Valerie Angelkos

AMA: Plaid Product Marketing Lead, Valerie Angelkos on PMM Soft and Hard Skills

May 24 @ 9:00AM PST
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Plaid Product Marketing Lead, Valerie Angelkos on PMM Soft and Hard Skills
Top Questions
Valerie Angelkos
Valerie Angelkos
Howl VP of Product MarketingMay 25
Most of my career has been spent in Marketing and I used my MBA to transition industries (from CPG to Tech) and location (from Latin America/regional teams to the United States/global teams).  While I had practical experience as a Marketer, what I learned through my MBA is the strategic and an......Read More
1544 Views
2 requests
How important are brand marketing skills for product marketers compared to analytical skills?
There is often a huge emphasis on analytical skills, instead of brand marketing skills, when it comes to product marketing job descriptions.
Valerie Angelkos
Valerie Angelkos
Howl VP of Product MarketingMay 25
Understanding how Brand Marketing works is critical to succeed in Product Marketing as these two teams work closely together to bring any Marketing and Product work to life. Brand Marketing thinks about creating a long-term, strategic plan to continuously boost a brand's recognition and reputa......Read More
525 Views
3 requests
Valerie Angelkos
Valerie Angelkos
Howl VP of Product MarketingMay 25
Retention is a hard topic and I personally think a healthy amount of rotation across different companies and roles is critical to develop a robust PMM skillset, so I have that in mind when I think about the team's I've managed and how to provide them with what they need to feel motivated and cont......Read More
365 Views
2 requests
What advice do you have for recent graduates that want to go straight into product marketing?
Typically, these roles require 3-5 years of experience and/or an MBA. Are there roles we should target instead that will help transition into product marketing? What qualities do you want to see in young professionals that want to land in product marketing?
Valerie Angelkos
Valerie Angelkos
Howl VP of Product MarketingMay 25
Product Marketing Specialists, Associates or General Marketing Specialist roles are good roles to kick-off your career in Product Marketing. They all will require you to develop Product Marketing skillsets and eventually become proficient in them -- including areas like working with Product/Tech ......Read More
575 Views
2 requests
Valerie Angelkos
Valerie Angelkos
Howl VP of Product MarketingMay 24
Messaging for me is both an art and a science. I've seen very good narrative building frameworks and courses around that can you help you nail basic concepts (e.g how to structure a well written value prop) but it needs constant practice and iteration. As an immigrant whose first language is n......Read More
683 Views
2 requests
Valerie Angelkos
Valerie Angelkos
Howl VP of Product MarketingMay 24
I'd weave these topics in as you answer the hard skill questions. Depending on your examples, theu could be easier to be included. Things to touch upon: 1. Leadership + Influencing without authority  2. Collaboration with XFN teams 3. Dealing with ambiguity (in particular in startup/smaller ......Read More
545 Views
2 requests
Valerie Angelkos
Valerie Angelkos
Howl VP of Product MarketingMay 24
I think it depends ultimately on what the team needs. In a highly technical area, I'd value industry and product knowledge highly, as long as the person is then coachable and open to learn on other areas within the PMM world. In a not so technical area, I'd prioritize PMM skillsets over other are......Read More
353 Views
2 requests
Valerie Angelkos
Valerie Angelkos
Howl VP of Product MarketingMay 25
I started my career in Marketing (Brand Marketing, CPG) and always loved the intersection of consumer/customers, brand building, and business ownership. I went to business school to transition industries - from CPG into Tech - and locations - from Latin America to the US. MBA folks would know tha......Read More
647 Views
3 requests
What should I do when I don't think that the feedback from my boss is correct and how do I approach it?
I get a lot of critical feedback from my boss and I don't always know what to do with it or how to improve. Sometimes I don't even agree with the feedback.
Valerie Angelkos
Valerie Angelkos
Howl VP of Product MarketingMay 25
First of all - I empathize with you and I know it's hard to receive critical feedback, but I applaud your interest in wanting to do something about this feedback and improve it. Feedback and manager relationships are often tough to navigate and there is no one-size-fits-all answer, but I'll share......Read More
291 Views
2 requests
Valerie Angelkos
Valerie Angelkos
Howl VP of Product MarketingMay 24
A couple of others that come to mind: 1. Excellent communication skills and the ability to adapt these to the right audience - whether that's for consumers at scale, customers, or internal stakeholders. 2. Cross-functional influence - PMMs sit in between customers/consumers, Sales, Marketing,......Read More
592 Views
2 requests
Valerie Angelkos
Valerie Angelkos
Howl VP of Product MarketingMay 25
Product Marketers should be user/customer-centric, insights-driven, and data-driven. Understanding what users/customers need with breadth (at scale, representative of your target audience) and depth (deep insights of your users in each of these segments), where the market is heading, and how your......Read More
712 Views
5 requests
Valerie Angelkos
Valerie Angelkos
Howl VP of Product MarketingMay 24
I personally used my MBA to transition from CPG to Tech. However, I've seen many do so without an MBA and generally speaking, it is possible by focusing on transferable skills, for example: 1) Focus on user insights - relevant across both industries but might be executed in practice in different......Read More
678 Views
2 requests