Jyotheeswar Arvind Manickavasagar

A few days ago, I came to a realization: I am not just building side projects; I am creating a portfolio of software products aligned with my interests and skills. Over the past year, I have developed: ✨ MapleStack: A job board for tech jobs in Canada ✨ SpellCheckMySite: A tool to check spelling mistakes on websites ✨ FindChildCare.ca: A directory of child care providers in Canada And now, I'm working on something new - this one a bit more involved than the others (announcement coming soon!). It has made me realize that each project isn't just a standalone creation, but a step in my journey as a builder and problem-solver. It's exciting to see how each project informs and inspires the next. This isn't just a collection of work - it's an evolving body of ideas and solutions.

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👋 Hey product hiring managers! You may have noticed dozens of people now with a new certificate from the Alberta Product Leadership Program. If you manage or are prospectively seeking a new PM to join your team, you should know that: 1) The program is selective. You can't just sign-up. Since it's inception, the program has sought to upskill professionals that have shown their motivation for growth and desire to hone their product management craft. 2) The graduates get broader exposure to practices and industries beyond their resume. Our sessions are interactive and facilitate sharing of perspectives and ways of working across multiple organizations - from grassroots startups to FAANG giants. 3) There's more to it than training. During the course of the program, many participants gain mentorship, build a supportive peer group, and get out of their comfort zone. The program is refreshed every year by hiring managers just like you to optimize for the skills we need to hire and promote for. So if you see the APL certificate with a candidate profile, know that candidate choose to do more than your average course. #abtech #yyctech #yegtech #productmanagement

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At Carta, I've had the opportunity to mentor many sharp and hungry engineering co-ops that come from the University of Waterloo. I've found that the integration of externships into the school's curriculum has led to well-rounded, technologically agile, and effective software engineers. One document that I think that every new grad and intern should study is the Future Ready Talent Framework. This framework really does set a lot of coops forward in terms of their skills relative to the rest of the market. Check it out!

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On May 18, I was asked to speak at Hack Club Zombie Apocalypse Hackathon held at Shopify Toronto. Alongside my colleagues William Wang, Hanna Kebedom, and Komal, we discussed our experiences working as software developers and our different areas of expertise. Additionally, we spoke about our common journeys at Shopify beginning with the Dev Degree Shopify program. It is always a pleasure to share advice with young students interested in computer science! #software #computerscience #hackathon #toronto #shopify #productionengineer #softwaredeveloper #devdegree

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Transitioning to a new role at Shopify has been a journey filled with both excitement and challenges. Here are a few key learnings from my experience so far. Prioritizing Information: One of the biggest challenges has been sifting through the vast amount of information available. With so much happening across the organization and an abundance of content to absorb, distinguishing between what's actionable and what's just for context is crucial. I've learned the importance of seeking early guidance from my team to help prioritize effectively. This approach has been invaluable in focusing on what truly matters and ensuring my contributions have the most impact. It's about striking a balance between being informed and overwhelmed, and I've found that open communication with colleagues has been key to navigating this. By actively engaging in discussions and leveraging the expertise of those around me, I've been able to streamline my focus and direct my efforts where they are needed most. Embracing Change and Adaptability: This is a dynamic environment where some applications and processes have been around for ages, while others may have been introduced just the month before I started. Some systems endure because they work exceptionally well, while others might be in desperate need of a rewrite, refactor, or replacement. This mix of tradition and innovation requires a willingness to ask more questions than anyone else in the room. It's about understanding the rationale behind existing systems and being game to exploring new approaches. Through all of this, I am realizing that change, while daunting, offers a chance for growth and reinvention. I was ready for a new challenge, and I got exactly what I was looking for. The supportive and collaborative spirit of the team has made this transition not only possible but rewarding. I'm lucky to be a part of this team, where the shared commitment to Shopify's mission makes it very clear we are all rowing together in the same direction. #Shopify #SoftwareEngineering #NewBeginnings #GrowthMindset

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#ProductTO May 23 - Monthly in-person product management discussions in Toronto, hosted at Intuit Canada's amazing offices! This month's facilitators: - Janmejay Doshi - Communicating with Stakeholders: From Engineers to Sales - Hiral P. - Product Management in a Sales-Led Company - Sameer Maira - Maximizing Collaboration with Your Engineering Lead - Tahereh Z., MSc., MBA - Discovery Methods and Frameworks - Ekaterina Tyukina - Decisions, Decisions: Navigating Product End-of-Life We restrict attendance to experienced product managers and product leaders so that we can focus our conversations on the craft of product management. The goal is to dive deep into a topic together through facilitated discussions, so that we have better tools to do better product management. Already on the mailing list? DM me for the link. Not on the mailing list? Sign up at productto[dot]org/join.

