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Chapter 27How to Hire Strong Product Marketing Talent

I was recently asked to sit in on final interviews of three product marketing candidates. All of them said a lot of the right things—focusing on strategy, messaging, knowing the customer—but I only recommended one as a hire.

She was not the one with the most polished presentation. Her strengths lay in skills that are harder to teach—the humility to admit what she didn't know, the ability to adapt her plans in real time, and a genuine curiosity about the product. The other two said they had those skills; only the third showed me she had them.

This is not to say the other candidates didn't have impressive strengths. One was exceptional at verbal communication and had a strong understanding of the role. The other was great at navigating organizational hurdles and had in-depth management frameworks. But the company doing the hiring was an early-stage startup. Adaptability and curiosity were the more important skills for their hire.

This chapter is for leaders who want to learn how to hire great product marketing talent.

Assessing the Skill Set

Everyone wants to hire unicorns—mythical product marketers who have it all and can bend spoons with their minds. They exist, but they are rare.

More common is to optimize a hire around what's most important for your company's stage and how much you can grow or develop skills. This is not an issue of company size. A great manager/mentor and teammates who use strong frameworks are possible ...