GTM is very broad and can mean so many things in industry. Strategic analysis
and more marketing plan like, PPPP (packaging, pricing, placement, etc.),
messaging/positioning You have to pick one, fin
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Product Marketing Interviews
I usually come across an interview round wherein I am handed the task of preparing a mock GTM plan for a product. I find it pretty vague as expectations vary widely and I am usually confused about what all to include and how to represent. Is there any example?
6 answers
Head of Product Marketing at Robo • July 31
The way I have answered this question by being brief and yet covering the main
components of the GTM is as follows: Creating a GTM plan is a collaborative
effort of working with cross-functional (pro
Product Marketing, Reality Labs at Meta | Formerly Sprinklr, YuMe • March 25
This is a great question and something I’ve also used when interviewing
candidates. I completely see how it can be daunting and spans varying levels of
expectations. Personally, the thing I try to emp
Global VP Marketing at Moloco • May 6
As a candidate, you're never expected by the interviewer to have all the
context. So it's an impossible expectation to put on yourself (unless you're an
internal candidate or have an insider hookup).
Product Marketer at Passion.io • February 9
For my last interview, I was asked to prepare a GTM plan for a big feature
release. I had only the feature name and the market segmentation and had to
"imagine" everything else myself. I created a No
Writing samples? Case studies?
9 answers
CEO at AudiencePlus • January 29
I think it depends on what sub-function of PMM you've excelled in (or are
applying for). If more technically-oriented, I'd want to learn about a product
launch that you've been a part of, walk through
Senior Director, Technology Marketing and Communications at Zendesk • February 5
I would try to highlight anything that shows you have the key skills to be an
effective product marketer. That definitely includes strong writing samples and
case studies like you suggested, but also:
Global VP Marketing at Moloco • May 6
The trifecta of short-form published writing, long-form writing, and enablement
materials always does the trick for me. If I can see the candidate has written a
great feature-related blog post or one-
Sr. Director | Head Of Product & Partner Marketing at Samsara • May 13
Please add the "why" behind why you chose to take on new initiatives. I often
see marketer proposing solutions that are searching for a problem. So, always
start with Why and how your work aligned wit
Head of Product Marketing at Klaviyo | Formerly Drift, Dropbox, Upwork • November 18
Absolutely writing samples! I always ask for those. (As you can tell from my
other answers, communication is something I care deeply about!) Case studies,
landing pages, pitch decks / other enablemen
Head of Product Marketing at Retool • May 5
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 incl
Head of Product Marketing at LottieFiles | Formerly WeLoveNoCode (made $3.6M ARR), Abstract, Flawless App (sold) • August 18
The great candidate stands out at every stage of the interview process,
highlighting her & his value prop 😊 PMM portfolio is one more channel to show
how you can help the company. Some practical
Vice President, Product Marketing at DigitalOcean • February 7
I am a big fan of writing examples. Writing crisp customer-facing content (blog
posts, data sheets, whitepapers, product pages, etc.) is essential for any
Product Marketer. I must also add that the
4 answers
Senior Director, Product Marketing at Twilio • December 3
The outcome you are targeting with your competitive research plays a role in the
efficacy of your research method. So have the outcome in mind before you start,
that way you will already be on the pat
Sr. Director, Product Marketing at Productboard • December 15
I’ve found the top 3 sources of competitive research to be: Peer review
sites. G2 and other review sites are the best source of information because it
comes straight from the users. Even though most
Vice President, Product Marketing at Clearbit | Formerly Glassdoor, Prophet, Kraft • May 6
It really depends on a few factors: time, resources and who the competitive
research helps. I would answer these questions to help you gauge how deep you
go. There are entire PMMs dedicated to competi
Which materials/key points/key themes you work on for them to know how to show your tool is better that the competitors'?
2 answers
Senior Vice President, Product Marketing at BetterUp | Formerly Klaviyo, Qualtrics, Microsoft, MckInsey • November 23
Differentiators Good messaging smartly incorporates differentiators. Yes
messaging is about the outcomes and benefits, it is about the category and the
disruptions , it is about value pillars but gre
Head of Product Marketing at LottieFiles | Formerly WeLoveNoCode (made $3.6M ARR), Abstract, Flawless App (sold) • December 5
One way to help your team win in a competitive space is to focus on building a
strong culture within the organization. This can include fostering a sense of
collaboration and teamwork, as well as prom
12 answers
My answer spans the top hard + soft skills: Hard: Well-rounded across words and
numbers. You often hear that PMMs have to be strong storytellers (framing,
positioning, mesaging, writing), but the hig
Head of Product Marketing at Klaviyo | Formerly Drift, Dropbox, Upwork • November 18
I think the best product marketing candidates — and product marketers — have one
thing in common: empathy. Empathy helps you understand where others are coming
from, and that is the foundation of grea
Head Of Product Marketing at HubSpot | Formerly Salesforce, IBM, Silverpop, Blackboard • March 9
I've done a lot of interviews and hiring over the years and I'm constantly
impressed by how smart and driven Product Marketers are! It's one of the things
that makes interviewing so much fun - you get
Director of Product Marketing & Customer Marketing at Mode Analytics • March 18
From my hiring experience there are typically there are a few key
characteristics and examples I look out for Has to be a great storyteller - go
beyond writing copy, and able to craft narratives Abil
Vice President Product Marketing at Salesforce • April 20
I don't care about the candidate's background when interviewing for my team.
