In today's job market, building a product or company on the side is no longer just "extra credit." Hiring managers view these projects as direct evidence of initiative, product thinking, and technical skill, sometimes weighing them as much as traditional work experience.

The gap between PMs who only use AI for productivity and those who build with it will soon be massive. Gabor advocates for building and shipping a real AI app, not for business, but to gain hands-on experience and create a tangible portfolio item that proves you can build in the AI era.

The most compelling way to demonstrate AI skills to an employer is to build something. Creating custom GPTs for personal productivity or simple apps proves practical problem-solving ability far more effectively than a list of certifications on a resume.

The traditional career path of climbing the management ladder is becoming obsolete in the AI era. The highest value and impact now come from achieving deep proficiency as a hands-on builder with AI tools. Aspiring leaders should prioritize building skills over traditional management.

The process of building a personal application with AI tools fosters a sense of "permissionless building." This newfound confidence directly impacts professional work, encouraging designers to take more risks, proactively fill gaps, and build solutions without waiting for a formal brief.

For PMs struggling to get AI experience at their current job, building a ChatGPT app serves as a powerful portfolio project. The end-to-end process—from prompting an idea to running evals—simulates the full AI product development lifecycle, demonstrating valuable, hands-on skills to potential employers.

When hiring for Zenly and Amo, the team prioritized a candidate's side projects over their experience at Meta or Apple. Side projects are the strongest signal of curiosity, ambition, and an entrepreneurial mindset—acting as a "Trojan horse" for getting noticed by top companies.

Aspiring AI PMs shouldn't use the lack of an official AI project at their company as an excuse. The best way to gain experience is to proactively use widely available consumer AI tools like Claude, OpenAI, and Gemini to build side projects and demonstrate initiative.

In the near future, top candidates will demonstrate their value by showcasing the custom AI agents they've built. This portfolio proves their ability to multiply their own productivity and bring a force multiplier to a new role from day one.