5 Tips To Become Sr. Director of Product Marketing During The Pandemic

what if you’re laid off during the pandemic and there is a family waiting for you to get your career back up on track and especially if you have over 20 years experience there are not that many job opportunities out there, today we’re going to show you how Eduardo is making a comeback during the pandemic and he got a job offer as executive director at a tech company hey guys this is Dr Nancy Li, a director of product from drnancyli.com i help people transition from worker bee to product manager and business leader to learn about the most effective way of landing a product manager job you should subscribe to this channel and turn on the red bell button so that you’ll be notified every time i post a new video every wednesday make sure you smash the blue like button so that i have more motivation to make more free trainings like this today we had the pleasure to interview Eduardo actually Eduardo got like uh executive director offer during the pandemics he has a lot top secret to share with all of you guys hi Eduardo how’s it going? thank you Nancy thank you for having me here today awesome can you introduce yourself very quickly sure my name is Eduardo Cocozza, i am a senior director of product marketing now at constant contact i have uh extensive product management product marketing experience uh I know a lot being a common vision launching products and scale such products uh with cross-functional teams during the last you know 10 to 12 years and some of those browsers have achieved over 100 million dollars of value awesome yeah Eduardo today we’re more focused on how exactly you got like amazing offer during the pandemic as we all know now pandemic is shifting how people hire uh the top talent and especially getting the executive director offer during the pandemic in my opinion is super challenging also very outstanding congratulations so can you share with us how you started this job hunting journey and where you were before and where you are right now yeah thank you i think the challenges at the beginning were the you know lack of opportunities to meet people and a one-to-one basis or in events to network to talk about job opportunities to be able to present yourself so luckily i already came from a background of doing communication collaboration meetings products so know how to you know network your very true get your message across um in a very concise manner that you can communicate with people networking people interview with people and follow through uh everything remote i think those are the major challenges but very important in order to you know network and interview during the pandemic now we fast-forward right i was on board i met everybody my team and my leaders on the company remotely and already uh not only growing the business but also hiring some people in the company as a director level so feels very excited for a very certain period of time transition from somebody that was looking for my next challenge for somebody that is trying to hire somebody else to come in the company that’s awesome so let me understand the timeline a little bit you started job hunting in march or april right that was at the deepest time of the pandemic correct yes it was the deepest time uh there are some job opportunities that i was starting to have interviews that are very exciting was moving very fast everything stopped everything was slowed down and really stopped and was i’m going to talk a little bit about the secrets right i was having the right mindset about this because everything stopped and then eventually not by only outbound opportunities that the companies are targeting people is not working but also we start to attract lots of opportunities start to show up again in my way and you were able to manage interview like three or four it landed the one that i had the most interest that i thought was a long-term fit that’s awesome yeah we do need to dive into all those top secret details right now okay so can you share with us the top secret you had you mentioned earlier when you got started there are not many job openings and you don’t know how to go networking because pandemics really hit us all of us so what’s the top secret for you to land a job as the executive directors yeah you know very simple way right the first one is mindset which i can explain another thing about it the second one is coaching the third one is having the right strategy uh and fourth is massive action right do and how to do it i think you’re very good about giving a lot of hints in the details of how to do interview or product management the words you need to use the type of questions you should be preparing for but it really is a strong mindset it starts there and if you want i can explain a little more on what i mean by that yeah please what do you mean by strong mindset in job hunting well so in my case nancy like you know and i think you too was a job hunting during a very challenging time right yeah so i think to have the right mindset uh and is knowing that when you’re going to the storm right is you know that eventually that will there is going to be an end of it right it’s like a season of the year if you’re going to the winter eventually you know that spring and summer will come in so putting those things in perspective is very important especially in high in a mindset use you know a little bit of a couple of things that are important four or five things that are very important gratitude right i think having a mindset of visualization what the new job means to you what the position is to you and have the feeling that you already have achieved it visualizing it right and if you cannot visualize it yet use a visualization to something that already happened to you that you’re very grateful to have and intertwine those feelings because in your heart your mind you know it should