HubSpot Careers Blog

“How do I get into product marketing?”

That’s a question I see almost every single week, and it’s no surprise. According to a survey by Robert Half, product marketing is one of the top 3 marketing roles growing in 2018.

And yet, even though there is a lot written about the importance of product marketing, it still remains a mystery to many looking to make the transition into a product marketing role. While the responsibilities of a product marketing role can vary by company and industry, often you will find this role in many B2B companies that are in a competitive market with a sales team. Product marketing is a prevalent role throughout technology companies, but also exists across other industries as well.

Entering the world of sales can be both a lucrative and rewarding move for recent grads. But what if your degree is in no way relevant to this line of work? Can you still break in? The short answer is yes. Fortunately, sales is one of those fields that’s fairly open to individuals from many backgrounds. You just have to be willing to do the legwork.

Here are seven steps you can take to successfully launch a sales career without relevant education or experience.

Meet Dan Imbriaco, an Account Executive on HubSpot Dublin's Enterprise Direct Sales team. Dan has been at HubSpot for four years; three of which were in HubSpot’s US headquarters working for the Small Business and Mid Market Direct Sales teams. 

We asked Dan a few questions about what it's like working in Sales at HubSpot and his journey from the small state of New Hampshire to a career and life in Dublin, Ireland. Here's what he had to say!

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

It’s a simple question we've all been asked (many times). At age five, movie star or superhero seemed like easy, attainable choices. But when it actually comes time to start a career, the question suddenly becomes a lot more complicated.

HubSpot is on a mission to help millions of organizations grow better. But we wouldn't be able to do that without the remarkable employees who work to support and help solve for our customers around the world. We're excited to share their stories of success and career journeys in our new Q&A series, Career HubSpotlights.

So, you’re ready to shake things up a little. You’re contemplating a career change to sales, and you’re wondering how to sell yourself to hiring managers in a field that’s completely new to you.

The good news is, in the same way that jobs in sales tend to equip you with skills that are transferable to everyday life, everyday life, and other industries, also equip you with skills that are transferable to sales. And it’s these types of skills — the softer, transmittable sort — that employers most care about.

It's 2008. I've landed my dream job. A couple of successful alumni from my university saw a spark in me and hired me into their firm; very best in the city. Everyone said so. Four months later, I’m out of a job.

The great recession has hit. Markets are in turmoil. Banks are seized up. Lending has come to a stop. And there isn’t any work for me to do in my dream job or industry.

So much for a good start right out of university. There are literally zero jobs in my industry of choice. What do I do?

I've heard that CEOs all start their careers in sales, and like any self-respecting millennial, I know right then that's my destiny. So, I take the plunge and get a Sales gig.

2018 was a year of awareness, of change, of recognition, and of belonging as individuals. We’ve made progress as a society to make the world a more equitable place for everyone, especially women. Iceland became the first country to enforce equal pay laws. Spain’s Prime Minister appointed the country’s first majority-female cabinet. Women in Saudi Arabia were given the right to drive. And women of color in the US broke records in the midterm elections. (Shoutout to Massachusetts’ first black woman elected to Congress, Ayanna Pressley, who came to speak at HubSpot during her campaign!)

When you think about the “typical” career path, the steps always look pretty similar: individual contributor, manager, senior manager, VP, CEO. Because we’ve seen this same career ladder our entire lives, we automatically default to thinking that advancing in our careers means moving up into these management roles. And when I started my career, that’s exactly what I thought. “Managers run everything! Individual contributors don’t have much sway or influence. Why would I want to get stuck there?”