1 Identification and comparison of the psychological requirements placed on product managers during the recruitment process Wroblowská Zuzana, Ruda Tomáš Abstract The submitted paper is focused on personality traits and behavioural competencies of a key role bearer in product oriented marketing management, generally referred to as product management. An interdisciplinary approach was applied while looking into this subject, since both research into theoretical bases and analysis of the current state of the topic and the tendencies of its development required work in several fields of study. Based on research on the field of secondary data the assumption was set that product manager is an example of a knowledge worker in the 21st century and that the business practice sees him as such, which has an effect on the requirements with which a candidate for this position is confronted in the recruitment process. An independent research project was conducted and it confirmed that product managers are considered to be knowledge workers and that independence and analytical thinking skills were among the most common requirements for product managers both in 2007 and in 2014. A comparison of results from 2007 and 2014 also showed some differences. A statistical verification confirmed a shift in requirements in the interpersonal competency group. The findings were used to formulate recommendations for strategy and realization of recruitment and selection for positions in product management. Keywords: knowledge worker, personality traits, product management, product manager, psychological requirements, recruitment strategy JEL Classification: D83, M12, M31, M51 1. INTRODUCTION Constant increasing of competitive ability and the related need to find critical competencies, which determine a company's standing on the market, is a major challenge for businesses of all sizes and fields of expertise. Economic power is not enough; in order to survive, organizations must show that they are prepared to react to changes in their environment and potentially also initiate these changes. It is innovation that determines success and the future. There is high rate of agreement amongst experts that in the creation of competitive advantage, human capital is the crucial component of intangible assets, because people's specific traits make them the most dynamic and most flexible factor. Human resources are at the centre of this paper's research interest. It is specifically focused on the human factor in product management, because products and particularly product innovations have been a matter of interest for businesspeople for decades. In the present, markets for products and services are dynamically changing and it can be assumed that the human factor in product management, which is approached as an interdisciplinary business function in this paper, reflects these changes. In order for a bearer of the product management key role of product manager to succeed in an environment formed by deregulation,