not be different if you think about something you want to achieve the same way you think you’ve already achieved it you can create the feeling of right gratitude right away so starting gratitude then feed your mind with you know the right materials for product management i think you need to focus right in case you got in product management or product marketing i was feeding my mind everything about those two topics in terms of feeling that you were what even before you get job offer you constantly learning about product management product marketing so you’re on top of the games right correct like podcasts your classes other materials about it what’s latest in the mind or having your cases what they have done what you you know was a well uh you know what to i think what are the successes you had translating those stories what you have could have done better right all that information is important it’s more the functional knowledge it needs to be fresh in mind right yeah i think the third one between above gratitude and the mindset right was the body right so you need to exercise or you know move or walk or meditation or yoga anything that keep your mind your body also moving during this period of time especially because there’s so much time at home it is very important right keep you active in some way this was very important for me yeah i remember when we started our coaching course we’re both walking around the blocks yes i take classes where i take a podcast as much as i can i walk in in the morning in the park or in the end of the day because just keep your mind set in a different way and it’s therapeutic right it’s almost like a meditation that you’re going to help you to relax and focus on what’s important uh another one you know in terms of preparation i think that the fourth one is role model so we’re finding people that already have done it right like you right they came you know with a deep expertise and a technical background and move into product management found different job positions grew in the position but also hiring so finding people that really had done it so coaching with people that can be role models for you that’s just not to coach you for a living but have done it with other people i think that’s very important right and the last one is once you decide all those tools for you right act you really need to try it you need to work hard that doesn’t come you know it’s having the right strategy but you need to work uh towards your goals exactly yeah i think all those four steps are very critical especially actually the beginning i’m glad you touched upon about the mindset i also have a morning ritual as well i do meditation which i share those meditation links in our slack channel and imagine what would the future look like then you move close to it and on top of that of course learning all the strategies and the mindset and also the knowledge about product management so it’s ready to hit your goal i’m glad we uh we touched on something and most people do not talk about which is mindset yes it is so important going to those those phases right because it’s just a preparation you put things in perspective and you know the challenge you have but those are the the things that keep you going despite the challenges that you you put your things in perspective that’s right exactly can you touch more about your networking secrets you mentioned at the beginning there are not that many opportunities and then suddenly so many inbound leads or outbound leads what’s your networking strategy? yeah so um are you know even i think i remember we discussed that uh i used more the sniper approach rather than machini gun approach right so uh so it was a kind of uh uh once you know uh i knew the kind of functions and the type of companies they want to work with there right i use my networking approach target those companies but not only at people that work on those companies friends right uh colleagues former bosses right and people that like you right the mentors that could give me a reference or referral somebody that i can talk to in those companies those are very important during this time so i say that every job is an incredible opportunity not for the contributions you can do for the customers and for the for the company itself but knowing people right so reaching out to your broader network we say look i’m looking for a different position because of that that’s who i am that’s what i can do uh do you know something in this specific area of the specific company that i can talk to for a virtual coffee right or a 10 minutes conversation it was amazing how many times people open the doors and i have conversation with people that when they’re driving in the day five minutes conversation which they could be a referee i know i was in your opposition here i know somebody’s hiring somebody a position that’s you know open up where i know who is hiring for the specific position and can refer your resume at least open a door something a little more personal and be ahead just to be meeting your resume to application i’m not saying that is the only way but i feel that it was a a much more honestly personal way which is much more fun than stupid between resume and application to online system right yeah exactly and which is our main methodology in the product manager interview bootcamp when we go networking in general i tell all my students do not even apply for jobs without referral and i do agree if you do the massive way of applying for thousands jobs or just hitting many people with the same messaging it’s not personable the likelihood for them to refer you a job it’s just it’s very low so i do agree with you i do think by having a meaningful conversation for five minutes ten minutes and then have someone else open doors for you that’s most effective way of landing a job congratulations Eduardo now you’re also our role models yeah thank