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Carlos1122

Unemployed

Fire Starter

Entrepreneur to Employee (The Challenges Ahead)

Good Morning Everyone ,

I hope you are all doing well and crushing your quotas! I want to preface my dilemma with a little bit about myself . I graduated with a BS in Marketing in 2011 from Kean University and with an MBA in 2021 from Syracuse University. I worked multiple roles prior to 2020 including ; Inside Sales , Account Manager & Territory Manager for mostly Manufacturing companies in the Jan San & Construction Industries. The last role I had prior to starting my business was with a Cananadian Chemical manufacturing company and I was TM for the East Coast. In August of 2020 I opened my business which specialized in GC work for residential and commercial construction projects. From August 2020 - August 2023 I brought in just under $12 million in revenue. Unfortunately the business grew too quickly , left us with a lack of cash flow which forced me to cease operations. I have been applying to various roles since Mid August.

Ultimately I am an MBA with 10+ years of sales experience who ran a business that sold just under $12 million in 3 years. I think that's a pretty good background but employers and recruiters don't seem to agree. I have looked for resources on successfully making the transition but I have not found a comprehensive guide or video that lays out the steps. Makes me want to start a website for that but I really need to bring income right now so going back to private makes sense today.

I need your help on why you think I am not getting interviews (had 4 in 1-1/2 months and only spoke to hiring managers 2 times). I am also not getting much attention from recruiters. I have used LinkedIn, TheLadders and Indeed. I have always included a custom cover letter with my resume and still very little success in attracting employers. I started out looking for VP and Director level roles but I have since applied to many Sales Manager , Territory Manager and Distric Manager roles. Have applied in the construction , technology and retail industries. Taking the time to earn some Salesforce credentials since the ideal industry would be Tech starting the sales team. 

I have been proactive and reached out to people in the companies I am applying to in LinkedIn but again very little success. My guess is that there is a stigma of people who owned business not fitting into work culture or taking direction well. 

Your help would be tremendously appreciated so please let me know what you think and what I should be doing differently.

Thank You,

Carlos 
🎯 Career Development
🦄 Entrepreneurship
👀 job search
5

10 comments

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DataCorrupter
Politicker
4
Account Executive
This isn't what you want to hear, but it's just the state of the market right now. I've sent out probably 50-ish resumes to companies where I'm a great fit (tenure, tech, etc.) and have had <5 interviews with those.

I've had much more recently, but only because there's a perfect fit between me and one particular company. That seems to me to be the trend.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
1
🦊
❤❤❤
jefe
Arsonist
0
🍁
Sad truth.
4 interviews in 1.5 months isn't even that bad these days..
braintank
Politicker
3
Enterprise Account Executive
Upload your resume
Carlos1122
Fire Starter
1
Unemployed
Sorry I am newish to the app , how can I upload it?
Sunbunny31
Politicker
1
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
You can upload a photo - there should be an icon. Redact personal info, then you can get some advice on format and how to best present your accomplishments. Hope that helps!
FartingRaccoon
Executive
2
BDR
Have you tried cold emailing or cold calling the hiring managers instead of reaching out on LinkedIn? I've done that in the past and it seems to have worked.
Unfortunately, the job market is horrible right now. I've seen some AEs with several years of experience who have had to take SDR roles to get by. I've also seen a laid-off SDR manager with around 4-5 years of experience take an SDR role after 4 months without a job, which seems insane to me. But just shows how the market is right now.

Good luck, I've also been looking for a job since getting laid off last June!
Carlos1122
Fire Starter
1
Unemployed
Wow well thank you for the advice and information . Good luck to you on your job search !
Pachacuti
Politicker
1
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
(1) the market is tough for jobs, despite what NPR wants to tell you.
(2) your background as an Entrepreneur may make it tougher since people will assume you won't be happy in an IC role. You need to make sure your resume tells the story you want to tell (which may require omitting large pieces of information).

(3) Have you reached out to your former clients?
0
Retired Sales Professional
Perhaps not mentioning that you started your own business. A future employer is looking for a ROI ( the time it takes to train and sales) and they might think that you will jumps ship and start another company, although this may not be the case, it may seem that way to them. You obviously have all the experience and education to gain employement without the rest info. Good luck. Go CUSE!!

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