0 Getting hired episode 3!

• SO...Sales | Getting Hired
• by Charlie Bravery
• 08-12-2021

  Episode 3 - What does a great sales CV look like? Welcome back to our blog series “Getting Hired”, this is episode 3! In episode 1 and 2 we focused on what personal branding is, why it’s important and how to implement it when starting your job search. In this episode, we want to pair this with another key step to take when getting hired, your CV. Your CV is the best opportunity you have to show off who you are and what you can offer. If you think you’re the standout candidate for the job, your CV sure has to match. In this blog we will take you through what to include, what not to include, some of the biggest mistakes we see and overall get you on your way to landing that role!    Create a flawless image On average a recruiter will read your CV for between 5-7 seconds! We know this might not fill you with much confidence as you head into those daunting applications but, a recruiter knows just what they’re looking for, so all you can do is give them that. Treat the start of your CV like a sales pitch. If it’s weak what happens? They end the call or lose interest, right? The same thing happens with a recruiter, so start as you mean to go on. This should be with a clear, fluid, and professional looking CV; if your CV is full of spelling mistakes, has a cluttered layout and an unorganised list of previous roles, what does this tell them about you? Make sure it is professional or they won’t take you seriously moving forwards.   What can you do vs what have you done Once you have built a flawless image and proven to your future employer that you mean business. It is vital to discuss why you are the fit for the job. Now this may be through ‘what you can do’ or maybe ‘what you have done’ but which do you think is the most important? Both are key ingredients to a perfect CV but, showing an employer what you can do is a much better place to start. This should be at the very top of your CV, we call it a "professional profile". Start with a short, sharp summary of the skills you have to offer, why they’re valuable and demonstrate your knowledge of the role you’re applying for. For example, a typical sales candidate’s skills may be cold calling, relationship building and hitting targets, with the overall goal being hitting higher sales volumes. So, when writing your profile, detail these skills and show them the impact they will have. If you show them this, the world is your oyster!   Show off your results If you’ve ever worked in sales, you will know that results are crucial to the success of your role and they’re also crucial to have on your CV. Whether your results are jaw dropping or below par, make sure these are visible for your employer as this is key information they need and if not provided clearly, those 5-7 seconds will be spent very cheaply!! We recommend using this layout: Targets 2020: x% to target, total revenue = £x 2021: x% to target, total revenue = £x   Matched with a sophisticated appearance and that magic professional profile, your results section will be the icing on the cake.        We hope you’re enjoying our blog series so far and hope it is adding value towards your application process. If you haven’t seen episode 1 or 2, check them out! Also, if you need anymore advice around your CVs and applications or are looking for roles within the SaaS space, get in touch via our social media or on the website. Thanks for tuning in, see you next week for episode 4!  

0 SO...Sales : Monthly Funding Report

• Funding
• by Charlie Bravery
• 01-12-2021

  SO...Sales Monthly Funding Report November 2021 As we leave November and head into the busy and festive December, we wanted to look back on some of the amazing funding rounds the SaaS world has seen. If you’ve been following our weekly “Friday Funding Reports” over on LinkedIn, you’ll know how lucrative the month has been. But, if not, here is what November had in store!! Our reports saw the largest number of rounds for the MarTech and advertisement industry. Of the 12 companies we reported on, 5 of them fell into this category and with an average deal size of around $81 million, it was a brilliant month for MarTech! We mustn’t forget the deserved praise for Cyber Security as well. Having the second largest number of rounds this month and with Socure bringing in the largest round size of a whopping $450 million Series E funding, Cyber Security really made a statement!  Here are the 12 companies who made up our funding reports this month: Company Headquarters Value of Round Series Attest London, UK $60M B  Apollo.io San Francisco, United States $32M B Permutive London, UK $75M C Kleene. ai London, UK $14M A Socure New York, United States $450M E Contrast Security Los Altos, California, United States $150M E Ometria London, UK $40M C OTA Insight London, UK $80M B Workato Mountain View, California, United States $200M E SynchTank London, UK $5.6M A Fonoa Dublin, Ireland $25M A Peek San Francisco, United States $80M C   As you can see these rounds are through the roof and fill the SaaS industry with a lot of hope as we look forward to 2022. The October 2021 CrunchBase report explored how between 2020 and 2021 the levels of funding had significantly risen each month.  Once again in November, we have seen another significant rise. Of just the 12 companies we reported on, the total value was just over $1.2B, with hundreds more gaining funding this month, we are really starting to see a continual rise year on year. What do you think 2022 will bring?? Thanks for tuning in to our Monthly funding report, see you next month for hopefully an even bigger set of funding!!! If you don’t already follow us over on LinkedIn you can use the link here to stay up to date with our Friday Funding Reports and loads more SaaS related posts and everything recruitment!! 

