SalesStash

Strategic Account Executive

College vs. Military Service for Sales? read more...

Military Vs. College for Sales positions

As someone that came from a military family and being a vet myself I've be asked my times, "Why didn't you go to college and get a degree?" My simple answer to them is, " I wanted to accomplish something not just for myself. I wanted to serve my country, I wanted to learn real discipline and gain the understanding of what it means to be selfless."

With the competition be fierce for top sales position my discussion here is what would place a military vet over a college grad? If there are hiring managers in here I would love to hear a time when you hired a vet over a college grad for a sales position. What did you see in them that you didn't in others. I find a lot of my brothers from the Army devaluing themselves because they're told getting a degree is the only way to go.

Ok ill get off my soap box. Would love to hear you opinions and advice to vets!

Who would you hire?

Attached poll

Veteran College Grad My Momma

*Voting in this poll no longer yields commission.

🎈 Mentorship

16

31 comment

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CuriousFox

WR Officer

21

🦊

I would hire the person that I think is the best fit.

jefe

Arsonist

2

🍁

Really the only answer...

CuriousFox

WR Officer

1

🦊

❤🦊

SalesStash

Opinionated

0

Strategic Account Executive

Great answer!

funcoupons

WR Officer

8

👑

The best fit for the position looking at things like:

- Relevant experience (Veterans will have more relevant experience from their service than a college grad that's never held a job.)

- Attitude and willingness to learn

- Culture fit

SlinginSoftware

Politicker

2

Account Executive

I've learned that culture fit is OK...but culture contribution is best!

NoSuperhero

Politicker

1

BDR LEAD

Agreed, grit and culture fit are big ones IMHO

1nbatopshotfan

Politicker

6

Sales

Not what you’re asking, but I love selling to former military in IT roles. Generally they have more personality than the standard IT person paired with less runaround. No wasted time or effort. It’s a pleasure.

funcoupons

WR Officer

5

👑

You wanna talk about positions where people have no personality? Allow me to introduce you to accountants...

1nbatopshotfan

Politicker

2

Sales

Hahaha. I see that pretty often as well. It’s really wonderful to bomb joke after joke with them because they don’t care. I won’t quit though because shooters gotta shoot. :-)

funcoupons

WR Officer

3

👑

It hurts my soul to have to match their boring and dull ass energy...like YES, GIVE ME ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TONY THANK U.

Not as bad as lawyers tho...

SalesStash

Opinionated

0

Strategic Account Executive

hahahaha for sure!

1nbatopshotfan

Politicker

2

Sales

Lawyers are just rude. But when the jokes are dying, I really do keep going for it. I’ll never learn.

Filth

Politicker

2

Live Filthy or Die Clean

Not to mention, military service forces more person to person contact and decorum than many IT people have coming other paths. So if customer facing situations arise they are generally better suited. In my experience at the very least.

Avon

Politicker

4

Senior Account Executive

My brother and two of my very good friends are active duty and I have a few friends and relatives who are veterans. Anecdotally the whole "military service makes you disciplined and a great employee" trope seems to about as accurate as thinking that because someone went to college they can handle a difficult job.

Filth

Politicker

3

Live Filthy or Die Clean

You can never judge a book by its cover that's for damn sure.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

4

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

It's attitude and aptitude above all else.

I do have a college degree. It is totally unrelated to my job. (Granted, what I sell was not even invented when I graduated, but still). That four years was formative, but it shouldn't be the key deciding factor. As a rep, you need to be educable, not necessarily over-educated.

if you can express yourself, write clearly, communicate, learn how to navigate a sales cycle...it doesn't matter where you came from, if you can use the experience you have to excel, great.

Jewcan_Sam81

Politicker

2

Account Executive

For me it would come down to the person that feels like they'd not just work well for me, or my team, but would really be able to stay for as long of the haul as possible based on their personality AND their work history. I will say that in this business there really is something to someone with a lot of life experience to bring to the table that adds a measure of credibility during an intro slide (sorry college grad)

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

2

☕️

Option D: Can you do the job and are you going to provide me with ROI? Great! I truly don't care about your background prior to applying.

HarryCaray

Notable Contributor

2

HMFIC

I'm a vet too, and I'm sort of tired of hearing my fellow vets complain about this sort of stuff. If you want the job, then make yourself the best candidate for the job. Doesn't matter what exact path you took.

