Last week I interviewed for an internal promotion for an AE role along with 3 other SDRs. Two got the role and I did not. I think one genuinely deserved it and the other not so much because they average 50% to quota. I feel humiliated that I did not get the promotion over the second candidate.
I had the strongest track record on the entire SDR team by far. I had the highest number of closed won accounts, I am the only one to have never missed quota and I hold the record for most qualified meetings in a month. I also had less time to prepare for the AE interview because I caught Covid at a company sponsored outing. I did not get any quota relief for the month despite being out for half the month and I still hit quota this month. The second candidate had a full month and was 80% to quota.
I had a really strong demo and interview, but my direct manager said where I went wrong was when I mentioned I accomplish everything with the fewest amount of calls and when asked about process, I said 'I don't really have one but I always get things done.' My manager said this came off like I was a bit stuck in my ways and they wanted someone who was more like a moldable piece of clay.
I honestly think this is bullshit because I have put up incomparable, insanely high numbers on the board every month. We're talking records broken, 0 quotas missed and most accounts closed into new business.
I have always implemented my direct manager's feedback and he highly recommended me for the promotion. I've been here for 10 months and I have another opportunity to interview in 2 months. I feel like I should stick it out, get promoted, put in a few months as an AE, break some records as an AE and then dip out to a more prestigious and higher paying company like Amazon or something.
I feel like this company has been fucking me since day one. From the start, they lied to me about being #1 in the industry and the space being uncompetitive. It's actually the most competitive industry I've seen and there are several companies in the space that have double the revenue. Also the 3rd party recruiter lied to me about salary and a signing bonus. I turned down more prestigious and higher paying offers as a result.
I have also felt this company has poor incentives and systems in place that deter top performers such as no accelerator in place. It's a pretty average and mediocre culture as well. I have stayed because I want to gain some more experience before I move on. I also know it looks bad on a resume if you move around a lot. On the flip side, I've had time to grow my side hustle which will be 35% of my income this year.
Anyways, what do you guys think?
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