Brenda Su: A Day in the Life of a Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft

In April 2020, during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brenda Su started her new job as a Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft. Su works on Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing service with a built-in artificial intelligence platform.

Specifically, she leads the team’s go-to-market strategies and works on product launches for all-things Data, AI, Mixed Reality, and IoT related.

She does all of this in the comfort of her own home.

Su starts her day by walking her dog Cooper, drinking some much-needed coffee while going through her emails, and going over her detailed to-do list – all before her first meeting. The rest of her day is filled with back-to-back meetings with several teams due to the cross-functional nature of her role.

“In product marketing, meetings are 75% of what I do, if not more.”

These meetings range from 1:1s with her manager, team meetings, monthly business reviews and ‘All-Hands’ meetings so that she can keep track of what everyone on her team (and in the company) is doing. For Su, these regular meetings with various stakeholders add up to about 10 meetings a day.

When she’s not in a meeting, Su is primarily talking with stakeholders over Microsoft teams chat and email, putting together decks and spreadsheets, writing blurbs for whitepapers and blogs, or just brainstorming strategies on how to bring a product to market.

“Working on the cloud has definitely been very exciting and completely new for me. I’d always been in the advertising space (selling ads, working on ads, building ad products, etc.) and the cloud was always so mysterious, interesting and challenging to me. Everything we do, see, and use ties back to the cloud.”

Su also works on remote marketing events such as Microsoft Build, a 48-hour digital event aimed at software engineers and web developers using Windows, Microsoft Azure, and other Microsoft technologies.

“Microsoft has traditionally been heavy on in-person events and Build was their first virtual event due to COVID – this was challenging yet exciting, and I got work with some very talented people.”

Due to the remote nature of Su’s work, she has to create innovative ways to ensure productive communication, especially when handling these larger projects. Despite managing her time and maintaining an efficient routine, even Su has days when she struggles with working at home.

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The initial onboarding process was tough for Su, especially since it was a new company, new role, and new space. She had to quickly become familiar with the Azure software, which comes with its own intricacies between Cloud and AI. Furthermore, ramping up remotely was also difficult due to the diminished ability to actually meet people and have conversations. Without being able to meet her manager or team in-person, Su felt overwhelmed with navigating her new role and understanding expectations when it came to remote work.

“When you’re working from home, work and life blurs together so it’s easy to work too many hours or neglect work.”

However, Su praises Microsoft’s approach towards making remote work the best it can be, by expensing anything she needs for her home office or offering virtual cooking classes and other team-bonding activities. Su is also working with a few coworkers to pitch some new, fun ideas such as a HIIT, yoga, or a cocktail mixing class. The company also allows employees to expense $100 worth for these events to ensure that everyone can participate.

“I don't mind working from home, but you do lose out on team culture quality time with stakeholders, so the virtual events help.”

Although Su’s work may be more difficult done remotely, she makes sure to be flexible and adjust this new way of working to fit her needs. As companies such as Facebook, Google, and Microsoft announce that they will be extending their remote working policy post-pandemic, this new mode of working may become the standard in the tech industry.

For those looking to get into the product marketing field, Su recommends that applicants focus on transferable skills and any unique experiences they have to offer. That’s because Su finds that the ambiguous nature of product marketing means that there is no ‘cookie cutter’ approach to landing the job.

“I have friends who entered product marketing from consulting, marketing research, sales, etc. Because the term “Product Marketing Manager” is so vague and can mean so many different things, it’s hard to plan for. I can be a good fit for a PMM opening at one company, but not have any relevant experience for a PMM role at another.”

However, Su does note that across the board, all PMMs do require good communication skills due to the cross-functional necessity of launching and marketing a product, the ability to build strong relationships with stakeholders, executive presence and upper management, and the overall deftness to learn fast and adapt.

“In this space, you are dealing with new products so how you deal with ambiguity and create a product from scratch with minimal information, OR how to search for the right information to bring it to market are top of mind for hiring managers – this is really reflected in the interview process.”

Su also highlights how recent grads and students attempting to break into the tech industry should show recruiters their ability to thrive in fast-paced environments, think on their feet, and stay on top of industry trends.

“All else is learnable, so show your potential and ability to learn.”

Ultimately, Su finds her work extremely rewarding and fascinating because she is able to work with all types of people and utilize her analytical thinking, strategic, and creative skills to produce large-scale marketing campaigns with high visibility.

“I like how challenging and fun it is – it’s the most cross-functional team out there! You get a full left-to-right view of marketing instead of just focusing on one specific marketing area. On top of that, I love how a PMM can influence new products!”

For those on the job hunt, product marketing offers a chance to venture into a newly developing field that comes with its own set of exciting projects and rare opportunities.

You can find Brenda Su here.

👉 Think you could cut it at Microsoft? Learn more about the interview process and practice recent interview questions.