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𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐉𝐨𝐛𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬 - Latest roles October 5th We've got several new job openings across various teams in Microsoft Vancouver this week. Interested? Apply now using the links below or share this post with someone who might be! (Please note - I'm not the hiring manager for these toles) I get asked to look at resumes a lot, but a generic resume doesn’t help much, especially when applying to Microsoft. You want your resume to match the job you’re going for. Make sure it speaks to the role and highlights what’s most important. And to be honest, I’m not an engineer, so I might not understand all the technical details. You’ll get better feedback from someone who knows the job you’re after. 𝐒𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫  https://lnkd.in/guwkZruD  https://lnkd.in/gaaJcYX4 𝐒𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫 https://lnkd.in/gtZwYFFh  https://lnkd.in/gqZgPtHd  https://lnkd.in/gZ8b-NzD  https://lnkd.in/gNb8ZT7v  https://lnkd.in/gvVkfsVe  https://lnkd.in/gG-iZ3WK  https://lnkd.in/gREpaSaT  https://lnkd.in/gTpmPVid 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫 https://lnkd.in/g3ckHMzX 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫 https://lnkd.in/gYp_sW-Q 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫: 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 https://lnkd.in/gBx-QbPi 𝐀𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 - 𝐆𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐚𝐫 - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 https://lnkd.in/gFXHbK-s 𝐒𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫 - 𝐗𝐛𝐨𝐱 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐬 https://lnkd.in/g_eKrGFX 𝐒𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫 - 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐈 https://lnkd.in/g2JfHFm9  https://lnkd.in/g9GrTeVq 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 & 𝐀𝐈 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 https://lnkd.in/gsNeVM28 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 https://lnkd.in/gnMF2sqn #Microsoft #MicrosoftVancouver #Vancouver #TechJobs #Hiring #SoftwareEngineering #JobSearch #CareerOpportunities #MSV

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A few months ago, I had the honour to be a guest on Qingyue(Annie) Wang https://www.thriveup.co/ podcast which focused on stories about my career pivot from microbiology to software engineering. I shared my somewhat mundane journey not knowing the profound impact it would have. To my surprise, during a coffee meetup, several people approached me to express how much my story inspired them. This was a humbling reminder of the power of sharing our paths regardless of how little we think of it. I had an idea to start podcasting, but I didn't know how or what to talk about. Until I met Fauwial Khan on a tech event who also had a dream of starting his own podcast. After a few intense brainstorming session on podcasting topics. Suddenly, everything clicked. We decided to create a platform to bring people together through their stories. That’s how Vancity Podcast https://lnkd.in/gxvdnnSH was born. Our first episode? Recorded with just a $12 Amazon earbud (we have proof!). Agile podcast development, right? Ship fast, get feedback and iterate. It's fascinating how two novices in podcasting were able to join forces and launch a podcast channel. What really propelled us was our shared vision and the small, incremental steps we took to achieve our goals. Upon hearing about our project, numerous individuals generously offered their expertise in storytelling, podcast setup, and interviewing techniques. I am deeply grateful to be surrounded by such kind-hearted and altruistic individuals. None of this would have been possible without their invaluable support. If you are interested to listen to stories told on Vancity live podcast, follow us on https://lnkd.in/gxvdnnSH. You know what's even better? share your stories on Vancity live podcast! Reach out to either Fauwial Khan or myself. #Podcasting #VancityPodcast #Storytelling #CommunityBuilding

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I proposed recently 💍. Here’s how it was like a product launch (is this meme still a thing?): 🔹 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 Not “too over the top,” just unforgettable! A private proposal in beautiful BC, surrounded by friends to celebrate afterward. 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: 🔹 𝗚𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 Collected from the “end user” (my fiancée) based on our story, and feedback from our “focus group” (a.k.a., her friends). 🔹𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝗶𝘁𝗲  Location matters, and Robert’s Creek Pier checked all the boxes: mountains, sunset, and scenic backdrops for the big moment.   🔹 𝗚𝗼-𝘁𝗼-𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 Hired a “newbie” photographer (posing as an amateur) who would approach us as we tried to take a selfie. She would set up a few poses, instruct her to close her eyes, then… cue the moment. 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: 🔹 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 (𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆) Photographer scouted out the pier in advance and set up my exact kneeling spot for the big reveal. 🔹 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 (𝗨𝗫) We coordinated every detail, down to her outfit, to make sure it was comfortable, camera-ready, and flat-shoe-friendly for the pier walk. 🔹 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 • Plan B: Adjust for rain with clear umbrellas. • Plan C: If wildfire smoke affected visibility, pivot to a cozy restaurant proposal. 🚀𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗗𝗮𝘆  Early dinner nearby, timing synced to sunset, and friends with champagne for the post-proposal celebration. Safe to say my fiancée will roll her eyes at this post!😅 #ProductManagement #ProposalPlanning #ProductLaunches

