Hey Daniel, care to share a little bit about yourself?

Hello there 👋🏼 My name is Daniel and I'm a Product Marketing/Business Manager over at Sony Electronics. I've been working in the Tech industry for about 6 years now but I also started posting videos on Youtube about a year ago and that's been my main hobby ever since social distancing happened 😃
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Can you tell us what you do as a Product Marketing Manager at Sony for those who are unfamiliar?

I'm sure the Product Marketing role is little different in each company but in case of my position at Sony, the Product Marketing Manager is basically the bridge between sales, marketing and product team.

We initially work with the product team years before the product launch to make sure we're building the right product for the market and then work with sales & marketing team to launch/sell the product once it's ready.

After the launch, we oversee the product in different stages of its lifecycle and focus on selling the product in various platforms while securing our profitability.
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How did you decide to pursue your specific career?

Well I was never really the smart kid in school. I was just the average guy getting mediocre grades, attending a college in front of my house so I knew that if I wanted to survive in the corporate world, I needed to focus on my strong points rather than trying to improve myself overall.

So I took advantage of the fact that I'm bilingual & relatable with people and started seeking for positions that works as a liaison between different groups rather than professions that focuses on specific areas like Accounting or Marketing.

I started my first career in Samsung as a Strategy Planner but after few years, I realized that I wanted to get more involved in the product itself so I quit my full-time job to become an intern at my next company which was VIZIO.

I was living by myself with lot of bills to pay for so I knew this was a very risky move but in order to pursue what I wanted to do, I understood there were prices to pay so I took my chances and while it was very stressful for a while, it became one of the best decision I've ever made in my life 😇
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What made you interested in your field?

As a kid, I've always looked up to businessman who dressed up nicely and traveled around the world for work.  So I knew I wanted to do something that was global scale and I was also very interested in tech gadgets so I figured working in a global tech company would fit what I wanted to do.
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While I loved working with tech gadgets, I was also very interest in the 'Market Side' of the product as well. I would often research information like who are the major players in the market, what's their main item and why they are winning and etc.

Being interested in both the product and the market made me seek for a career that would involved me in both sides and the Product Marketing role was a perfect fit.
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Any advice on how to stand out and get hired for those starting off?

I probably didn't have the best resume when entering some of the interviews I had but I believe the job was given to me because I not only did my research but also made analysis that can be insightful to the interviewer (your future boss) as well.

Doing your analysis and having a point of view on the market/product can really show your interviewers how serious you are about the role and even if your analysis is wrong, it'll still highlight your passionate attitude and diligence which is what all the employers want from their employees.
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3 Character traits that would make someone excel in your field

Grit, Relatability and Positive Mindset
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Most difficult thing about your job?

Conflicts or disagreements often occur when you are interacting with multiple groups within an organization. It's impossible to please everyone in most cases so making the most reasonable decision that different groups can accept always has been the biggest challenge for me.

Conveying your reasonings and making sure people understand why a certain decision was made is critical when you are trying to run a project smoothly so I'm still working on that part. At the end of the day, people are much harder than the work itself.
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What would you like to say to your younger self?

Don't be so timid or discouraged. So what if you don't have the best grades or can't speak English as well as others? You have something much more special than that so get up and start grinding!
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Best advice you've received/heard?

Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.
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Any last thoughts, advice, or recommendations for someone who is interested in becoming an Product Marketing Manager?

Get to know the product first and really dig into where that product's market is heading towards as well as why certain brands are winning in that area. If you figured this out, you are already a competent Product Marketing Specialist 😃

Books:Grit by Angela Duckworth & Stick by Dan Heath
Podcast: How I Built This with Guy Raz
Youtube: If you enjoy Korean HipHop, you'll find me soon..!