If you were an undergrad looking for a sales job, where would you start and where would you want to work after graduation?

Exactly like the title says. I'm a second-year undergraduate student looking to get into sales. I already have a part-time job as a sales associate (booking software demos for our reps) at a small startup, but I'm not sure exactly what my next steps should be.


My current plan is to try and get an internship at a larger SaaS company during my next summer as a third-year and hopefully get an offer to come back after graduation. I'm thinking about checking out companies like SAP, Oracle, Cisco, etc. but was wondering if anyone had some insight they wish they had known when they were younger

๐ŸŽˆ Mentorship
๐Ÿค Networking
6
CoorsKing
WR Officer
5
Retired King of the Coors Knights
I would look at pre-ipo and recently IPO'd SaaS companies. Check gartner and forrester and look at the market leaders. From there, see if any are interesting to you. It is exponentially easier to sell something you either find interesting or believe in.

The larger companies are death traps, please for the love of all things holy don't go to Oracle.ย 
braintank
Politicker
0
Enterprise Account Executive
Ditto Cisco. It sucks. HARD!
Kudos
Good Citizen
0
Sales Associate
This is exactly the kind of advice I was looking for, thanks!
Kudos
Good Citizen
0
Sales Associate
One of the main reasons I was thinking about going to a bigger company was the potential for high-quality training, would that be worth all the soul-sucking or would I be able to find that at a recently IPO'd company as well?ย 
salessystem
0
GM, Head of Sales
If its enterprise tech, yes.ย 
GDO
Politicker
0
BDM
I read larger company and deathtrap and my mind went โ€”> Oracle
hurtscuzimold
Opinionated
1
Dude abiding
Campaign or non profit fundraising/development can teach you how to sell anything. And campaigns are always hiring undergrads
braintank
Politicker
0
Enterprise Account Executive
But no commission ๐Ÿ‘Ž
sales4lyf
Politicker
1
Business Development Manager
I think it's easy to get blindsided by the big companies and want to work for them but in reality you won't be treated well, because of their size you're really just a number to them so I don't think it would be advantageous for you at the beginning of your career. Have a look around, attend job fairs / webinars, get a real feel for the companies that are near you and apply accordingly. An internship is definitely a great way to get your foot in the door, just really think about what you want from an employer and what these guys can offer you
Kinonez
Celebrated Contributor
0
War Room Enthusiast
An intership is a good idea, you can learn a lot in a small time frame.ย 
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