AMA: Retool Head of Product Marketing, Kevin Garcia on PMM Interviews

In my mind, the best performing product marketers exhibit three must-have skills: Research Storytelling Project management To expand on each: The instinct and ability to research, talk to customers, and analyze data to find new insights The ability to combine insights + product features into stories that resonate with your audience The drive and cross-functional skills to work across any internal scenario to drive external results In my experience, folks with (1) and (2) but not (3) tend to be r ...Read More

First of all, you're not alone! I've definitely fumbled my way through several interviews. Rather than offering really general advice, I'd like to get specific. When I think about interviews, I think of two ways you can impress a hiring manager: Substance - You show that you're qualified for the role and would add value to the team/business Style - You show that you're a great communicator and are someone that the team wants to work with I think there is A LOT of high-level advice for both that ...Read More

One way that I like to prepare for an interview is to go in with the mindset that you are an investor (which you are, with your time!). As an investor, you want to learn everything you can about the company: Who are they? (homepage, fundraise announcements, careers page descriptions) What do they do? (docs, G2, TrustRadius, Twitter, support forums, YouTube videos) Who are they solving for? (main nav website, titles on G2/TrustRadius, blog posts) How big/interesting is that market? (industry site ...Read More

There are a lot of ways to measure sales enablement: lead-to-conversion rates, win-rates, sales rep NPS, etc. HubSpot does a great overview of popular options in this post.  In my experience, there is no one-size-fits all and getting to the "right" answer requires a deep understanding about how marketing and sales contribute to your business. In the end, it's all about alignment (with sales) and impact (for the business). If you're starting from scratch (e.g. new business unit, early-stage start ...Read More

I've mentioned this framework in other answers, but I believe that great product marketers are great researchers, storytellers, and project managers. A standout product marketing portfolio would include work that helps you cover these critical bases. I've added below some examples of things that could help you stand out in each area. Research: A summary of a research project you ran and how the insights were used An example of a research question + interview questions you used in customer calls ...Read More

Congrats on the MBA! There are two types of internships: the internship you apply for and the internship you create. For well-known PMM internships, you apply for an existing role. There is often a lot more demand (applicants) than supply (internships available) so honestly your best bet to stand out is to build relationships at the company and prepare a compelling application that shows you are a self-motivated, high potential individual. But you might also consider creating your own internship ...Read More

This will depend heavily on the kind of product you are interviewing to market. The more technical the product, the more "technical" questions you might get. Even so, you should be 100% prepared to: Talk about what their product does (use cases) Talk about who their product is for (audience) Understand that context their product lives in (market + technical specs) You should know these things regardless of whether they're being asked in an interview. These are all important to know before signin ...Read More

I love asking behavioral questions! As a hiring manager, I gain a lot of perspective about the candidate. As a candidate, you get the chance to stand out by storytelling—one of the most important skills a PMM can master. Two behavioral questions I would ask director-level candidates are: Tell me about a time where your messaging did not work. What went wrong and what did you do about? Tell me about a time a cross-functional partner gave you constructive feedback. What led to the feedback and wha ...Read More