When joining a new team, is it better to have the right soft skills and have to learn the hard skills of the job or vice versa?

Let's start by level setting--what do we mean by soft skills vs. hard skills here? To me, "soft skills" are interpersonal attributes and personality traits that shape how we work with others like communication, adaptability, teamwork, and empathy (empathy is underrated in my opinion!). "Hard skills" are the tangible, teachable abilities specific to a role—like data analysis, product management (think product launches), proficiency with marketing tools, etc.Because I love a good analogy, I like t ...Read More

It certainly depends but I'd say it's more important to have the right soft skills. Specifically for product marketing teams. What PMMs do can really vary company to company. So while it's likely your hard skills will at least "sort of" transfer, there is no gaurentee.  So, communication, flexibility, hunger, transpartnecy, honesty, curiousity, etc. Those are the skills you'll be leaning on for a while till you figure out how to apply your hard skills.  Also the more senior you get the more I li ...Read More

As you get more senior in your career in any role, but especially one as cross-functional in nature as PMM, soft skills become much more important than hard skills or product expertise, especially if you are a fast learner. You can learn the hard skills of a job, within reason. For example, if you're a PMM, taking a job in engineering will be stretch, but if you have a background in one industry you can absolutely take a PMM job in a completely different industry. What's important is your abilit ...Read More

My answer to this is that 'it depends' on where you are in your career. If you are early career and just starting as a PMM, I would typically be making a hiring decision solely based on soft skills. There's no expectation that you have a well rounded set of hard PMM skills as an entry level candidate. But as you progress in your career, that dynamic will come into better balance and hiring managers will be looking for both. Starting at the manager level, I would be vetting candidates for specifi ...Read More

If I had to choose one I would (slightly) lean towards soft skills. Having the right soft skills is what I believe enables a PMM to find the biggest opportunities and drive buy-in/alignment so that they can have the most impact. That being said, the main variable that would make me prioritize hard skills or soft skills is the level of ambiguity that you'll have to deal with on that new team. Contrasting two extreme examples: If you join a large team, with a mature product marketing function, for ...Read More

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 areas. Soft skills should be part of the package either way, aligned with the value of your team and company. Ultimately the goal is to find the right balance and bring different perspectives so the team ca ...Read More

I don't think one is better than the other. When joining a new team, the best skills are the ones you already have. Play your strengths while making sure you have a actionable plan to work on your weaknesses. For e.g. if you have switched industries as a PMM, you'll need some time to ramp up on the technology, the market, the specific customer needs. But use your other transferable skills such as analytical skills, communication/writing, coordination, negotiation etc. to build trust. In fact bec ...Read More

I think it's a balance, but if I had to choose, leaning in to those soft skills is a great strategy when you are starting out.   It's really important to go into a new team / company with a really strong growth mindset and a relationship building / collaboration ethos. Be curious, meet with your key stakeholders to really understand how PMM can be a good partner, learn about the business and what's working / what's not (this will lean in on data/business acumen for sure), learn the customer and ...Read More

Think of it this way - you can always teach someone how to use a new tool or follow a process, but it's much harder to teach someone how to be a good teammate or communicate effectively. When you're the new person on a team, having strong people skills will help you build trust quickly, learn from others more easily, and navigate the workplace dynamics. Plus, your colleagues are usually more willing to help someone who's pleasant to work with, even if they're still learning the ropes. That's why ...Read More

I find that people with strong soft skills often have the ability to pick up the hard skills quickly. People who’ve honed their soft skills are proactive about asking the right questions, and are motivated to sharpen any hard skills that may be lacking, or need improvement. In basically any role that involves collaboration and teamwork (and which roles don’t?), the soft skills are most important for getting internal buy-in, planning a go-to-market strategy, and adjusting seamlessly when any issu ...Read More