Unfortunately, we veterans need a bit of an ego check. Being a vet doesn't make you any better or any worse than anyone else out there. It's a unique experience that equips you with an interesting perspective. You may or may not have picked up some hard and soft skills along the way. We really need to stop patting ourselves on the back for serving and using it as an excuse for not having the same resume' as others who didn't serve. We don't deserve any special treatment. You can either do the job or you can't. If you can't, then maybe getting more education under your belt is a good way to move the needle for you.

CharmingSalesGal

Politicker

1

Account Executive

My S.O. and I just had this conversation!

In today's work environment, I think hiring veterans is an extremely valuable asset to a sales team because they tend to have more grit and focus to accomplish goals- despite maybe not having formal "training" in a sales setting. While college degrees are cool, we've been groomed in society that that's "just what you do after high school" so it doesn't produce the same work ethic as military service.

Obviously, this view doesn't always apply but in my experience, it's been a pretty obvious difference and I'm starting to see more companies not require college degrees for employment which is encouraging!

funcoupons

WR Officer

5

👑

Degree requirements at most jobs are a total joke. Unless your degree directly relates to or is required to perform your job, it means dick all. I've met many people with "impressive" advanced degrees that were dumber than fuck as well so it's certainly not even an indicator of intelligence or perseverance...I'm saying this as someone who did go to college lol.

If someone completes military service you know they at the very least can work as part of a team/they don't give up easily/don't mind getting their hands dirty literally and figuratively.

If it was between a vet and college grad and they had similar backgrounds/personalities I'd choose the vet also. I'd also rather hire someone with a few years of real life experience than someone who's never held a job and has lived with mom and dad their whole lives. Just a maturity thing.

Avon

Politicker

5

Senior Account Executive

I dont totally disagree. However there is something to having taken writing classes. I do some volunteer work that involves job training from underrepresented communities, almost none of them have gone to college and it shows in their writing skills. Not saying it's a universal rule, but I do think it's a safer bet to hire someone with a degree vs not, all other things being equal. With the cost of hiring/onboarding so high, I understand why a lot of places prefer a college degree.

SalesStash

Opinionated

1

Strategic Account Executive

I love you lol

funcoupons

WR Officer

5

👑

Good on you for volunteering. :)

I agree that people with degrees are more likely to be adept at things like spelling/grammar/writing in general than a high school grad. No arguing that. However, I might argue that the people you're helping may not have done well in high school to begin with due to life at home/lower quality school districts that often come with living in poorer neighbourhoods etc.

I still can't say a hire with a degree is a safer bet than someone without one, though. Honestly, it wouldn't even factor into my hiring decision. If the people were equal in terms of experience/perceived aptitude to succeed I'd hire the person most likely to gel well with the team and culture and who seems to want the job more tbh. The only exception would be if the degree was relevant to the position - an IT degree if you're selling tech, or an HR degree for someone selling HRIS, that sort of thing.

Diablo

Politicker

1

Sr. AE

Right attitude!

NoSuperhero

Politicker

1

BDR LEAD

I don't think it matters, while the army, marines, navy, airforce, and seals all train to be leaders, it doesn't mean that they are natural leaders when they hit the ground with the new mission at home.

Your background doesn't tell me how well you overcome objections and rejections, so I'd value that over their college background or military background over anything.

jefe

Arsonist

1

🍁

Interesting to read this from a Canadian perspective... A lot fewer of us serve, and there doesn't seem to be the same view of veterans as there is in the US (perhaps because there aren't nearly as many).

I wouldn't say there's no veneration or recognition, but rather that from what I've seen it's just not viewed as nearly as big a deal up here.

Never really heard of a veteran's discount, for instance, though I read about them all the time in states.

MassholeMovesWest

WR Officer

1

Account Executive

Don't think it needs to be one or the other, but in my experience most of the vets who I worked with in sales have a leg up on the "thick skin" department which really helps not take the SADNESS personally and continue cold-calling and closing.

dwightyouignorantsale

Politicker

0

Account Executive

I would try to hire the person who is best fit for the role - personality, experience, long term goals, etc. Some college grads would be a hell of a hire, others would be freaking awful. Some veterans may be the perfect amount of discipline and attention to detail, but others may be the opposite.

JDialz

Politicker

0

Chief Operating Officer

I did both. I agree with @CuriousFox though - hire the best for that specific role.

Personal anecdote: I have been asked several times why I have my highest promotion warrant and honorable discharge cert on my wall instead of my degrees. My answer is always "anyone can go get a college degree - very few people have that" *points to promotion warrant

However, I wouldn't hire over half the people I served with to even wash my car. So ... situation definitely is dependent.

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