Growing into the Product Manager role through client trust

Some career moves are planned. Others happen because someone notices your work. For Ionuț, the next step didn’t come from a job search, but from a client he had worked with before.

How it all started

He joined Yonder in 2018 as a Requirements Analyst. He remembers that moment well, especially because less than a month later he was already on a plane to Boston, meeting the client face-to-face and experiencing his first real jet lag.

Over the following years, he gained first-hand experience in what building software products involves: navigating time and budget constraints, working with legacy systems, and adapting to requirements that evolve constantly as the product takes shape.

A step back. And a step forward

Then came the pandemic. Work accelerated, the pace intensified, and at some point, Ionuț felt he needed a reset. He decided to step away and experience life inside a product company.

But the next chapter of his career came from somewhere familiar. A client he had worked closely with during his time at Yonder reached out with an opportunity that aligned with a long-term goal of his: stepping into a Product Manager role. That path eventually brought him back to Yonder.

“It was one of my dreams to become a Product Manager, so the opportunity meant a lot to me. Joining the client’s product team gave me the chance to look at problems from within and be actively involved in driving the solution direction.”

What made the difference

More than the role itself, there was something else he realized he had missed while away: the learning environment created by the people around him.

“What I always appreciated at Yonder is how naturally people share what they try, whether it’s product thinking, new tools, or experiments with AI. If you don’t have people around you willing to say ‘Let me show you what I tried’ or ‘Have you tested this approach?’, I think it becomes much harder to grow professionally.” 

These days, when many of those conversations revolve around the same topic, this exchange helps us all learn much faster.

“AI is exciting and scary at the same time. It opens new ways of building prototypes and discussing ideas with clients, but it also forces you to think more strategically about the value you bring. I’m curious to see where this will take us.”

 

Ionuț started at Yonder as a Requirements Analyst.

Today, he works as a Product Manager, continuing the same process that shaped his career from the beginning: learning, experimenting, and figuring things out together with the people around him.