Hopefully this helps one person..."stay for promotion or look elsewhere"

Somewhat lengthy, but hoping this helps some people who are contemplating job hopping to increase their paycheck.


Quick summary on my career path over last 5 years....


2017

  • 26 years old, joined a start-up as 5th employee and first account executive. Shit salary ($45k) plus commissions. No benefits. Stock options. In office position.

Worked here for 3 years. Great experience in the SaaS/Fintech/Marketplace verticals. Learned the ins/outs of startups. Commissions changed 3-4 times due to pivoting of the core product we were providing, etc.


I hit numbers frequently but commissions were not great. I think my highest earning year I made $61k or so. Not tight.


2020

  • Left mid pandemic to join one of my suppliers from first job. Territory development in the Med Device space. Salary ($45k) but commissions were better. Benefits not great but okay. healthcare, 401k 3% match. Remote employee.

Worked here for 2 full years. The culture at this company is incredible. Legit treat their employees like their most beloved family members, total team effort on all fronts and truly some of the brightest individuals I've ever worked with. I hit quota and was the #1 retail rep. Was projected to make around $75k by end of 2022.


However, it was a grind. Lot of competition in the space and being remote was tough and I was ready for that next step in career development.


2022 (September)

  • Left last company to join a Series A startup in the Med Supply space. Brought on as a remote Account Executive with plan to transition into Sales Director after 90 days once more new hires brought on. Base salary $65k plus commissions (OTE was $120k allegedly). Paid healthcare, 401k (no match), unlimited PTO.

Sounds great right? Mass layoffs 6 weeks after I was hired. literally 90% of the company let go. Total shit show. Rumors about the Series A not being fully funded which was the catalyst for the hirings.


2023 (January)

  • Back in office for a local company. Manufacturing company in the medical space. NO SALES TEAM. They've literally relied on a book of 5-6 customers for majority of sales for 3 decades. Base salary - $75k, 80% paid healthcare, 401k 3% match. Commissions are 1% of total revenue (projected $4-$5 million). Not sure how realistic due to a number of factors.

So far, pros are that I have autonomy after I get ramped up (3-4 months). I'm obviously making more money than I have in the past. Lot of opportunity to close some big deals ranging from 5-7 figures. I know I can bring a shift in culture here from what I've learned.


Cons, company is a shitshow. Culture is terrible. Tons of work to be done. Lot of turnover in leadership positions the last 5 years. Product delays, quality issues. The picture being painted isn't great, but I want to take a shot at helping turn it around.



The point I am trying to make is that life is hard as it is but don't rush into a job situation out of desperation. Live below your means to afford the luxury to not have to accept an offer in panic. I'm certainly feeling that way today but I know there is opportunity if you're willing to look.


Vet the companies you're interviewing with. Use the list Corp put out this week regarding companies that are still hiring (If you are in the market).


I've nearly doubled my base salary in 5 months. It's possible. Reach out to me directly if you're having issues. I'm happy to help.

๐Ÿ’ฐ Compensation
๐Ÿค  Culture
๐Ÿ˜‹ Job Searching
13
TennisandSales
Politicker
3
Head Of Sales
great post! love the point of trying to NOT make a decision out of desperation.

ive only been able to do that a few times and those are the ones that were the best for me.
detectivegibbles
Politicker
2
Sales Director
Delayed gratification is tough but totally worth it.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
1
Sr Sales Executive ๐Ÿฐ
When you can, absolutely. It can be difficult once you have family to support - leading to an understandable urgency.
Gasty
Notable Contributor
2
War Room Community Manager
๐Ÿ’›Thanks for putting this together @detectivegibbles .
detectivegibbles
Politicker
0
Sales Director
NP Gasty. Appreciate you!
Nairobi
Politicker
2
AE
Great post! "Life is hard as it but DON'T RUSH into a job situation out of desperation" -- man this one hits home.

In my first year in sales, I landed at a horrible toxic company. I couldn't wait to get out, so I took the first opp that came to me. Well, to no surprise, that startup was also a shit show... so much time and energy wasted because of that rushed decision
detectivegibbles
Politicker
0
Sales Director
There's a ton of great BS artists out there in leadership positions that will paint a company the complete opposite of what it truly is.

It's easy to be hard on yourself for the decision!
Diablo
Politicker
2
Sr. AE
Very true, thanks for the post
CuriousFox
WR Officer
2
๐ŸฆŠ
Gibbles. Standing ovation friend. Standing ovation.
detectivegibbles
Politicker
1
Sales Director
You da real MVP fox.
Space_Ghost20
Valued Contributor
1
Account Executive
I'm learning this right now. I had a bit of a cushion, but considering the time of year and all of the layoffs (I do not have a marquee company on my resume) after 2 months of looking I didn't see any light at the end of the tunnel so I just grabbed whatever offer that was in front of me. Step backwards, yes. Less money ($20k cut on my base, $40k cut on the OTE), not really enthused about the product. But, it's a stable company so I don't think it'll crater anytime soon.

I just started, so I figure I have another maybe month to find something else/better before I'll be stuck here for a year or two.
detectivegibbles
Politicker
0
Sales Director
Apply and search while employed. Literally nothing can go wrong (assuming stability) or WW3 starts.

You got this. Stay positive.
Space_Ghost20
Valued Contributor
0
Account Executive
Yeah, that's what I'm doing right now. But I figure by the time I get to the 6 month mark since my last job it's kind of no man's land. If I don't put this new job on my resume it'll be too big of a job gap, but if I put it on there it'll look like I'm job hopping.
ThatNewAE
Big Shot
0
Account Executive - Mid enterprise
This is such a brilliant post ! Love love love it ! :) Thanks for putting this together !
kelvin26
Fire Starter
-1
administrative manager
detectivegibbles
Politicker
0
Sales Director
15

One year of AE experience - find another AE role or go back to SDR?

Advice
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20

Internal SDR I helped interview just passed on promotion to go be an SDR elsewhere.....

Discussion
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13

Has massive growth ever led to mental breakdown? I have been hustling since 17 years old chasing to strive for success doing odd jobs and unintentionally ended up with Edtech K12 Sales as my first official sales job - A toxic culture with no employee respect eventually me to switch after 18 months. Since reps in Edtech are highly valued, had no option but to continue in Edtech sales. This time it was higher education segment, things looked good in the first few month but slowly it started adapting methodologies like the old Edtech since the management was changed. I decided to move out and switch to B2B SaaS. After 13 months of learning & success, my aspirations werenโ€™t matching with the growth vision shared by my manager and ended up being desperate to switch. Got to a AM-Inside Sales role with a 50% hike. Guess what? It led to my mental break down since the culture is pathetic. In entire journey, all challenges never affected my performance but l am losing the spark to glow and hustle eventually. While I plan to switch, a token of guilt is still alive. The experiences have made me far better and strong as a BDR but blank about the next steps in my career. Thanks for reading. Do share your thoughts.

Question
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