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Christopher, Category Business Manager at Google: Advize Career Interview
A Category Business Manager role at Google, like Christopher's, is an exciting blend of strategy, sales, and interpersonal skills.
The path begins with a broad foundation in economics and progresses through roles in accounting and industrial engineering before pivoting to an MBA to build strategic thinking skills.
The role at Google involves crafting sales strategies for products like the Pixel, navigating complex stakeholder relationships, and constantly analyzing market data to optimize marketing approaches.
Daily work is a fast-paced mix of meetings and quantitative analysis, targeting the right customer.
Success requires both "Excel ninja" skills and a high degree of collaboration, emotional intelligence, and the ability to tell stories with numbers.
A key to thriving is being a "Google fanboy," enjoying the fast-paced nature of the tech industry and taking pride in seeing promotions in commercials, constantly planning future products while learning from past campaigns.
Crucially, it's a career that rewards those who take time to truly understand and "skill hack," leveraging university recruiting and entry-level positions as a starting point.
Success is about building skills and relationships and thriving in diverse environments and is a marathon, not a sprint, where diverse perspectives are highly valuable.
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Christopher Speed
Category Business Manager
CSU San Marcos
MBA University of San Diego
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Economics
Technology
Strategic Management and Executive
Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School
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Career Path Of A Career Changer In The Tech Industry
Christopher's career path began with an economics degree, which they valued for its broad application to problem-solving, followed by accounting roles before shifting into industrial engineering where they worked on process improvement projects for clients like Apple. Later, after realizing the need to develop strategic thinking skills, Christopher pursued an MBA which proved "very pivotal" in career trajectory as it allowed them to contribute to both strategy development and implementation, eventually leading to a role in the tech industry.
Main Responsibilities of a Category Business Manager at Google
Christopher, a Category Business Manager for Google Pixel, is primarily responsible for sales strategy planning, determining the best ways to sell the product into the market by leveraging promotional and marketing strategies alongside incentives for store representatives; however, "knowing how to just deal with people and negotiate with people and not take things personally" is essential to navigate internal and external stakeholders, especially when delivering difficult news regarding budgets and strategy effectiveness. This requires "strategic thinking, planning, analysis process" and excellent interpersonal skills to effectively support both sales and strategy teams.
A Day In The Life Of A Category Business Manager At Google
A day in the life of a Pixel Category Business Manager at Google is challenging, balancing numerous meetings with quantitative deliverables like analytics, and involves a lot of work related to marketing strategy, specifically, "what type of customer do we want to target and how do we wanna target them?". In any given day, the role requires communication with around 30-40 people, making it socially exhausting.
Most Important Skills For A Category Business Manager At Google
For a Category Business Manager at Google, the most important skills can be broken into qualitative and quantitative categories, where "dealing with people" and understanding how different people think are key, alongside the ability to "tell stories with numbers" using tools like Excel to synthesize data and communicate insights to leadership. Excel ninja skills are also very valuable.
Favorite Parts Of Being A Category Business Manager At Google
As a self-proclaimed "Google fanboy," the most rewarding aspect of the Category Business Manager's role is being "so close to the product" and seeing the direct impact of work reflected in the market, whether that be the pride of seeing promotions in commercials or the opportunity to learn from less successful campaigns based on partner feedback.
Biggest Challenges Faced By A Category Business Manager At Google
Christopher, a Category Business Manager at Google, finds that the biggest challenge in their role is "maintaining composure" amidst the constant barrage of negotiations and challenges, requiring the ability to separate personal feelings from the task at hand and recognizing that it's "about the thing not about you." The key is preventing internal stress from negatively influencing conversations, even when feeling overworked or overwhelmed.
Favorite Parts Of Working In The Tech Industry As A Category Business Manager At Google
As a Category Business Manager at Google, Christopher enjoys the fast-paced nature of the industry, stating that it "moves so, so, so fast" and allows them to constantly be "living in the future" by planning upcoming products years in advance while consumers are currently purchasing products they worked on previously. This forward-thinking aspect of the role, "thinking about things before the world's even...knowing that we're coming with it," is what Christopher finds most appealing.
What Type Of Person Thrives In The Tech Industry According To A Category Business Manager At Google
According to Christopher, Category Business Managers at Google who thrive are confident, "very type A," and know what they want to achieve, while also being "highly collaborative" and able to set aside personal feelings to provide unbiased value. Winning in the industry requires the ability to "completely stay unbiased, add value, and not get hung up on how they feel about something."
What A Category Business Manager At Google Wishes They Had Known Before Entering The Technology Industry
Christopher, a Category Business Manager at Google, wishes someone had advised them to "take it slow" when entering the industry because while the fast-paced environment aligns with their natural inclination to "move really quick," slowing down and being thorough is crucial to avoid burnout and ultimately be more successful. In other words, thoughtfulness is more advantageous than speed.
Entry-Level Positions For Aspiring Category Business Managers At Google
Christopher suggests that aspiring professionals, whether undergraduates or graduate students, should leverage university recruiting programs and entry-level positions advertised on company websites, emphasizing that big companies seek individuals who "know how to think, know how to execute and [are] just like good to work with" regardless of university pedigree; to succeed in the long run, it is most important to identify desired skills for a future role and focus on acquiring them, understanding that entering technology or any field is "a marathon, not a sprint."
Significant Career Lesson From a Category Business Manager at Google
Christopher, a Category Business Manager at Google, learned that slowing down is crucial for success. Instead of rushing to complete tasks, "taking the time to not only do the work, but to kind of like skill hack a little bit" and deeply understand the task at hand leads to better learning and higher quality deliverables.
College Experiences That Helped a Google Category Business Manager Succeed
Christopher, a Category Business Manager at Google, credits "hang[ing] out with people that were not like [them]" in college as crucial for career success. This exposure to a diverse group of friends from various backgrounds fostered an ability to "thrive in environments that like aren't what you're used to," a skill essential in a diverse and transplant-heavy professional environment like San Francisco.
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