AMA: ThoughtSpot Senior Director of Product Marketing & Customer Marketing, Christine Sotelo-Dag on Product Marketing Interviews

I always like to hear from product marketers what companies they believe do product marketing well, and why. Before I go into what makes a good answer, I'll point out that there is a difference between a good product and good product marketing. Many times I'd hear all about why a PRODUCT is great, but not enough about how their marketing was great. I'd also say that although companies like Apple and Patagonia have renowned product marketing - it is sometimes more beneficial to focus on the examp ...Read More

A few flags that I look out for are outlined below that separates a good candidate from a great one.  Failure to be concise. As a product marketer, one of the key characteristics of our role is being able to tell a compelling story, that resonates with our audience. The best way to showcase this capability is in your interview as you tell your own story. Avoid long, wordy answers or rambling and focus on being clear and concise.  Failure to do basic homework on the company/product. There isn't a ...Read More

I think the best way to talk about messaging and positioning in your interview process is less focused on the output of that work, and more focused on the 'how' behind how you go about driving that work.  What framework do you use?  How do you identify your key value propositions and the parts of your product that ladder up to those propositions?  How have you identified your core audience(s), and how to position your offering for them?  How do you validate that your messaging resonates with you ...Read More

If I were assigning this work, I'd expect to see the common elements of a GTM plan outlined (not necessarily the content, but the outline for sure). I'd look for elements such as  Who is the core audience  What is their current pain (before using your product) How does your product solve that pain (what value does your product provide)  What are the reasons the audience should believe you (proof points)  What strategies will you implement to reach this audience based on what you know about them  ...Read More

Outside of researching common product marketing interview questions and generic interview prep like that, I think the best resources probably live on the hiring organization's website and resources. Learn as much as you can about the organization, how they position themselves, who their core audience is, the competitive landscape. This is going to take your interview to the next level and really help the hiring manager see you in the role as you already have a baseline knowledge of the organizat ...Read More

In general, I think the most common mistakes fall under the category of not being properly prepared. However, here are a few examples that come to mind when I think about interviews that could have gone better.  Not familiar with our product/service  Talk about wanting to join the company because of the trajectory of the company (versus being excited about the product, mission, etc)   Talk poorly of their previous employers  Not ask any questions  Not able to provide clear examples of previous w ...Read More

I think there are general elements that should be included in any resume you create, such as success metrics to highlight how you drove impact and your ability to define and measure success. That said, I'd expect to see deliverables, projects and skillsets that map to a product marketing role. Even if there was no previous PMM experience, I'd hope to see how your previous experience maps to what makes you a good fit for a PMM role - and therefore your resume should be adapted to the role as well ...Read More

In my experience, the technical questions I think you can expect will be around your methodology for ramping up on technical products, and your ability (and examples) where you marketed technical products or features in a way that elevates the story outside of functionality and into value. Be able to demonstrate your ability to partner with product, engineering and design teams, providing feedback and input into product decisions while also being a solid partner to Marketing and bringing the pro ...Read More

Common assignments we've asked candidates include:  How would you announce a new feature? (How would you approach developing messaging for this launch? Suggest 3 tactics you would employ to announce this feature to customers. Who are the internal stakeholders you would work with, and in what capacity? How would you think about measuring the success of this announcement?) Provide a high-level strategy for how you'd tackle competitive research  Give a 1-2 sentence (original) pitch on our product  ...Read More

There are a few core characteristics that make product marketers stand out, especially those with less experience to pull from in interviews and resumes. Characteristics such as time management, prioritization, strong execution skills, cross-functional collaboration and a basic understanding of the role of storytelling in marketing.  Wherever you can showcase these skills, even if it's pulling from experiences in a different role or as a student, will help build confidence with the hiring manage ...Read More

The best questions, in my opinion, are the ones that organically come up in the context of our conversation. The kinds of questions where the candidate wants to dig a little deeper into the problems the business is trying to solve for customers or the details around the expectations of the role, etc.  There will always be generic questions that are very important, ie. culture of the company, how success is defined, etc - but these should be balanced with thoughtful, contextual questions that sho ...Read More

I think this is probably a question you can get a feel for by asking a few tangential questions:  Asking questions that help you identify the hiring manager's style of management - are they hands-on or do they prefer to be more hands-off  Asking questions to help identify the company culture. What are the expectations from the leadership team regarding reviewing projects, defining projects, etc?  Asking for examples of previous Product Launches (for example) and what the DACI or RACI looks like ...Read More