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

January 12 @ 10:00AM PT

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What's the most important piece of advice you'd have for an undergrad student who wants to land an entry-level PMM job, despite the fact that a bulk of PMM jobs require an MBA?

Holly Xiao•

HeyGen Head of B2B Marketing • 3y

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...

1320 Views

2 requests

If you know that Product Marketing is your passion and you eventually want to be a leader of product marketing, how do you continue to grow in your role over time and take on the right experiences?

Holly Xiao•

HeyGen Head of B2B Marketing • 3y

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” experienc...

1297 Views

3 requests

If you were to hire a PMM today, what skills and attributes would you value most in a candidate?

Holly Xiao•

HeyGen Head of B2B Marketing • 3y

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 hirin...

1600 Views

3 requests

What are some tips for getting into the product marketing field?

Holly Xiao•

HeyGen Head of B2B Marketing • 3y

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 attitud...

1263 Views

1 request

How can I get into B2B SaaS product marketing from my current B2B SaaS Solution Engineer role? Could you highlight the transferable skills and gaps you see in this case. How to address the gaps?

Holly Xiao•

HeyGen Head of B2B Marketing • 3y

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 — a...

1191 Views

1 request

What is the best way to practice Product Marketing on your own project? And what online resources you recommend? Thank you!

Holly Xiao•

HeyGen Head of B2B Marketing • 3y

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 th...

1454 Views

3 requests

How to develop product marketing skills while not in a PMM role (to prepare for a career switch)?

Holly Xiao•

HeyGen Head of B2B Marketing • 3y

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 s...

1516 Views

4 requests

As a product marketer, is it important to have an online portfolio to showcase some of the work that you've done in the past?

Holly Xiao•

HeyGen Head of B2B Marketing • 3y

I don't think this is critical. But it doesn't hurt to have one if this is something that interests you! For most interview processes, we'll ask for work examples or hav...

1590 Views

2 requests

When applying to pmm jobs, how important is it to align your past experiences with the new role? (For instance, if you worked in ecommerce, only apply to ecommerce roles.)

I've noticed that when my experience doesn't align exactly, I don't make it past round 2 or round 3 of the interview.

Holly Xiao•

HeyGen Head of B2B Marketing • 3y

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 th...

1322 Views

1 request

Any productivity hacks or tools you've found to stay organized and on top of everything going on as a product marketer?

I'm always interested to hear how successful PMMs stay on top of it all.

Holly Xiao•

HeyGen Head of B2B Marketing • 3y

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-t...

1244 Views

2 requests

What are your top 3 areas of importance when it comes to managing and growing your career as a PMM?

Holly Xiao•

HeyGen Head of B2B Marketing • 3y

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 manage...

1415 Views

1 request

While looking at next level roles, how do you overcome hiring bias for the same domain. Your career history is what it is. Very few, if any, hiring managers are willing to look at the broad horizontal PMM skills that a candidate brings to the table.

Holly Xiao•

HeyGen Head of B2B Marketing • 3y

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 ...

384 Views

2 requests

What is the single most important thing to consider when choosing a company?

Holly Xiao•

HeyGen Head of B2B Marketing • 3y

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...

500 Views

2 requests

What are some good resources to practice for PMM interview questions and case studies?

Holly Xiao•

HeyGen Head of B2B Marketing • 3y

Sharebird and Product Marketing Alliance have some great resources on this topic. Glassdoor is also helpful sometimes when folks share interview questions they were asked...

5790 Views

2 requests

Since product marketing is different at every company, what are some skills (hard and/or soft) that every PMM should have to ensure they’re as versatile as possible?

Holly Xiao•

HeyGen Head of B2B Marketing • 3y

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...

1807 Views

1 request

How realistic is it to get into PMM role from a Brand / Product Manager role? (previous experience in a Consumer Goods company)

My guess is that the skillset is there and it's the industry experience that is lacking. I worked on Product Launches, Pricing, Packaging, Positioning, Analytics, Strategy, User Reasearch, Stakeholder Management etc yet never getting any invites to the interviews. Any tips what to work on?

Holly Xiao•

HeyGen Head of B2B Marketing • 3y

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. ...

1211 Views

1 request