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👋 Hey friends - especially those in Toronto! I'm gonna be speaking at Product-Led Summit this week on Thursday. My topic? If you've been following me closely (first of all- stop doing that) you may know I've been dealing probably 70/30 between consumer facing products vs internal products (or processes) throughout my career. My current job at SiriusXM is on the #PlatformEngineering side of the house (100% internal - see #IDP) which has given me some time to reflect on the differences / similarities between building products for the 'outside' vs 'the 'inside'. I'm taking a leap on this one as I'll actually be doing 0 #AI references throughout the entire 30 minutes! #CareerSuicide. Just straight PM-talk about some of the crazy stuff I've seen between the two worlds ( 🤫 Spoiler: they are kinda the same) Let's start the convo here! ❓ PM's who have done both - what's the biggest difference you can think of? ❓ PM's who have only done the one - what are you curious about on the 'other side' 🎟 P.S. If you are interested in joining me at the conference but don't yet have a ticket - send me a message! Product-Led Alliance #pledtoronto #PlatformEngineering #PlatformAsAProduct

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I had the honor of seeing Shreyas Doshi's live presentation as the podcast "4 Questions Shreyas Wishes He’d Asked Himself Sooner" was recorded on stage during Lenny Rachitsky's summit in San Francisco. One insight that stuck with me: His answer to "Why am I so busy?" was —“Most 2-way doors are actually one-way doors.” Once a feature is built, it’s hard to walk it back. The solution? Take the time to think. A few hours or days of reflection can save months of wasted work not only for you but for your entire team. Thinking is cheap, and we should do it more. What’s your approach to creating space for deep thinking in the chaos of product development? #ProductManagement #Leadership #Wisdom #Prioritization #DeepWork

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I reviewed 100+ #PM resumes this year. Manually looking at each one is obviously not scalable and quite tiring too. After a few hours of prompt engineering and testing, I am excited to share 𝗣𝗠𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 - 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄. I tried it out with my resume and other resumes from my friends and mentees; it does a really good job! While it doesn't replace me completely (hopefully?), people can use this tool to polish their resumes. Let me know what you think! #resumeTips #productManagement 

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Check out this great article about RAGE, our latest research innovation that helps explain LLMs!

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You poured your heart and soul into your Shopify store. I mean, let’s be honest… Late nights coding the perfect product pages, agonizing over the theme, crafting the ideal customer journey – it's your baby! Then, what happens? Some cyber Grinch decides your store looks like a good target for their next scam. Not cool. Not cool at all. Here's the thing: fraudsters are a cunning bunch. But as a Shopify developer, I'm here to give you the lowdown on how to fight back and protect your store: 🧲 Built-in Security: Shopify Payments = Auto-verify & block fraud (think bouncer with superpowers). 🧲 Fraud Apps: Guard dogs for your store (sniff out suspicious orders). 🧲 Be a Savvy Sherlock: Red flags: High-value orders, mismatched addresses, same IP. 🧲 Stay Informed: New scams? Stay ahead of the curve (think security patches for your store). See, building a secure store is totally doable but for that either you need to follow secured protocols or if you are not tech savvy, you need professional help. That’s where I step in! As a Shopify developer, I can help you implement these strategies and find the perfect fraud prevention app for your store. Just shoot me a message. I’m just a “Hi” away!

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After many years in product I finally decided to take my first, and probably last, "PM course": Shreyas Doshi's Product Sense course: https://lnkd.in/g6Gm9YzU Why my last? I don't think I'll ever need to take another course after this. He asked our honest take, so here's mine: The premise of a PM course always felt ironic to me because doing product in theory is never *remotely close* to doing product in practice. Well, this is finally the course that is built for, and built by, product in practice. Name a product concept that you've banged your head against the wall trying to put into practice (I'll name a few: Product Sense, Product Strategy, Product Vision). You've already read 5 books, 10 medium articles, and listened to 12 podcasts, and still feel like doing it yourself is like grabbing water. Every one of those concepts (and more) has finally been decomposed, distilled, and packaged into something that can compare to working directly with a world-class product leader yourself. Do yourself a favor and take this course, there is nothing remotely close to it that I'm aware of in existence. Also: you will laugh - guarantee you'll experience at least 1 moment of catharsis as Shreyas Doshi skewers some aspect of the tech industry and our experience as product people within it.

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