William Chung
5.0
(4)
Former Army Pilot Who Broke Into PM After 100+ Applications | Microsoft PM
Studied at MIT Sloan
Works at Microsoft
Available Friday at 12:00 PM UTC
Questions? Start chatting with this coach before you get started.
William's Coaching Offerings
Custom hourly · $75/hr
Get help with Cover Letters, General Exploration, and .
William also coaches for MBA and Transitioning from the Military. View all.
William’s Product Management Qualifications
Experience level: Product Manager
10+ people coached for Product Management
Breaking into product management without a traditional tech background is tough. After eight years as a U.S. Army Black Hawk pilot, I went to MIT Sloan knowing I wanted to pivot into PM but having no connections in tech and no clear path to get there. I spent months learning frameworks, building side projects, and figuring out how to translate military leadership into language that resonated with tech hiring managers. I applied to well over 100 roles and collected plenty of rejections along the way before eventually landing a Product Manager role at Microsoft. That experience gave me a very practical understanding of what it actually takes to break in. I know which parts of a non-traditional background hiring managers care about and which ones they don't. I know how to reframe military, consulting, or other non-tech experience into a compelling PM narrative. And I know how to stay focused when the process feels like it's going nowhere. I work with career changers, veterans, and other non-traditional candidates on the full PM job search: resume positioning, networking strategy, building PM-relevant work, product sense and execution interview prep, and offer negotiation. If you're trying to break into PM and feel like your background doesn't check the usual boxes, I can help you figure out how to make it work.
William can help with:
Cover Letters
General Exploration
Skill Building
Strategy & Vision
Resume Review
Frameworks
Behavioral Interview Prep
Salary Negotiation
Execution
Networking Strategy
Influence & Collaboration
LinkedIn Review
Product Case Interview Prep
William also coaches for MBA and Transitioning from the Military. View all.
About William
I'm Will Chung, a Product Manager at Microsoft, former U.S. Army MEDEVAC Black Hawk pilot, and MIT Sloan MBA. I spent eight years in the Army, including a combat deployment to Afghanistan where I led aeromedical evacuation operations. When I left the military, I had no idea what was next. I was a first-generation college student with no family in the business world and no network in tech. I didn't even know what an MBA could do for me until someone took the time to explain it. Once I committed to the path, I went all in. I applied to business school, was accepted to MIT Sloan, Kellogg, Haas, Fuqua, Darden, and Tuck, and chose Sloan. At MIT, I served as Co-President of the Veterans Club, a Senior VP of Recruiting in the Product Management Club, a TA for Communications for Leaders, and a Community Building Co-Chair. After graduating, I joined Microsoft as a Product Marketing Manager, but product management was always the goal, so I kept pushing, applied to over 100 PM roles along the way, and eventually made the internal pivot to a Product Manager position on the Windows 365 + Azure Virtual Desktop team. Outside of work, I'm an avid outdoorsman. You'll usually find me trail running, skiing, biking, climbing, camping, anything outside!
Why do I coach?
When I was transitioning out of the Army, I felt completely lost. I didn't have family members who had gone to graduate school. I didn't have a network of people in tech or business who could tell me what was realistic and what wasn't. The few people who did take the time to help me, whether it was reviewing my essays, prepping me for interviews, or just telling me that my goals weren't crazy, made all the difference. I genuinely don't think I would have ended up where I am without them. That's why I coach. I've spent years helping veterans and service members navigate the same transition I went through, from figuring out whether business school makes sense, to crafting applications that translate military experience into a compelling narrative, to breaking into tech after graduation. I've helped 20+ people earn acceptances at programs like HBS, Stanford GSB, Booth, Sloan, Columbia, Kellogg, and others across the top 25, and I've helped career changers and veterans pivot into product management, product marketing, and other roles in tech. I know how isolating the transition can feel when the civilian world speaks a completely different language, and I coach because I want to be the person I wish I had when I was starting out: someone who's been through it, who gets it, and who's going to be straight with you every step of the way.
Work Experience
Product Manager
Microsoft
February 2026 - Present
Product Marketing Manager
Microsoft
July 2025 - February 2026
Search and AI Product Marketing Manager (MBA Intern)
Microsoft
May 2024 - August 2024
Product Manager (MBA Intern)
KAYAK
January 2024 - February 2024
Product Manager
LowTech AI
May 2023 - November 2023
Product Manager (MBA Intern)
Schneider Electric
June 2023 - August 2023
Operations Director and Blackhawk Pilot
United States Army
August 2015 - July 2023
I was an HH-60 Medical Evacuation Blackhawk Pilot and Officer for my entire career. I've led teams globally including a ten month deployment to Afghanistan.
Education
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Bachelor’s of Science - BS, Marketing Management
Societies: Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity, Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society Activities: Army ROTC and Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, Pamplin College of Business Senator: Student Government Association, Leadership Team Member: Class of 2015 Leadership Team, Member and Low Tech: Student Alumni Association
MIT Sloan
Master of Business Administration - MBA
2023 - 2025
- Co-President of Sloan Veterans Club - SVP of Recruiting of Product Management Club - Co-President of Community Building Chairs - Teaching Assistant for 15.280 Communications for Leaders Lab
William was also personally admitted to
Haas School of Business (Berkeley)
Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern)
Tuck School of Business
Darden School of Business (UVA)
Duke's Fuqua School of Business
MIT Sloan
4 Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
William has helped clients get into these schools: