Questions for Product Marketing Managers

Hi Elpha friends! I have some questions for product marketing managers. I’m a 2020 grad who is currently doing temp work. However, my passion and curiosity lies with product marketing so I decided to take a PM Bootcamp course.I’m at the stage where I’m learning about products and customers by looking at reviews, and I’m seeing a lot of articles on the importance of product marketing and the necessary skills, but I don’t see much on how to transition into pm as a new grad with limited experience. My questions are:1. How does an aspiring PMM put theory into hands on experience?2. What are some ways to practice product marketing independently?3. How do I land an internship/ volunteer opportunity to assist PMM’s with tasks?

Hi Dominique, great to hear that you've found a passion so soon after graduating! I have a couple of suggestions to help you along the way:Reading: Lenny's Newsletter is an amazing read for product managers and marketers. He worked for AirBnb and a few other companies + puts his many years of experience into easily digestible newsletters: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/The Mom Test - a great book on learning how to talk to customers and get the information that you need from them: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mom-Test-customers-business-everyone/dp/14921807421 & 2 Turning theory into experience / practicing independentlyThese two questions go hand in hand :) at the beginning of my marketing journey, I learned by doing. My starting point was learning how to market myself and that's something that you can start with too. Think about what you're doing to build your presence in your industry. Experience or not, I'm sure you have plenty of valuable things to say. Take some time to find your voice and share your opinions. Then, if you want to get some hands-on experience, I recommend offering some of your free time to a startup or a small business that will both teach you and offer you an opportunity to put a stamp on your work. This leads to your third question...3. Landing an internship with limited experienceVolunteer (if your situation permits it) - I know that a lot of people don't like the idea of working for free, but honestly, volunteering can teach you so much and offers you a chance to get experience quickly. A close friend of mine wants to build a few businesses in the food industry and she just spent 6x weeks (unpaid) volunteering at one of the best bakeries in London. She's gained more experience in those 6x weeks than some people do in an intense cookery course lol. And, it was as much a networking opportunity as a chance to improve her skills. I know that isn't the same as PMM, but the point is, volunteering is a veerryyy good way to get experience under your belt and meet people who could later have a huge impact on your career. If that's not an option at the moment, then here are a few things that I've looked for in interns:- Interest in the industry that the business operates in- Evidence of doing something in their free time that relates to the role- Interest in personal growth and development / a hunger to learn- Attention to detail + big picture thinking: kind of need to see a balance of the two with PMMThat's all I can think of at the moment, but feel free to send me a DM as I'm in the process of building a SaaS product at the moment. Happy to share more insights/experience if you have more questions