What is GA Product Club?

Product Club was an idea created by the General Assembly DC Outcomes and Employer Partnerships Teams. GA had hosted many Hackathons in the past, but we realized that job seekers need more time to build their projects and to obtain real cross-functional experience. While immersive students are in training, they work primarily within their discipline and don't have the opportunity to work with graduates from other GA Immersive cohorts. Employers look for candidates with cross-functional work experience, so it is essential that GA students have an opportunity to find or create these experiences post-graduation.

Product Club is an opportunity to work amongst UX Designers, Data Scientists, and Software Engineers at a similar skill level; it is a safe place to fail, learn from mistakes, and discover how to best communicate with others. On top of that, graduates walk away with a product or case study that they can showcase in their portfolio, resume, and LinkedIn. Many grads who participated in past Product Clubs have talked about the experience during interviews. During our pilot Product Club program, one graduate was interviewing with a company, and her Product Club experience was fresh on her mind––it became a main focus of her interview conversations, and she received an offer from the company.

Another important element of the program is networking: graduates have the opportunity to work with mentors through the duration of the program. During their final showcase, they have the opportunity to showcase their skills to employers and others in the GA community. They form friendships with their peers during the program: one graduate who landed a role during Product Club referred her UX teammate for an opening at her company. These are invaluable networking experiences.