What are some surprising ways that candidates have stood out to you in PMM interviews? What are your biggest watchouts?

One of the main things I look for when interviewing PMM candidates is how they well they communicate their past experience - namely how they describe not just their roles but also what the company does, what problems they solve for whom, why they win against competitors, etc. Candidates who've stood out to me have been able to tell me a story about their former/current company in such a way that I get super interested and excited, especially it's in a space where I have no expertise or context (like, say, medical devices or semiconductors). Conversely, my biggest whatchouts are unclear, confusing or purely inside out explanations of what a company does and what a candidate did in a previous role. When I ask "so what does Company X, do? Who are your customers and what problems are they looking to solve?" and a candidate starts in on explaining the tech stack in great detail, those interviews don't tend to work out.

What are some surprising ways that candidates have stood out to you in PMM interviews? What are your biggest watchouts?

PMMs are notoriously difficult to hire. The best PMMs I've worked with are

• Balance left and right brain

• Are equally adept at fast thinking and slow thinking

• Can maintain the 10,000' view while understanding the details at 1,000'

It’s important to identify the 1-3 skills that will be most important for your company and domain. Then look for experiences that suggest they’ll excel in those domains. A few examples: 

• Large enterprise sales force - Here, being able to enable and hold court with a large sales team is critical. Does the candidate have leadership experience (in PMM or outside of work)? One PMM I worked with organized a 1,000 guest annual fundraiser for a non-profit they were involved with. Their ability to corral multiple stakeholders, drive sponsorships, and drive to a productive event suggested they’d be great at enablement. 

• Technical products - Here, having the hunger to dig into technical details is key. Does the candidate have a personal interest in a complex domain. Perhaps they’re savvy investors in their personal life. Perhaps they’ve built demos or software in the past. In one interview, a candidate came having used our product with dozens of recommendations for how we can improve the product and our marketing. 

Ultimately, the things I look for: 

• Grit: Have they demonstrated resilience in high-stakes environments and persistence in the face of volatility? 

• Leadership: Can they influence peers and leaders across Product, Sales, Marketing, and e-staff? 

• Persistence: Can they operate in highly ambiguous and variable environments. This is especially important in the early stages. 

• Domain/Persona: Do they have past experience with your domain/persona? Not necessary but helps accelerate their path to becoming opinionated. 

• Tenure: Have they been able to build tenure and have impact in their past roles

• Pace: Can they hustle in a fast paced environment?

• Portfolio: Can they produce a portfolio of high-quality work? 

• Stage Experience: Have they operated at your stage of company before?

• Revenue: Have they operated at the revenue target you are looking to reach in the next 12 -18 months. Be mindful of planning for the future and not today. Candidates should pull your business forward.

• GTM Motion: This one is critical, but have they worked with your GTM motion before (PLG vs. SLG)

I'm always looking for PMMs that are excited to be there. It seems small, but if they have done research on the company and (even if they have never worked in the industry/space before) can point to something in their background that shows me they have a true interest, that's a standout candidate for sure.

My biggest watchouts are people who cannot answer the case interviews. I don't care too much about the "right answers" or even if they are structured (like consulting/PM interviews do), I just want to see how they think and if they have a solid understanding of building a GTM strategy. When people are unable to quickly rattle off some basic ideas, it really makes me question if they could hold their own in meetings or brainstorming sessions.

Stood out:

• Being innately curious and asking relevant questions

• Demonstrating excellent writing

I once took a chance and hired a product marketer who had no prior marketing experience. What did he have then? He was a self-published author. That tells you something about his ability to write and dedication to making things happen. He had a tech background. He was incredibly easy to talk to and quickly asked questions that were insightful to what I was sharing. He was curious about the products and the industry and eager to learn. He was an excellent culture fit and the product and sales members loved working with him.

Watch outs:

• Being distracted

• Being unfocused and unable to respond to questions related to previous work

• Not having work that can be shared as examples

Some of these things are just no-gos on any interview. A PMM needs to be able to focus and simplify a message. If they can't simplify their own message, that's going to be problematic. Not having example work that can be shared is worrisome. That being said, I don't hold it against someone if they don't have example writing content. Some companies have copywriters! Have them do a writing exercise.