I've hired folks from engineering, solution engineering, sales, and customer
success teams and they've become successful PM
Head of Product Marketing at Retool • May 5
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
Head Of Marketing at Universe • June 2
I’m always wary of painting with too broad a brushstroke when it comes to
hiring. Your job as a hiring manager is to spend time understand the super
powers of the people you meet as part of your inter
Senior Vice President, Product Marketing at BetterUp | Formerly Klaviyo, Qualtrics, Microsoft, MckInsey • November 23
I think the best product marketing candidates have three things in common They
are strong on the core requirements for the role. In most cases, it involves a
degree of comfort with developing or acti
Head of Product Marketing at LottieFiles | Formerly WeLoveNoCode (made $3.6M ARR), Abstract, Flawless App (sold) • December 4
The best product marketing candidates have: Excellent communication skills that
come to "fitting" them to the role I'm hiring. Proven experience in product
marketing with measurable results. The best
5 answers
Head of Lightroom Product Marketing at Adobe • October 18
I wrote a blog post on this - linked below! Here are some questions that help
me find the "A" players - Do you have a product marketing philosophy?What’s the
biggest project you’ve led? What worke
Head of Product Marketing at Klaviyo | Formerly Drift, Dropbox, Upwork • November 18
I'd recommend having on hand: Your story. Be prepared to give a brief
walkthrough of your background and experience. I always like to see when someone
has a strong narrative about their career — why
Head of Product Marketing at Retool • May 5
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 c
Head of Product Marketing at LottieFiles | Formerly WeLoveNoCode (made $3.6M ARR), Abstract, Flawless App (sold) • December 4
Great question! Before going to your PMM interview absorb all available
information on the role & company & product, run several mock-up interviews with
PMM peers and draft your portfolio. L
1 answer
Senior Vice President, Product Marketing at BetterUp | Formerly Klaviyo, Qualtrics, Microsoft, MckInsey • November 23
For tenured PMM roles (e.g. team leads/directors or senior/principal PMMs who
may not be team leads), I do ask for an assignment We usually give an open
question that mimics a real business situation
6 answers
Vice President Product Marketing at ClickUp | Formerly Momentive, Gainsight, Marketo • November 11
Short answer, yes. If it's a job you really want, go above and beyond. Now, if a
company says they want you to prepare a 5 slide presentation on something, I
wouldn't simply decide that 10 slides is f
VP Marketing at Honeycomb.io • December 23
It is really hard to get these types of big deliverables right, as you won’t
really have enough information as an interviewee to nail them. Unless I
specifically ask for this type of deliverable, it c
Vice President Product Marketing at Salesforce • April 20
I love when candidates go above and beyond! I always do when I interview for my
next role. A 30-60-90 is extremely helpful for the hiring manager to know how
you prioritize and candidly, will also hel
Senior Vice President, Product Marketing at BetterUp | Formerly Klaviyo, Qualtrics, Microsoft, MckInsey • November 23
As a hiring manager, I often ask candidates for these exercises if I feel like I
need to better understand their thought process. This comes in the form of
question prompts where I may ask them to dev
19 answers
Product Lead at Square • June 30
Any interviews with me will involve a case - real world, but sanitized case
questions like "you are the PMM for xyz product and your subscriber growth has
slowed down [insert whatever metrics, scenari
VP of Marketing (previously Head of Product Marketing) at Thanx • July 6
Here are a few of the questions that I like to ask: - Tell me about a time that
you influenced the product direction. - How do you define the role of product
marketing? - What is the one thing that w
Let me give you the one interview question, out of every interview I've ever
been to, that literally stumped me. "Give me a time that you were the most
creative". It stumped me at the time becaus
Senior Director, Technology Marketing and Communications at Zendesk • February 5
I often like to ask, “What accomplishment are you most proud of?” as well as,
“In your last performance review, what were your opportunities to improve and
how have you worked to address them?” I like
Director, Product Marketing at CloudBees • February 6
I have product marketing candidates give me the Who Cares and Why Is That
Important pitch for their current product. Walk me through the positioning and
messaging development, what resonates and why,
Head of Product Marketing, VR Work Experiences, Oculus at Meta • May 27
I have started to ask "What is the biggest trade-off decision you had to make?"
