Annelies Paine (Marshall, ‘21) spent her summer as a PMM Intern at Adobe, where she got to work on a variety of PMM projects. During the summer, Paine relied on past skills as well as a quick approach to developing new ones to succeed in her internship. In this interview, Paine shared her experience as a Product Marketing Intern at Adobe, and her approach to succeeding in her Product Marketing Internship.
MBASchooled: What did you do for your summer internship and what projects did you work on?
This summer I worked as a Product Marketing intern at Adobe. I worked on a team that develops Adobe’s machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
My project focused on helping enterprise customers get more value from ML technology. I evaluated the competitive landscape and tested different tools in the market. My project also included a Product Management component, I recommended new features and collaborated with engineers. I was very fortunate to get exposure to both PM and PMM work.
What were the important skills you had to use to be an effective PMM Intern?
MBA interns at Adobe have many opportunities to present to executives about our work. Getting comfortable presenting to senior audiences and answering challenging questions is an important skill to develop before the summer. I was grateful for the opportunities I had to do this during consulting projects and case competitions during my first year at USC Marshall.
I also used my networking skills to build relationships across the organization and learn about teams. At a large company, learning how your product fits into the larger product ecosystem is essential for communicating to your customers effectively.
MBASchooled: What initially attracted you to Product Marketing, and how did that play out during your summer internship?
Before business school, I worked as a client manager at a digital marketing agency. My favorite part of the job was translating technical concepts into easy-to-understand language, to convince clients to adopt my marketing strategies. Once you’ve explained how a Google Search ad auction works, you can explain just about anything. When pivoting into tech, I knew that I wanted to keep leveraging my strength as someone who can translate complicated concepts to non-technical personas. Product Marketers do this every day.
Artificial intelligence is one the most difficult concepts to explain in the tech industry. Not only is it hard to understand, but the technology is changing at a very rapid pace. My internship was a real opportunity for me to articulate the ways that Adobe uses AI and ML to improve products and workflows.
MBASchooled: What aspects from your previous work experience, or skills you had were relevant in your PMM internship? What were some new skills you had to build or use?
One of the skills I built while working at a digital marketing agency was learning how to prioritize. I previously managed a team of five people and worked across several clients, so I was constantly juggling competing tasks. As an intern, I only had a few months to finish my project. I had to prioritize which aspects of my project were the most important to spend my time on and make sure they lined up with my team’s business objectives.
One of the new skills I gained was learning how to write a blog post about an upcoming feature release. It challenged me to boil down many potential use cases for this feature into the most important and impactful examples. It was also really fun to flex the more creative side of my brain.
MBASchooled: What was it like to build relationships virtually? What helped? What was hard?
I was nervous about this aspect of my virtual internship, but I was surprised by how easy it was to build relationships virtually. Adobe has a strong culture of being genuine and everyone is encouraged to bring their whole self to work. This positive and open environment helped me feel connected to my team and the broader Adobe community right from the start.
I also made an effort to show up prepared and energetic for every virtual meeting, since I knew that opportunities for connection would be fewer than in the office. I always had my camera on, came with an agenda, and made sure to smile! While it sounds simple, these small details go a long way in making the most of every interaction.
MBASchooled: Knowing what you know now, what would you do to prepare in order to be even more successful in your internship?
Transitioning from a school schedule, where I often have built in breaks between classes, to a work schedule was difficult for me when working remotely. A few weeks into my internship I had to slow down and force myself to take breaks throughout the day. I wish I had spent some time thinking about a daily schedule that allowed me to be more productive in advance of starting a new role.
MBASchooled: What was a challenge that you had to overcome or work through?
One of the best parts about my internship is that I got to partner with machine learning researchers and engineers that are developing some of the most advanced technology in the industry. At the start of my internship, it was really challenging for me to get up to speed on the terms and phrases used in the field. I often felt like I was speaking another language!
I tackled this challenge in two ways. First, I started reading a lot more about AI and ML. I set up Google alerts for important terms, scanned industry publications for relevant articles, and listened to podcasts on the topic. Second, I wasn’t afraid to ask for help! My team was always willing to slow down and answer questions for me. I think many ambitious MBA students are afraid to admit when they don’t know something. However, asking questions demonstrates a growth mindset and helps you get up to speed much faster.
MBASchooled: What advice do you have for MBA students considering internships in Product Marketing?
Once you’ve identified a list of companies you are interested in, consume as much public content (blog posts, advertisements, virtual conferences etc.) as possible. The job of a Product Marketer is to communicate the value of a product or service to the outside world. If you can walk into your interview already understanding the voice of the organization, how the product is positioned in the market, and the channels that are used to communicate with customers, you are going to have a leg up.