How would you recommend someone get into product marketing? I work with a lot of students in PR/Comm/Journalism, and want them to expand their thinking.

People with a background in writing tend to excel at PMM. The key additional quality is to be a puzzle solver. Are they also technically curious (they like to know how things work) and interested in changing marketings? Do they love to tell stories? So much of being a great PMM is about bringing to life a product -- and then understanding and building a strategy for market success. Sometimes starting in a cross-functional role in content creation or customer support can lead to a PMM role, but there’s no reason not to apply directly.

I would recommend that person to draft a list of areas they are interested in working in (e.g. Security) and from there identify a list of companies. Once they've settled on a list of companies, I would target those companies for a role that fits their skillset (e.g. PR/Comm). Once in the door, I would learn more about the market strategy/products of those companies and network toward a role in Product Marketing. While they are on that path, I suggest they take some form of training (e.g. PMA, Pragmatic) to have some base skillsets in the field.