20 Tips for Landing a Product Marketing Job

20 Tips for Landing a Product Marketing Job

As explained at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com, product marketing is the process of bringing a product to market. This includes deciding the product’s positioning and messaging, launching the product, and ensuring salespeople and customers understand it. Product marketing aims to drive the demand and usage of the product. Product marketing has been booming lately, and if you want to join the industry, here are 20 tips for landing a product marketing job.

Know other product marketers

As per RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com, the best way to land a product marketing job is by getting to know other product marketers. For instance, you can join the Product Marketing Alliance, participate in its Slack channel, ask questions, and generally just get to know some fellow product marketers and what they do day to day.

Get certified

Several organizations offer training that will allow you to get certified in product marketing. These certifications can help open doors and show interest and dedication to hiring managers. Also, if you have a certification, it is a good way to have baseline product marketing knowledge so you can make more of an immediate impact.

Learn as much as you can about the product and customers

You can do this by attending online or in-person events like webinars or conferences according to RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com. In addition, you can search for news articles, look at what the company is posting on social networks, and read reviews.

Start writing and keep at it

Hiring managers always look for writing samples for product marketing job candidates. While your writing doesn’t necessarily need to be product-centric, it is important to see that you can tell a story about a topic that someone may have difficulty understanding and simplify it.

Work on a side project

If you have a side project that involves bringing a new project to market, it is a great opportunity to work on content and launch a campaign. Try to volunteer on a product marketing team or get in touch with a product marketer and see if you can take a task or two off their plate.

Be data-driven

Storytelling relies on creating a strong point of view, so you need to have a creative and data-backed way of coming up with that narrative. Data should inform decisions and if a data point disproves your opinion, you need to be able to adapt as articulated at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com.

Know what product marketing entails and what it doesn’t

Product marketing is conflated with product management all the time. While product marketers work very closely with their colleagues in product management, they are fundamentally two different roles. This is why you need to do your research and find out what product marketing entails and what it doesn’t before getting into the field.

Know yourself

As captured at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com, you should also understand your strengths and weaknesses and what things you would like to learn in your next role. In many interviews, hiring managers and recruiters often look for self-awareness, understanding your strengths and weaknesses, and knowing how you work best.

Build your brand

Part of being a great product marketer is being able to present or write in various mediums, which is why it is advisable to present yourself as a brand. Write content, share your thoughts, engage with the Product Marketing Alliance, and join product marketing groups in meet-ups or online.

Become a subject matter expert

The better you are as a spokesperson in any particular topic, the more you are a subject matter expert in that topic. The more you talk about what you care about, the more you will find a niche knowledge area, and a receptive audience, and you will become a subject market expert in that area.

Be a specialist

While a product marketer should be able to do all activities relating to go-to-market launches and strategy, there will be areas that you are naturally good at and gravitate toward as covered at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com. Ensure that you make those strengths clear throughout your interviews.

Do your homework

Before attending an interview, understand the company, the role, and where the market will be. When interviewing for positions, ensure that you understand both the company’s value proposition and its strategy to increase your chances of landing the job.

Engage your network

Your professional network will help you get your next job as described at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com. Start reaching out to people and let them know that you are looking specifically for product marketing roles.

Be prepared to answer questions

Before your interview, make sure you also practice for questions relating to your own experiences and how they fit the role but more generally about marketing. Make sure you do your research on the type of questions to expect in product marketing job interviews.

Relationship building and cross-functional work

Cross-functional relationships are the most important thing about product marketing. You need to be able to be a good communicator, be confident, and be that person who is reaching out and building relationships, the people that you need to talk with won’t always think to reach out to you.

Have a blend of strategic and creative thinking

As a product marketer, you are going to find yourself in situations where you are in a room, and the entire C suite is there, and they are all looking at you for an opinion on something. As discussed at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com, you have to be able to have done the research to have a strong opinion about something and also have some creativity put into that strategy because that is what they want to see.

Never stop learning

No matter what your role is, you should constantly educate yourself and expand your knowledge. You might apply for a Master’s degree or another form of education like the Product Marketing Core certification from PMA.

Start talking action that supports your goals

This may include making your manager or supervisor aware of your ambitions if you are already employed or even connecting with a product marketing team and getting involved in their working routine as outlined at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com.

Build up your LinkedIn network

LinkedIn is a great tool when it comes to landing a job as a product marketer. Connect with other product marketers to build up your network and start discussions about the industry by interacting with their posts and making your own once you get more comfortable.

Become a job-hunter

The last step is to take over all the above and benefit from it by getting a job. Be open in your search. Some companies accept applications from employees for new positions before the external search. Therefore, don’t miss your chance and apply for every opportunity.

If you are looking for more tips as well as information on this and other topics, then the excellent RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com have you covered.