leadership, expertise in waterfall and Agile methodologies, and proficiency in change management and stakeholder engagement, I manage IT-related efforts, support the VP in program development, work with cross-functional teams, and coordinate vendor activities.

Director, Program Management

Corvus Insurance

The CTO brought me in to scale the Tech Team and improve the time to market for new features and product lines. I launched a new PMO with cross-functional, end-to-end iterative processes and clarified roles, OKRs, and KPIs for 12 remote B2B SaaS development teams.

❒   I improved the time to market by 83% for a new product line by migrating 12 teams to Jira. This addressed the lack of cross-team dependency tracking, provided greater collaboration, and enabled better work breakdown.

❒   I shifted the thinking among C-suite leaders from a team perspective to an enterprise perspective for tooling needs. I identified a complete list of stakeholders and defined global, enterprise-wide requirements before making $1M+ expenditures. 

❒   I saved $1M+ by determining that existing enterprise solutions – HubSpot and VCA – already met the organization’s needs, preventing the purchase of Salesforce and another premium claims-processing software.

❒   I managed vendor partnerships and seamlessly coordinated deliverables for Marketing, Legal, and Security, guaranteeing a successful product launch on time.

❒   I identified an expert consultant, negotiated the contract, and managed their engagement. I rapidly resolved customer engagement issues that persisted for months by sourcing and hiring a Jira expert who fixed existing complex workflows in just a few hours–turned around employee perception of Jira.

Although I was part of a 21% company-wide reduction in force at the end of Jan. 2023, I left Corvus in a stronger position by scaling their end-to-end product development through integrated tooling and by educating them on the importance of looking at software purchases from an enterprise perspective to reduce duplicative spend on overlapping and redundant tools.

Director, Program Management Office (PMO)

Fresenius Medical Care North America

I was hired by the VP of Engineering into a new role at the global healthcare enterprise to build and enforce quality-driven processes and improve the company perception of a software development and platform team at the center of 15+ patient care application integrations. 

❒   I developed strategic roadmaps and negotiated upgrades and feature release timing with senior global leaders.

❒   I saved $500K annually by resolving process failures that led to bugs and extensive production downtimes—I established a new process of rigorous testing. I ensured tests passed before upgrades and deployments were allowed to proceed.

❒   I was selected to serve on the Global 500 CIO’s Change Counsel due to my expertise in process improvement—I advocated for and spearheaded an initiative that eliminated unnecessary meetings and elevated meeting productivity.

❒   I led multiple cross-functional Agile Scrum project teams totaling 45 members and a Business Analysis team of 3 direct reports.

IT Manager

I was recruited by the PMO Director to build a new business analysis team for the life insurance data solutions enterprise, focused on developing precise business requirements to resolve the ongoing issue of new product features’ failure to meet deadlines.

❒   I delivered 85% faster time to market for a new, market-disrupting B2B SaaS electronic medical data service with 4 third-party application integrations. It returned medical records 90% faster than the traditional manual process.

❒   I transformed new product development by shifting to Agile Scrum and Kanban methodologies while maintaining the existing Waterfall approach in a bi-modal environment.

❒   I evaluated the top ALM tools available on the market to determine the best fit for enterprise needs, selecting Jira and Confluence.

❒   After an external consultant failed to deliver functional Jira and Confluence configurations, I took Jira administrator training. I built the necessary workflows and processes, improving team collaboration and productivity.

❒   I was recognized with the 2017 President’s Core Values Award for analysis and partnerships with SMEs to shift the data model to a person-centric model.

IT Transformation Lead

Liberty Mutual Insurance

I joined the 4th-largest P&C insurer in the US as Business Analyst II. During my 6 ½ years, I earned multiple promotions. I recovered $7M+ in fraudulent medical treatment payments made to medical facilities, lawyers, etc., who were engaged in complex, multi-claim auto accident fraud rings. I further maximized recovery by streamlining the 150-member team’s manual processes using root cause analysis (RCA), value stream mapping (VSM), kaizens, and Lean initiatives.

❒   From there, I saved an additional $150K+ per year leading digital transformation to automate the above manual processes. Due to fraud analysis expertise, I was entrusted with directing the user acceptance testing (UAT) team for the new SAS Fraud Framework software.

❒   I also resolved teams’ frustrations and saved $25K annually in duplicative work by creating a standard operating procedure (SOP) that clarified roles, outlined required tasks, and defined what “good” looks like.

❒   I managed 5 direct reports dispersed across 2 business analysis teams.

❒   I was invited to speak on a panel at the annual Insurance Fraud Management (IMF) conference on fraud trends.

❒   I received numerous awards, such as Advancing Customer Experience (ACE) Awards (3 in 2016; 3 in 2015); Analyst of the Quarter (Q1 & Q3 of 2015); Platinum Bravo Award (2015); Silver Bravo Awards (2014, 2012)

Lean Continuous Improvement Lead 

Senior PMO Leader | I bring order to the chaos for Fortune 500 organizations and their technology teams, product and delivery processes, and project management tools

If it's broken - let's FIX IT! Let's gather the right people to determine what's broken, why, and how to fix it. Then, let's FIX IT!

With a background in investigative analytics shaped by Lean continuous improvement and Agile development, I dig deep into organizational challenges to determine the root causes. I partner with individuals and teams to identify their most significant roadblocks to delivering new products and features, identify solutions for their challenges, and implement those changes. In each role, I have improved the organization's ROI through more mature teams, streamlined processes, and end-to-end tooling that provides visibility to upper management.

No challenge is too great! 

★  I accelerated time to market by 85% for MIB Group by transitioning new life insurance product development from Waterfall to Agile and building out the first-ever requirements process.

★  I saved $1M+ by mitigating the purchase of Salesforce and leveraging the existing HubSpot license.

★  I uncovered and resolved the root cause realizing $500K+ of annual cost savings by establishing a formal QA process.

★  I maximized the recovery of fraudulent insurance payments by streamlining the 150-member team's manual processes using root cause analysis (RCA), value stream mapping (VSM), kaizens, and Lean initiatives.

Key Skills: 
►  Strategic Planning & Implementation 
►  Agile Implementations  
►  IT Program & Project Management  
►  Cross-Functional Leadership  
►  Cost Savings Initiatives  
►  Process Improvements  
►  Root Cause Analysis  
►  Business Needs Analysis  
►  New Product Development  
►  Regulatory & Security Compliance

Let's discuss how I can solve your organization's challenges! 

✉ LinkedIn Message or E-mail me at mhranek@gmail.com

taplio

The Battle

Jean Kang

Melissa Ryan, PMP, CSM, CSPO

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The Battle

Jean Kang

Melissa Ryan, PMP, CSM, CSPO

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

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