{"id":29312,"date":"2021-02-20T07:45:30","date_gmt":"2021-02-20T15:45:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/careerkarma.com\/blog\/?p=29312"},"modified":"2021-10-16T02:08:47","modified_gmt":"2021-10-16T09:08:47","slug":"deep-dive-flockjay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/careerkarma.com\/blog\/deep-dive-flockjay\/","title":{"rendered":"Unlock A Career In Tech Sales With Flockjay"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is likely one of the best times to launch a career in tech. Several credible reports like LinkedIn\u2019s Jobs on the Rise in 2021<\/a> seconded this notion, forecasting that the next five years will see an addition of over 150 million technology-related jobs globally. The same report added that: \u201cThe demand for digital skills is increasing, with no signs of slowing down.\u201d
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However, the general misconception is that you\u2019d need to be able to code in order to have a successful tech career. While that may be true for those aspiring to explore more in-depth areas of the industry, there is another option that requires little to zero programming proficiency; tech sales.
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According to Flockjay<\/a>, tech sales is one of the industry\u2019s best-kept secrets and the two-year-old online academy may be onto something. Sales professionals in tech are not only compensated well\u2014earning a national average of $56,544<\/a> annually\u2014but they also share most of the same perks as their peers like autonomy over daily tasks, flexible working conditions, growth potentials, and job security.
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One of the best parts about this career path is that it is open to everyone, regardless of background. In fact, its accessibility and potentials are the very foundation that Flockjay was built on back in 2018. 
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Founder and CEO Shaan Hatharamani<\/a> has always had a passion for improving the accessibility of education. After the recession in 2008, he spent a decade working in finance while simultaneously helping build non-profits focusing on financial literacy all across the country. When he left his day job to work for startups in Silicon Valley, he soon learned that even the best companies had difficulty hiring and retaining top sales talent with the necessary digital fluency. 
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\u201cThere was no credential, no certification that told companies what made a good tech salesperson. No one teaches sales, no one knows how to hire for it, and there\u2019s no correlation between where you went to school, or if you went at all, and how well you\u2019ll do,\u201d he said<\/a>.
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\u201cOver 50% of roles in top tech companies are \u2018non-technical\u2019 and sales reps are often among the highest-paid employees in tech. That led me to a larger conclusion: You don\u2019t have to learn code to build a future-proof career in tech. You don\u2019t even need a college degree.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flockjay Bridges the Talent Gap in the Tech Industry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That was how Flockjay came to its inception in 2018, with the mission to train jobseekers from non-traditional and underrepresented backgrounds for future-proof jobs in tech sales. Today, the online academy has helped hundreds of graduates to reach an average salary increase of 250% and it is far from done; Flockjay aims to train 1,000 people over the course of 2021<\/a>.
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\u201cWe\u2019ve had all types of students, from people who have literally launched rockets for NASA and SpaceX to a grandmother from Lithonia, Georgia, who stopped running the family Bojangles and became a top-performing sales development rep at Gusto.
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\u201cIt\u2019s not just about providing pathways into sales organizations. It is rooting future leaders at companies so that when you\u2019re making decisions with your technology that impacts millions of users, you have a different perspective in the room that actually can move the needle and create a better economic outcome,\u201d Mr. Hatharamani said.
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Diversity and inclusion<\/a> are cornerstones of the school\u2019s mission, too. This is reflected in its own team, culture, community, and even investors.
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Here\u2019s how the team at Flockjay stands: when it comes to race\/ethnicity the team is 75% BIPOC. When it comes to gender the team is 51% Female and 2% Non-binary. 48% of Flockjay staff are First Gen or Immigrant, 12% of Flockjay staff are Alumni who went through the program, and 20% identify as LGBTQ+. 
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Flockjay has previously raised close to $3 million from investors\u201450% of whom are female and 50% are people of color\u2014which includes Coatue, Serena Williams, Will Smith, Y Combinator, F7, and others. 
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Earlier this month, the school announced its $11 million Series A, led by e.ventures, and with participation from Lightspeed, Salesforce Ventures, Impact America, Cleo Capital, Gabrielle Union, and other lighthouses for economic and social justice. 