Most people go straight to themselves and a trade-off that they've had to make
about a job or career path, not a compa
VP Product & Customer Marketing at Observe.AI | Formerly Clari, Vendavo, Amdocs • January 28
What is the role of product marketing, and why do you want to do the job. I care
about not just what the answer is but also how candidates deliver it. Are they
giving me a textbook answer or telling m
Product Marketing, Reality Labs at Meta | Formerly Sprinklr, YuMe • March 25
What is your superpower?! This one is great because it gives you insight into
how a candidate perceives themselves. There's a self-awareness that comes
through with the responses that allows for you
Global VP Marketing at Moloco • May 6
My favorite question to ask is something along the lines of "Here's a big
initiative we're planning to roll out, and whoever gets this job will own at
least part of the planning and execution. How wou
Head of Product at Prove • September 8
Well, the question of "What is Product Marketing" Could mean different things at
different companies, but my answer is that we provide the voice of the market
and the voice of the customer internally
Senior Director, Head of Marketing at Forethought • September 16
I'd have to go with this classic: "Describe your process for launching a new
product." Why? A product launch is the quintessential act of product marketing.
It places the product marketer as the orche
Head of Product Marketing at Klaviyo | Formerly Drift, Dropbox, Upwork • November 17
My favorite question is "What would be your positioning statement for yourself
as a product marketer?" I love that question because it shows me how
comfortable they are with the basics of positioning
VP of Product and Solutions Marketing at HubSpot • January 20
I like to ask PMM candidates to deliver their company's pitch. I'm not grading
their pitch but rather the empathy and insight they display for and about their
customers' challenges, the way they deliv
VP, Direct to Consumer Marketing at National Basketball Association | Formerly Uber, Square, 1stdibs • March 25
It's hard to pick a favorite because most of my interviews look different from
candidate to candidate. Often, my questions are focused on deeply understanding
their past experience and asking for rele
VP of Marketing at Jasper | Formerly HubSpot • April 12
Walk me through a product launch of yours that went really well and one that may
not have done as well. What were the differences in retrospect? Now that you've
had a chance to review our website an
VP Global Product Marketing at Searchmetrics • September 2
I like using: "Product marketing covers a wide range of skills and tasks. Nobody
on my team is an expert at everything. We're all growing some aspect of the job.
Where do you really shine, and what ar
Senior Vice President, Product Marketing at BetterUp | Formerly Klaviyo, Qualtrics, Microsoft, MckInsey • November 23
My favorite question is very simple I ask them “Can you pitch me your product?”
(if they come from any marketing role) It allows me to understand their
storytelling skills. It helps me understand if
Also, how to actually show its success, as this is something that may take awhile before seeing a growth trend and can you directly actually attribute a particular success metric on messaging?
8 answers
Director of Product Management - Pricing & Packaging, CXP at Twilio | Formerly Narvar, Medallia, Helpshift, Feedzai, Reputation.com • November 13
The success is positioning is about proving that your work made your employer
known for something in the market. One of the most common ways PMMs do this is
by showing how they get the company a top
Head of Marketing at LEVEE | Formerly Mezmo, Sauce Labs • April 28
When I am looking for messaging and positioning validation from outside the org,
I find that people engage more with a story than with a static framework. And as
far as stories go, everyone much prefe
Head of Product Marketing at Klaviyo | Formerly Drift, Dropbox, Upwork • November 18
Make sure you talk about the process! That includes: What was the existing
state when you started (i.e. messaging didn't exist, it did exist but it was
falling flat / was outdated, etc.)? How did y
Head of Product Marketing, Cisco Meraki at Cisco Meraki | Formerly Tellme Networks, Microsoft, Box, Vera, Scout RFP, and Sisu Data, to name a few. • April 13
This is a great one! It's also something few people do well in an interview
setting. It's a bit challenging to do verbally, but if you think it through in
advance, you can be prepared when the opportu
Senior Vice President, Product Marketing at BetterUp | Formerly Klaviyo, Qualtrics, Microsoft, MckInsey • November 23
This is such a good question There are many ways to demonstrate success of
messaging/positioning work Talk through the process - Explain your approach to
developing messaging and positioning. Talk ab