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I hadn’t touched a resume in 20 years.
I’d started and sold a business, co-founded a SaaS startup that grew to $1.1M ARR and was acquired, and launched product marketing campaigns across multiple product lines. But recently, after watching several PMM friends caught off-guard by layoffs, I realized something:
I had no idea how to tell my own story on (virtual) paper.
I’d spent years building and launching products—but never paused to package that experience in a way that was structured, strategic, and easy to share.
So I did what PMMs do best: I stepped back and reframed the narrative. Not “what jobs have I had?” but:
“What outcomes have I delivered—and how do I make them easy for others to understand?”
That shift led me to build something I’d never had before: a portfolio that organizes my work by value, not just time.
Why This Is Hard (Especially for PMMs with Non-Traditional Paths)
If you’ve been in the trenches—whether as a founder, an early-stage hire, or someone who's worn all the hats—then you know this feeling:
- You’ve done a lot… but it doesn’t always fit cleanly into a job title
- You’ve had impact across teams… but haven’t had to explain it before
- You’re so close to the work… that it’s hard to step back and package it
- Or… if you’re like me, just too busy and nose down to take time to promote yourself-whether internally or for the next adventure.
It’s easy to look at your experience and think, “Is this even resume-worthy?”
Spoiler: it is. But it probably needs translation.
What I Did Instead: Building a Portfolio Like a PMM
Instead of writing a resume, I started documenting my work—just like I would for a product launch.
- What did I build?
- Who did it help?
- What was the outcome?
- How did we get there?
I broke everything down by the value I delivered:
- Go-to-market strategy
- Sales enablement
- Positioning and messaging
- Campaign planning
- Content creation
- Product launch support
And then I built a portfolio site to house it all.
Not just a page of titles and timelines—but a walkthrough of how I work and what I’ve shipped.
The process itself gave me clarity I didn’t expect.
What I Learned That Might Help You Too
If you’ve been doing the work for years, but haven’t taken time to package your story—here’s what I found useful:
1. Start with outcomes, not job titles.
Titles don’t reflect the full picture. Impact does.
2. Case studies tell the story better than bullets.
Real examples help people see how you think, not just what you’ve done. (That’s part of why I’m writing this blog, too.)
3. Portfolios make the intangible tangible.
You can link to a launch. Show a deck. Embed a webinar. That’s hard to do on a resume.
4. The resume can come later.
Once you’ve mapped your work by value, turning it into a one-pager is just formatting.
And in the End
If you’re in product marketing, chances are you’ve helped position and sell all kinds of products. But you might never have paused to do the same for yourself.
That’s what this portfolio project became for me—not a job search tool, but a clarity tool.
It helped me reconnect with the work I’ve done, the value I’ve created, and the story I want to tell.
And if that’s something you’ve been meaning to do too… don’t wait for a layoff or a job change to start. Your story’s already there. You just need to build it.
P.S. I hate typical blog endings—especially now that AI ends up writing so many of them. Section headings like “Summary” or “Final Thoughts”? Meh.
And since it’s my blog, I’ll use my wrap-up section titles as a nod to the greatest musical group of all time: The Beatles.