By Ashley Hall
Are you ready for a change? You love customer success and your role, but it’s time to move on to the next chapter in your career. A job search is work in and of itself! Having just gone through the search, interview, and offer process myself, here are some thoughts on how to stay focused and successful in your search. This is part 1 in a 3-part series.
Start the Search
There is a serious wealth of career search tools out there today. I started with a wide search on many platforms before narrowing in on the ones where I was getting the most traction. I made great contacts and had productive conversations using AngelList, LinkedIn, Vettery, and The Muse.
Most people end up landing their next role through their peers and friends. Be sure to tap your network and begin spreading the word about what you are searching for. In addition to indicating to recruiters on LinkedIn that you are job hunting, I’d also encourage you to join groups like local customer success meet ups and The Customer Success Forum. Those events and discussions will help you expand your network and generate warmer leads than the ones you'll find on company websites.
Showcase Your Skills
As a success professional you’ve worked hard to hone your people, organization, and communication skills. Don’t forget to highlight and prove those skills while interacting with recruiters and interviewers. Be professionally persistent with your communication; don’t neglect opportunities by not keeping track of the communications. While I am not a huge fan of spreadsheets, I did create one to keep me on track with who I was talking to, where in the process I was, and the outcome of those efforts. Don’t forget to write thank you notes for every interaction and follow up on next steps.
Do Your Homework
Do your due diligence when preparing for companies that interest you. You should be able to comfortably discuss things like company size, funding, and general team structure. Don’t forget that this is not only a test of your skills and experience, but also your opportunity to determine if you want to be on their team. Ideally, you should have a list of critical questions you’re asking each company so that you can compare the organizations you're interested in, apples-to-apples.
In closing, be patient! Finding a new job is a serious undertaking and you cannot expect a quality opportunity to appear overnight. Run an intelligent search so that you are making quality connections and expanding your network along the way. In my next post I'll discuss what to do in the interview and offer stages.
Want to be prepared for your next customer success role? The Success League offers a CSM Training Program that covers 8 core skills you need to rock your interviews and land your next job. Learn more by visiting our website - TheSuccessLeague.io
Ashley Hall - Ashley loves to lead account management teams; from training newbies to building processes out of chaos to working directly with customers. With an eye on the future she is a powerhouse in building scaleable frameworks that support and drive growth. Ashley serves as an advisor to The Success League, and is currently working for Singular.net as an account manager. She holds a BA from the University of Colorado, Boulder and enjoys living in San Francisco, CA.