For many young professionals, landing a gig at a startup is the best option to make the most of their first job, providing prime opportunities for growth and diverse experiences. And one exciting perk of a startup is the possibility it could become the next Facebook or Twitter.
Many startups seeing major success are tech companies, and some applicants may assume if they’re not a techie, they’re unqualified to join those teams, however, many tech companies are run by professionals with a plethora of skills, from communications to event planning to sales.
AOL Jobs details five high-paying opportunities at startups, where skills are needed for various types of qualified applicants.
Sales: While you must know what your start-up actually does so you can woo clients, you don’t need to know the in-depth software component. Instead, you’ll need to be an aggressive salesperson, says Joanna Bradley, an IT sales and marketing recruitment manager at Hailey, Idaho-based recruitment firm Redfish Technology.
Start-ups are looking for personality in junior sales roles and people who can think long-term about drumming up new business and closing it. Your duties may include cold-calling and getting prospective leads.
Startups will want to see successful quota achievements when hiring more experienced salespeople. You should be able to lay out your quota achievements in an easy-to-read format, advises Bradley, showing that last year you made 98% of quota, for example, and another year you made 150%. Also ask your clients to serve as references.
A typical sales career path upon graduating college might go something like this: inside salesperson where your deals are done over the phone, outside sales where your title would be account executive, then senior account executive, some sort of management title, director, then ultimately a vice president title. The final step may take between 15 and 20 years from when you started, according to Bradley.