Escape the Hamster Wheel

Why you should avoid being the go-to person for every fire drill

Last week I was chatting with a product marketer who wanted some advice about job hunting. He asked me what the one thing was that I wish I’d known when I first got into product marketing.

It’s not something I think about a lot. The role has changed so much over the years, I’m not sure how much of my advice but would even be relevant to 2013 me. But if I had to pick one thing, it’s about being busy. Or rather, not being busy.

The busyness trap

Product marketers are natural connectors. We know everyone. We know the product inside out. We’re the ones people come to when there’s a fire drill, when something needs to ship unexpectedly, when a customer issue needs a thoughtful response.

And it feels good being busy. You say yes, you help make something happen, and you get the instant recognition. The shoutout in the team meeting. The Slack tag when a launch goes well. The exposure to the CEO who’s DMing you at 10pm asking you to tweak a slide for the company All Hands tomorrow.