Susan Liu is a client who enrolled in my Job Search Membership Program. When we met, she was trying to overcome the final round of rejections and bounce back after a layoff.
Through hard work, she landed a senior product marketing manager job at a reputable startup within five weeks of working together.
Her story is truly transformational.
I recently caught up with Susan to have her tell her story and share some of what she’s learned. I hope she inspires you the way she has inspired me!
Yi Lin: What did you do for work before your recent job search?
Susan: I had a varied career, starting as a pharmacist and then working in consulting roles in digital transformation, strategy and innovation, and product management.
There was a layoff at my last consulting role. And initially, when I was made redundant, I was in denial. I thought, "Oh, it's okay, I'll just get another job," but I didn't realize how tough the job market was.
Coming from a consulting background, I had a very generalist skill set. I was applying for various types of roles, which made my applications weak because they lacked focus.
It was an even tougher market to be trying to make a career change.
But I didn’t want to give up on myself; I wanted to find a job I was interested in. Once I zeroed in on product marketing roles and started only applying to them, I started having success.
Wow, you have a fantastic background! Why did you choose to focus on product marketing?
As I struggled through interviews, I took a moment to think about what type of work I enjoy most and how that overlaps with my skill set. A lot of that converged around product marketing.
In consulting, I often tested new ideas, making fake landing pages and prototypes to see if they solved a pain point and whether people would pay for them.
Realizing that I enjoyed these elements more made me understand that I actually preferred product marketing.
Amazing. Switching back to job searching, how did you stay positive during the search?
That’s a great question. Since the search was long (I spent six months searching before joining the coaching program), I had to stay positive and keep moving forward. Instead of just grinding, I focused on building new skills while on the job hunt. I realized no career is ever safe, so adapting and changing with the times is essential.
In my time off, I attended a data analytics boot camp, which is something I was always curious about but didn’t have time for before. Additionally, it gave me time to invest in a side project I’d always been interested in—thinking about how to communicate with more impact in a work environment. I started a TikTok channel, researching how we can communicate with impact, and that was instrumental in helping me land my current role.
The most important thing for staying positive was realizing that I can learn and apply different skills and be adaptable in a tough situation.
How did you identify and address challenges during your search?
Improving my communication skills
There were definitely a few challenges I had to overcome. I realized that to stay sane and improve my interviewing skills, I also needed to improve my communication skills. So, I researched different communication techniques, attended improv classes, and took a stand-up course.
It may sound unrelated, but I applied these techniques during the interview to improve my communication and storytelling.
Specifically, I learned to reduce the amount of information for the other person to process and explain it in a way they understood. Before, I struggled to articulate my experiences because of the wide range of projects I've worked on. I realized I needed to communicate in a way others could understand. This mindset shift improved my interview success.
Improving job search strategy
In addition to communications, I also found that I kept having the same problem with product marketing interviews–I was doing everything right to land interviews and get all the way to the third or final round, but I couldn’t quite nail the case study or assignment. So, I was getting very close but was struggling to close offers.
I had been following you (Yi Lin) for a while and loved your content. Then, as I began reflecting on my mistakes and identifying areas where I required additional assistance, I realized I wanted more dedicated support than reading your content online.
That's when I joined your Job Search Membership Program. Immediately after I joined, I attended a case study workshop you hosted and immediately realized my mistakes. I applied all the techniques I learned, specifically your "show, don't tell" approach - and that was one of the most important things that helped me land the role at Semble.
In addition, I was pleasantly surprised by all the other elements of the program. The masterclasses you offered were a shortcut to mastering PMM best practices and techniques. Plus, the community you built is incredibly supportive and knowledgeable, and the buddy system kept me motivated throughout the search.
All in all, I just want to say to everyone that you can’t put a price tag on the technical knowledge shared in the program, but what truly sets you apart is Yi Lin's genuine kindness and commitment to each person’s success.
Thank you so much! It’s been a pleasure working with you. Can you tell us more about landing your product marketing job - the breakthrough moment, and how you felt?
The job search membership program was a real game changer in my job search. As a career switcher, I landed a Product Marketing role just five weeks after starting the program, beating candidates with over five years of experience.
The breakthrough moment was truly the “show, don’t tell” approach for the case study. This method highlighted my specific skills and creative thinking, which helped me secure the job. I even created a sales enablement video as part of my project. This approach gave me confidence during the interview and allowed me to showcase my abilities effectively.
Starting the new job was an emotional and exciting experience. I laughed and cried when I got the news. Meeting the team and diving into the product and industry has been amazing, and I’m eager to address the significant healthcare challenges ahead.
What advice would you give to other product marketing job seekers?
My advice to people in a long job search is to focus outward instead of inward. You can lose confidence when something traumatic happens, like losing your job. But if you focus outward, you have the clarity to think about why a company is hiring, what problems they're facing, and how you can solve them.
Don't worry about not having perfect skills; reframe your mindset. Previously, as a career switcher, having a generalist background was a disadvantage. However, by systematically building my strengths and applying these new ideas in interviews, I landed a role.
Even though I had more time off than I would have liked, it gave me time to think about what I wanted to do and helped me refocus.
I zeroed in on product marketing and companies with a mission I believed in. During the job hunt, I realized that our time in life is limited and moves simultaneously fast and slow.
I want to spend my future on something I care about, like improving healthcare, which is Semble's mission. I'm eager to make an impact in my role by setting up new processes. Most of all, I'm thrilled to keep working with Yi Lin. I want to continue asking for help and building my strengths to succeed, even beyond the interview process.
If you’re still in a job search, focus on your strengths, showcase them in interviews, and believe in yourself. One day, this will be a blip, a transformative experience.
Thank you so much, Susan!
For a step-by-step walk-through on how to land your next PMM job with ease and confidence, check out my free guide here.
To learn more about the Job Search Membership Program, navigate to this page and click on “The Membership Program” option (Currently on sale!)
Susan also created a free course on how to use the communication skills she learned to ace storytelling in interviews. Check it out here!