you i appreciate that i’m very grateful for everything i learned there it’s a humble process right and really depends where you are if you’re looking for a better position if you’re looking for a completely new job because you lost your job right or you want to transition from industry that’s so important to know what the strategy suits you better right so in my area i knew already i came from product management i have a lot of product marketing background i just want to refresh the skills and be in touch with people that uh you know are on top of their game to learn something few new and take me to the next level which i reach out to you nancy and i really got those skills thank you right but some people they’re looking for their first job it’s a different challenge right they they’re looking for to learn the methodology what product management means how to translate their personal experience in leading any kind of project and contributing doing research with customers and translated that leadership skills and what could be a product managing job right so those are important to know which strategy makes sense for you depend where you are in your journey everybody you’re going to be in a different level and they need to feel that they can match the right strategies to what they’re trying to achieve yeah exactly as you said for the younger folks i recommend them to make a product portfolio to demonstrate something done before how it’s relevant to my management and i lately made a video about product portfolio i’m going to put the video up here so people can check that Eduardo i think you’re also i watch you your video by the way your product portfolio even after the job take a job i we keep watching your video of product portfolios i love it right and when i see a portfolio for you it’s not only the products you did you are your portfolio right yeah you’re 30 seconds you’re a 1 minutes and 30 seconds your stories for functional leadership behavior those are very important be empathic about the people you’re meeting with and be respectful for their time something meaningful they did feel i would like to work with that person that if you’re excited after the interview they want more about you right and for sure the products are important the products you touch what events you have done but i think how this is your portfolio yourself what you bring in and also your your your contributions right yeah exactly everybody needs to know how to see yourself as a product actually you are presenting yourself selling yourself the whole time right yes awesome uh this one last question i want to ask you i think very few people can answer the question very well regarding there’s a difference between getting a job at the executive direct level i have lots of people reach out to me they want to get their director vp level jobs and you are a few representatives who actually successfully did that during the pandemic can you tell us when you interview for like high-level job executive directors or vp type of jobs what are the differences and how can they prepare better on top of the typical strategy yeah i feel beyond right to the portfolio and products have achieved uh it’s your executive presence right meaning how you communicate uh summarize they want to know that uh uh if they you know whoever is interviewing with you became promote in front of their bosses or the ceo of the company and know that you know how to communicate to the audience so knowing how to change your communication style depend on an audience so that’s what i’m saying about executive presence right be concise to be relevant to the point and be calm right and move to the next step i think that’s very important about communication style the second one that’s very important is not only have the ability to have land that have done it is a ability to have motivate people to get work done right because that’s a part of the leadership is do yourself but also know how to motivate people to have done because you know when we’re going to be a more senior level then you’ll be uh working either managing or leading groups and you need to know how to communicate and you know with that the third one that’s very important for executive style is be a peaceful peacemaker right knowing how to in terms of uh uh you know difficult situations and challenges don’t be shy to have a difficult conversations but think about creating win-win situations where people will unite people inside of the company to achieve something find a common ground that’s moving beyond yourself it’s selfless to your customers what your guys trying to achieve and have those examples that you are somebody that contributed as a teammate team player and a collaborator in the group that’s above and beyond your unique yourself uh right being selfless about the leadership skills right i think those three characteristics are very important in terms of if you’re looking for executive role awesome thank you Eduardo i learned so much from you today about how to get ahead and keep on uh climbing up the career ladders that’s awesome thank you yeah uh great and i think there’s another great information we can share with other audience is that we have a secret society for all the product managers and existing product managers to learn people from like Eduardo who had years of experience i’m going to put those wechat group and linkedin group icon up here so people can join those prime management communities start networking today awesome great Eduardo yeah this is thank you very much for your time do you have any last minute words to our audience yes uh how can i say learn to persevere endurance but remember this is a marathon with a couple of sprints is not just a sprint so take care of yourself beyond you know taking care of your job your career awesome thank you very much Eduardo i’m gonna see you next time see you guys bye thank you bye .