How to land an SDR Job in 2022: a 9 step process for standing out
Today's issue is about standing out when you look for a job.
With what's happening right now: a lot of people are getting laid off, it's not easy.
Or if you are just looking for a new SDR job, it's not easy to get started.
So I want to help you with this newsletter.
Looking for a job is like a sale process.
Spray and pray don't work.
Applying to 300+ jobs doesn't work, you will get 0 interviews doing that.
There are thousands of SDR applicants. Most of them are average. Here's how to stand out:
Step 1: Define what you're looking for
Step 2: Leverage your network
Step 3: Organize your search
Step 4: Prepare your materials
Step 5: Contact SDRs/AEs at the company
Step 6: Apply
Step 7: Contact the hiring managers and recruiters
Step 8: Prepare your interview
Step 9: Ace your interviews
Bonus
Step 1: Define what you’re looking for
Create a target list of 10 companies you want to work for, based on your criteria:
Stage of the company: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C? Go on Crunchbase to find out what's the last funding round of the company.
How big is the SDR team: First hire? 30 SDRs? Depending on your experience, you want to choose carefully between a company with an SDR structure already build or where you need to build everything. If you are just starting in your sales career, join an established SDR team. If you join as one of the first hires, it's better if you already have some experience.
Is the company growing? Hiring?
Product: Software? Service?
Personas you are going to sell to: Marketing? CIO? CTO? VP of HR? Dentists?
Type of sales: SMB, Mid-Market, or enterprise.
Culture of the company: go on Glassdoor to read employees' reviews.
Leadership team: do they have sales experience? Do they have sales leaders who invest in their team growth? Who's the hiring manager?
Compensation: base and commissions: on Glassdoor and Repvue you can find this information.
Is the company investing in the brand? Check the LinkedIn page of the company.
What kind of role are you looking for?
Inbound SDR
Outbound SDR
ADR
Enterprise SDR
Are they hiring: remotely? Hybrid? On-Site?
I don't have a specific website for all of this but you can use a mix of LinkedIn, Remotive, Revgenius, Repvue, or Glassdoor to find your 10 companies.
Do the list of all of this and rank your companies based on what matters the most to you.
Step 2: Leverage your network
Do you know someone at the company that can help you?
If so, talk to them to get an intro or who is the right person to talk with.
If not, go to step 3.
Step 3: Organize your search
Now that you have your list of companies, keep track of all interactions, and information about each company in a spreadsheet.
Step 4: Prepare your materials
Prepare and update your LinkedIn profile and resume
Step 5: Contact SDRs/AEs at the company
Get insights about the company to inform your perspective about the company, the culture, or being an SDR at this company.
If you had a good chat with the person, ask for a referral link to apply: 40%-80% of hires come from referrals.
Step 6: Apply
Now that you have the referral link: apply and follow the company hiring process.
Step 7: Contact the hiring managers and recruiters
Contact the hiring team after applying because if you are not in the system, we can't help you or start the process.
At small companies you maybe you can or they'll explain the process, but generally, companies use an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) and you need to apply to start the process.
Also, the quicker you apply, the quicker you will get an interview because the recruiting team can receive 20-30 applications per day.
If they ask you to send some time for your interviews, send them 5-10 options and in the same week so you can get an interview quickly.
Step 8: Prepare your interview
Now that you get the email for your interview, your success in getting the job is here.
Research
Research the company
The product and personas
The competition: go on G2 or Owler, or type COMPANY Alternative on Google to find their competitors.
The hiring team: go check their LinkedIn profile, do they post on LinkedIn? Find 2-3 things per person that you can ask during your interviews.
Prepare thoughtful questions
How many SDRs hitting quota?
Quota attainment
About the promotion path
How they approach career development
Etc
Please prepare some questions, during the hiring process we are evaluating if you are curious, a candidate with no questions is a red flag for a recruiter. Also, please don't ask the typical questions you can find on Google.
On top of your research you can prepare 2 things:
Your 30/60/90 plan:
How you’re going to ramp up on product
Who you’re going to meet in the organization
Key milestones on your prospecting activities
Make a company/prospects list:
Identify some prospects companies for the company interviewing you
Identify prospects and build a list of contact
A quick sequence you could send to those prospects
PS: you can do this list on top of the email assessment.
Step 9: Ace the interviews
You'll get 3-4 interviews.
For SDR roles you will get at least a role play and/or an email assessment.
So be prepared, and practice with some peers or friends to be comfortable.
Because you have already done the research, your role play and email assessment will be easier because you know personas, the product, the pain point it solves During the role play
Send a thank-you note
Simple and effective.
Send a video or an email to the person who interviewed you.
Saying thank you and 1 thing specific about the conversation you
Follow up
Hiring process = sales process, you need to be in control of it.
If they say, they will get back to you,
Bonus: your personal brand
If you want to go deeper to find a job and speed up your career.
You need to think about your brand.
Start thinking about what content you can create:
Posts on LinkedIn
Create a podcast
Make videos on TikTok
Etc.
Some companies are afraid of this, but it makes a difference in the hiring process and it can also help you get recruiters or hiring managers to contact you.
Salespeople who invest in their personal brand think long-term.
If you are thinking about it, start today, you won't regret it.
I don't think it's easy to find an SDR job at a great company.
So that's why it takes a lot of time, energy, and preparation.
Thanks for reading.
That's all for this Sunday. Simple tips for SDRs.
Quick Reminder: If you like my emails please do “add to address book” or reply.
See you again next Sunday.
Cheers,
Elric
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