yuanquan profile picture
yuanquan profile picture

yuanquan

Inside Sales Representative

Fire Starter
Member
Good Citizen
+1

Does working for a less established company affect resume attractiveness?

Hi All, do you feel like its harder to land a job with a large tech company if you previously decided to work in a small-medium sized company and now lack that 'brand name' on your resume?


I'm a fresh graduate at a crossroad deciding between rejoining the company I interned with as an ISR (medium size tech organization), or to join a large tech company as an SDR/BDR.


The OTE for the ISR role at my old company would definitely be higher, but idk if going with that option would affect my long-term employability and ability to join a larger sales org in the future.


Would love to hear your thoughts!

Which company would you join?

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26 comments

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braintank
Politicker
12
Enterprise Account Executive
Results matter more than company names
jefe
Arsonist
3
๐Ÿ
100% agree. Although with the first role I feel like getting a big name on there can help.
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
1
Bravado's Resident Asshole
AMEN!
BourbonKing
Valued Contributor
10
VP of Sales
Look for the company with the best culture, that will provide you with the best coaching and training, and will value more your individual contributions...regardless of size.
yuanquan
Fire Starter
1
Inside Sales Representative
Thanks for your advice! My current sales director is a great leader and believes in my growth. I'll bet on continuing with him then!
CuriousFox
WR Officer
5
๐ŸฆŠ
All that matters is that you have successful experience.
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
4
Bravado's Resident Asshole
Your track record is more impressive than the company you work for.
TennisandSales
Politicker
4
Head Of Sales
no.

what matters is experience and results.

I went from working at a tiny series A company to the largest publicly traded company in my industry. And it was because of the experience I had and the results i was able to bring in.

Money is obviously a huge factor but I would think more about what opportunity will allow you to gain the experience you need to advance in your career?
What company will help develop you better?
What company has a better management team you will be working under.

Those factors will make a WAY bigger impact on the future of your career.
yuanquan
Fire Starter
4
Inside Sales Representative
Thanks Tennis, this is exactly the kind of advice and assurance I needed. The training and enablement in my current company is far from the best, but the management are willing to bet on me and place me in positions I can grow. It seems like I'll be returning to them then!
TennisandSales
Politicker
3
Head Of Sales
awesome! yeah that sounds like a solid opportunity for sure.
FoodForSales
Politicker
3
AE
it definitely helps to have a household name on your resume. Personally, if I were starting out, I would prefer to have that well known company on my resume.

Why?

In the future people will want to know that someone they trust took a chance on you in the past. Having that well known name will provide them with that level of confidence.
Fenderbaum
Politicker
3
Retired Choirboy๐Ÿช•
What matters more is what you've done, not where you worked.
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
3
Sales Rep
The ISR role you already have good connections with and a solid understanding of the business so a quicker ramp up. Higher OTE and I assume you like it there.

How does base compare? Since you should budget off of base that is a key!
yuanquan
Fire Starter
1
Inside Sales Representative
Yup joining my previous company as an ISR seems to make a lot of sense, I was just concerned if that would affect my chances at an AM/AE role in larger sales org in the future versus if I were to join that large sales org as an SDR and promote internally.

Base for the ISR role is definitely higher! I live in Asia so the salaries are a little different, but the base for the ISR role is around 55k USD versus a base of 45k USD for the SDR role in a bigger company.
Pachacuti
Politicker
3
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
Never hurts to have a big name on your resume, especially early on.
coletrain
Politicker
3
Account Executive
Go where you think you will have the most positive results. Whatever you think you may know, there's a lot that you don't
Sunbunny31
Politicker
3
Sr Sales Executive ๐Ÿฐ
I came in a bit late to the conversation, but while a big tech name is great on a resume, you will be fine without it. It's results.

And you're at the beginning of your career - plenty of time to add a big logo downroad.

You're going to do great!
yuanquan
Fire Starter
0
Inside Sales Representative
Thanks Bunny. Sorry if this sounds naive, but I guess I'm still inexperienced. How would you know how well you're likely to perform in an organization if its results that should determine which company we pick?
DungeonsNDemos
Big Shot
2
Rolling 20's all day
If you have offers from both, go with higher base. Focus on what you can learn and build as a longterm carrier. Skills are valuable, so as a new grad go where you will learn the most.
RedLightning
Politicker
2
Mid-Market AE
Money aside, there are pros and cons to both and your skill set will grow in different ways.

Smaller org will likely make you a better seller because you're likely going to have to overcome the lack of brand equity by being a better sales person. You may get promoted faster and be put in situation outside of your comfort zone. Depending on the org size, processes/promotion paths may be less defined.

Larger Org means you're slotting into a well oiled machine. Processes are laid out and your job is to execute a plan that works. You'll understand how larger orgs function and that is valuable to learn. Your short term career path will be much more linear and you may have to politic a bit more to advance, but everything should be clearly defined. You may get used to winning just because of your brand and that could hurt you down the road if you leave and aren't mindful of that. I've personally seen reps from the large orgs move into a smaller org numerous times and not have the same level of success because of it.

Companies won't necessarily care down the road which you worked for. All that matters is how you performed, what you learned, and your skills you've gained.

Good luck!
punishedlad
Tycoon
1
Business Development Team Lead
If the less established company has a good system in place and isn't asking you to pull off a miracle, I'd say the ISR position.
pirate
Big Shot
1
๐Ÿฆœโ˜ ๏ธ Account Executive
Sometimes it's up to your values too. I like companies where I sell something that helps people and where company values align with my own. Also one choice of companies won't define you or even results because that's something you can change
SalesMama
Executive
0
Senior Account Executive
Follow the $$$
Salesandcoffeedude
Valued Contributor
0
Business Development Representative
I started at a startup right out of college and just signed a contract to work with a public fortune 1000 company.

I leveraged my experience to get the job because most candidates for the big companies might have 0 experience so early on. It's really more about what I did at the last company that got me the job and showing them that I could put in the effort, had the mindset and understanding to do thrive. They're gonna train me for a month anyway - they just need driven people.
Salesandcoffeedude
Valued Contributor
0
Business Development Representative
Worked at the startup for 8 months*
CadenceCombat
Tycoon
0
Account Executive
No but there is added value working for a respected household name.

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