100+ Interviews

Julie Berg

What should I do?! Anyone who has gotten a job as a BDR/SDR or an AE, what helped you get that job? I've been through 100+ interviews and gotten to 3rd and 4th rounds and then gotten knocked out and have no idea what I am doing wrong.

Joe Huber

Hey Julie! I'm sorry you're dealing with so much of this. It's a tough market right now, so you might not be doing anything wrong.

One thing that's come up quite a bit in conversations is specificity in the interviews. Not just the basic research, but how well you're comprehending what they're selling and their sales process. If you're making it through several rounds, you're hitting the right notes early on, so it's not about your resume or your phone screen. There might be some issues with competition, though, which is tougher to pinpoint. To that end, networking cannot be understated. Connect with some folks on LinkedIn and share your URL, as well. (Connect with me). Look through their networks and see if there's anyone that you can meet up with, even just for coffee chats.

Your time is coming.

I'd be happy to do a mock interview, as well. Let me know!

John Kaplan

Hey Julie I wanted to give you some spirit! 100+ interviews wow you are incredible for doing all of those. There is NO WAY that you should be going through these interviews and not getting great feedback. One thing that you can start doing right now is go back to any recent interview and any upcoming and ask these questions. “Thank you for the feedback, although I am disappointed to hear that I am not a fit, I would love the opportunity to refine my feedback so I can improve. Would you mind giving me a couple of things that you liked about my candidacy and two things that caused you pause? This would really help me out. If you would like to do it over the phone versus putting something in writing, that is perfectly ok with me! Thank you again for your consideration”

Ok, so that’s for the follow up.

Now let’s get you squared away for your interviews. I assume you know that you have to come prepared with knowledge about the opportunity. With ChatGPT like Bing.Com you should have no problem understanding what is going on in your target company.

These are table stakes for preparation for any interview

~Why are you looking for a new job?, What do you know about our company? Who do you know in our company? (With the way the world is now with LinkedIn and social media there is absolutely no chance that you are not connnected to someone in the company in some way. Connect with me John Kaplan Force Management on LinkedIn today and if I have a match giddy up. Ok also, you can call the company and ask to speak with a BDR, once you get the BDR on the phone, introduce yourself as a canidate for a job with that company and you would like to be able to say that I was able to get a better understanding about the role and in fact XYZ (the BDR that you are on the phone with) did a great job in helping me understand the opportunity,. You can tell the BDR that you would for sure put in the good for them with management! Julie are you picking up what I am laying down right now? Of course you are!

Next I want you to handle the process like a seller. You should be a walking audition for the BDR role. Be ready to answer these 4 questions during your interview. 1. What problems do you solve for companies as a BDR 2. How specifically do you solve those problems (what is your process?) 3. How do you solve them differently or better than other BDR canidates? (This is all about you Julie and what makes you different, don’t be shy) 4. Lastly where have you done this before or something like this/who are your references and what are they going to say about you?

You will also get the chance to ask questions during the interview and if for some reason you find that the interview is wrapping up and you did not get a chance to ask questions then say, “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?” Get ready to blow the doors off the place (that is a good thing). Ask, “What is it like to be managed by you (if you are speaking to the hiring manager, if not then say what is it like to be managed by your management team? Give me an example of your best coaching experience you have ever had with an employee? Give me an example of your worst coaching experience with an employee? When you get up in the morning are hopping out of bed thinking about your job or are you taking longer and longer showers? (That one is one of my favorites but if you think it is too direct, don’t worry, you be you. How would you describe the culture in your company? And can you give me some examples of how that comes to life on a daily basis?

Julie, I could go on and on! One of the best things you can do is get MEDDPICC cetified and let that be part of your differentiation. I GUARANTEE you will get the job. But lets not get any job (I dont care if you have done 100 interviews) go get the best job for you. If you get one more bad result after trying what I just shared with you than I will help you myself. Rachel, Carmen and Joe, please reach to Julie and get her contact details so we can follow he to a successful landing. Rachel let’s also do an Audible Ready Podcast in honor of Julie;s unbelievable efforts in job hunting! Julie, you got this!!!!!!

Julie Berg

@John Kaplan , thank you for your detailed response!
When you say "connect" do you mean just pressing the connect button, or actually trying to converse with people?
I typically ask for feedback, but rarely get a response.
I always look at their website and LinkedIn, is there something else I should do?

Sometimes I am answer questions like:

"1. What problems do you solve for companies as a BDR 2. How specifically do you solve those problems (what is your process?) 3. How do you solve them differently or better than other BDR canidates? (This is all about you Julie and what makes you different, don’t be shy) 4. Lastly where have you done this before or something like this/who are your references and what are they going to say about you?"

However I don't think I'm answering them correctly because if I was, I'd be getting job offers.

Adam Bowen

Julie, since you are putting in the work and are a friend of the program, I am willing to devote some time to help you. Check your messages.