0 Getting hired episode 2!

• SO...Sales | Getting Hired
• by Charlie Bravery
• 29-11-2021

  Episode 2: 5 ways to improve your Personal Branding Welcome back to our new blog series “Getting Hired”, this is episode 2! In episode 1 we explored what personal branding is and why it’s important when starting your job search. In episode 2 it’s time to get into the nitty gritty and help you advance your own personal brand. If you follow the advice in this blog, you should be well on your way to be a standout candidate and ready to amplify your career.   Here are 5 key steps to take when developing your personal brand: 1 – Start off on the right foot! As we explained in episode 1, employers are using social media more than ever during the recruitment process. The first impression you have with your employer will be your profile picture. It may sound simple but, make sure this is a professional, clear, and simple image of you. As recruiters we can’t stress enough how uncommon this is! We have seen some truly awful profile pictures, sometimes I wonder if these candidates even want a job, or they did it for a bet! So please please please , just use a good photo that promotes a good version of yourself.    2 – Sell yourself Passed the profile picture test? You’re not even halfway! It’s now time to define why you’re the one for the job and try to demonstrate why you’re an expert in what you do. If you think you’re the one for the job, show them. LinkedIn now have so many tools to use when creating your profile. You can tell your future employer everything about you. Whether that be previous experience, your set of skills, what languages you speak, they even offer a FREE 2,600 words to describe yourself; it’s almost too easy!   3 – Be Honest Rule number 3 should already be part of your personal branding process and hopefully in everything you do. However, this is not always the case! Within recruitment we value tenure when finding our candidates, but far too many candidates fail to BE HONEST about this. If LinkedIn says you left your last role in February and your CV says it was April, at best you have poor attention to detail and at worst, you’re a liar. Either way it creates the impression that you’re not telling the full story and you have something to hide. This is not the impression you want to give off. There is more value in being honest, then presenting a more attractive, yet fictitious version of yourself.   4 – Build your network Now topping 756 million users in more than 200 countries, LinkedIn is the clear leader for connecting with B2B prospects, potential hires, and business partners. Using this tool and building an established network is of the upmost importance as we continue to move over into a world governed by social media. You never know when the Junior Sales guy, could be the CEO of the next hot start up!   5 – Create valuable content Having a vast network is important, but what are you offering your network? LinkedIn is full of brilliant content where people share, learn, and ultimately continue to build their network. Why not join in with your network by creating some valuable content of your own and also interact with their content, doing this is a great opportunity to add value to yourself. Well there it is, 5 simple steps to help you develop a perfect Personal Brand! Thanks for tuning in to episode 2 of “Getting Hired”, next week its time to tackle the dreaded CV!  

0 Getting hired episode 1!

• SO...Sales | Getting Hired
• by Charlie Bravery
• 23-11-2021

   Episode 1 : Personal Branding What is Personal Branding?  On average a recruiter or hiring manager will spend just 6 seconds screening your CV… but some may not even bother to give you the 6 seconds, if you haven’t presented your personal brand well beforehand! We don’t mean a fancy logo with a punchy slogan, or some kind of ‘art deco’ CV; we are not graphic designers after all! What we mean by personal brand is your reputation, who you are and what you do via the various channels’ that recruiters are using today! Now, our day to day lives are transmitted, monitored, and communicated through social media and yet, when we are applying for jobs, how often do you consider the image your online presence has? With more and more employers using social media to screen candidates during the hiring process and to check on their current employees’ antics! The days of your first impression being your first interview have gone. Your employer will know everything about you before they even pick up the phone. Founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, explores a great way to think about your personal brand, he explains, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room”. What do you think your previous employer would say about you?   Where to start? Before even considering your CV, LinkedIn is a good place to start! Largely because this is the first method of communication 99% of recruiters will have with you (in viewing your profile) and we all know how important first impressions are! Having a good presence on LinkedIn is so important for the many reasons we have discovered in this article. But your employers search doesn’t stop there, have you considered your other social channels?  You might have a perfect LinkedIn account but then we head over to Facebook and there is a completely different story or even Twitter, displaying some of your interesting views from Brexit to Wayne Rooney or a charming picture of Bob’s brilliant stag do, that now isn’t so brilliant  Whatever it is, you must ensure that your personal brand is consistent throughout your online presence and minimise the chance of your future employer not making that call! Having a great Personal Brand should be at the top of your list when starting the search for your next role!   Next week... We will be exploring the 5 best ways to improve your Personal Brand so stay tuned for that!