AMA: Drift Group Product Marketing Lead, Product & Solutions, Holly Xiao on Product Marketing Career Path

My former manager, Christy Roach, taught me the importance of the following skills, which I've applied to my PMM career to date. (Thanks, Christy!) So copying and pasting one of her previous Sharebird answers around this below: Soft skills: Cross-functional excellence: As a PMM, you have the opportunity to lead without being a manager of people. A strong product marketer is someone who takes others along with them, rather than telling people exactly what they want them to do. They’re able to cre ...Read More

I may be misinterpreting your question, so feel free to reach out on Linkedin if this doesn't answer it. But two thoughts come to mind: 1. Specialize in 1 or 2 areas of Product Marketing. I mentioned this in one of my answers above — but I'd recommend building "T-shaped" skills. This means having deep expertise in 1 to 2 areas of product marketing (like GTM strategies) AND a wide range of other core skills at the top of your T (like pricing & packaging, analyst relations, etc). It sounds lik ...Read More

Go-to-market strategy and execution is probably one of the most sought-after hard skills for PMM. But a Product Marketing role varies from company to company. When hiring, I start by evaluating two things: 1. What are our business objectives? When writing a job description, I like to work backward. I always start by considering our business north stars and what pillars a new hire should be responsible for to help us achieve our strategic goals. From there, I break down the pillars into tactical ...Read More

I love this question! It’s so important to develop transferrable skills even if you aren’t in a PMM role. That proactive attitude goes a long way in interviews since it shows you're a go-getter. And that’s a quality that can’t really be taught. Here are six ways you can develop product marketing skills: 1. Tell people you're interested in Product Marketing: This doesn’t directly tie to developing PMM skills. But if you’re genuinely interested in PMM, my biggest advice is to let those around you ...Read More

I touched on this topic in one of the questions above. That said, I think it’s wise to take a deliberate approach. Otherwise, you're just creating work without getting the output you want. I'd recommend making a list of the core PMM skills hiring managers are looking for. You can find a lot of this information in job descriptions. Once you have the list, map out what skills you can build in your current role and what those projects/responsibilities are. Assuming your manager is supportive of you ...Read More

In my experience, taking your career into your own hands is key. There will be managers who are great about having career conversations with you, and there will be managers who aren't. Be bold and bring it up on your own. Here’s what you can start doing today: 1. Know your strengths, gaps, and aspirations: Sounds basic, but it's important. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses gives you a better sense of how you operate - and a starting point for career development. If you need to figure out wha ...Read More

The most important thing I can tell you is that your first job out of college won't define your career forever. So don't be afraid to take risks! Several large companies have associate product marketing manager programs or rotational programs that you can apply for. Make sure you check when applications must be submitted, as the programs follow a biannual (I think) schedule. With that said — generally, it's rare to start your career in product marketing because it’s often a more specialized role ...Read More

It's common for people to move from one industry to another. If you're in eCommerce right now, don't feel like you have to apply for only eCommerce jobs. At the end of the day, it’s really about how fast you can learn and hit the ground running in a new role. I'm a firm believer that you'll learn 70% of a new role while on the job. If you’re making it to the 2nd and 3rd rounds, that signals to me that the hiring manager thinks you have the right experience/skills from your resume. Many factors c ...Read More

This is a tough one because there’s no “correct” answer. Product Marketing varies depending on the industry, company size, and maturity. So evaluate the “right” experiences based on what you want to learn and what you want to accomplish. I’d challenge you to put the title aside and focus more on the responsibilities that interest you. Generally speaking, the more senior you get, the broader your scope. So I’d say it’s important to:  1. Develop more cross-discipline expertise vs deep discipline e ...Read More

I answered a similar question below so copying my answer here. It’s so important to develop transferrable skills even if you aren’t in a PMM role. That proactive attitude goes a long way in interviews since it shows you're a go-getter. And that’s a quality that can’t really be taught. Here are six ways you can develop product marketing skills: 1. Tell people you're interested in Product Marketing: This doesn’t directly tie to developing PMM skills. But if you’re genuinely interested in PMM, my b ...Read More

This really depends on what you value and what makes you happy as an individual. When evaluating a company, it's important to take a variety of factors into account.  As a visual person, I always list the pros and cons of every company I interview at. By doing this, I can clearly see what tradeoffs I'd have to make if I joined those companies. Then I ask myself: where will I be most fulfilled? Do the pros outweigh the cons? This is not an exhaustive list. But here are just a few aspects to consi ...Read More

Where to start! There are so many productivity tools out there. These are my top ones: Asana: The Drift Marketing team uses Asana religiously. And Asana has been my go-to tool for launching products and managing other initiatives at my last three companies. At some point in your career, Asana will likely come in handy, even if you've never used it. Mem.io: My co-worker introduced this to me last year, and it’s now one of my daily productivity tools. In short, it’s an AI-powered note-taking app. ...Read More

I think it’s very realistic! As a Brand expert, you know how to tell stories through brand attributes. As for product management, it's more related to product marketing. So you probably work with PMMs a lot and are familiar with the operating rhythms. Based on what you shared, you already have a good amount (and diverse) of product marketing experience. If you’re not getting interview invites, one reason could be that it’s not clear that you have all the PMM experience that you’ve listed. I’d go ...Read More

Without a ton of context on your role and the product/services you’re representing, I’d say that the most important thing to keep in mind is how you position yourself — and really lean into what sets you apart from other PMMs (e.g your technical skills). There are technical product marketing roles that require more technical aptitude. For these roles, your technical skills set you apart from less-technical PMMs. So if you’re an engineer who enjoys story-telling, I think you've got a great shot a ...Read More