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It also announced its shared goal with non-profit Opportunity@Work<\/a> to enable over one million Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs)<\/a>\u2006\u2014individuals with the proven skill sets but do not have a four-year-degree\u2014to translate learning into $20 billion in higher earnings by 2030. 
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\u201cWe believe diversity and equity matter everywhere, not just for ourselves but in the companies we work for, lead, and invest in,\u201d Mr. Hatharamani said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Flockjay Is Making Tech Sales More Accessible<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To help you decide if Flockjay is a good fit for you, let\u2019s delve deeper into its offerings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A learning model designed to suit your schedule<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Flockjay offers a 10-week course that will teach students everything they need to know to launch a sales tech career. Classes are held online from Monday to Thursday, 5 pm to 8 pm PT. 
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The reason behind this part-time learning model is so that students do not need to put their lives on pause while pursuing a new skill. The flexibility of this program is in tandem with the school\u2019s overall goal to improve access to technical education. 
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An alumnus who is now a Customer Success Advisor at Gusto, Elise Cox, was one of the students who were juggling several responsibilities during the course. On top of a full-time job as a Training\/Opening manager at a quick-service restaurant, she was also taking four accelerated classes at Georgia State\u2014in which she excelled with a 4.0 that semester. 
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Ms. Cox was able to go through her classes at Flockjay without neglecting her duties while at the same time managing three children and two grandchildren. At the end of it all, she said the result was well worth the effort.
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\u201cI’m glad I did not put it off, as Flockjay changed the trajectory of my life in three months. From April 2019 to July 2019, each late-night proved to be worth it!\u201d Ms. Cox said.
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Additionally, students have the option to pay $0 tuition until they have a job earning more than $40,000. Flockjay also offers flexible payment options so that students can launch a career debt-free. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preparing students for remote-readiness <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At the moment, 75% of the classes at Flockjay are conducted through Zoom while the rest is in an asynchronous format, which means that there is pre-recorded content that students can take advantage of whenever, and wherever. The school also maintains active communication with students, trainers, and staff through its Slack channel. 
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\u201cOur students learn to sell 100% online, so they\u2019re prepared for remote challenges in ways that previously in-person SDRs might be struggling with,\u201d the school said. 
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The virtual classrooms are led by trainers who are real industry professionals with years of real-life tech sales experience. Some have had experience working for Envoy, IBM, LaunchDarkly, Stripe, Box, and Shopkeep, among others. 
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According to Flockjay, the trainers relate to the school\u2019s vision because they understand that their own tech careers were propelled by great mentorship and support. 
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\u201cOur approach to teaching is to be as real as possible. Sales are hard so we don\u2019t sugar coat it. We hold high expectations of our students and we try to think of them as our direct reports. We also set the example by demonstrating what it looks like to be prepared, energetic, and optimistic. More importantly, we create a fun environment and strong bonds.\u201d
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Students also have access to office hours for one-on-one training, support, and feedback with the trainers. While the hours are based on the trainer\u2019s availability, there is no limit to office hours that students can book\u2014weekends included.   
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\u201cAs long as students show up prepared, we can block the time out. We also have general support office hours where students can coordinate with success advisors to make sure they are on track and figure out how to balance the class with other commitments,\u201d the school said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connecting students with potential employers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur community and hiring pool is large, and we ensure that you\u2019ll succeed\u2014students not only get job-ready skills and actual interviews at top tech companies, but you learn from industry leaders, build a real network with colleagues and alums, and get support well after you\u2019re hired,\u201d Mr. Hatharamani said.
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After graduation, Flockjay will match students with the right company and make warm introductions so they can \u2018cut the queue\u2019 and head straight into a job. In fact, one-third of Flockjay\u2019s staff are dedicated to finding hiring partners and placing students at these companies. 
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\u201cWe try our best to work with companies that share the same values and prioritize placing our graduates in companies that we know have a good support system in place.\u201d
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Some of Flockjay\u2019s hiring partners include Gong, Gusto, Airtable, Zoom, Slack, Rippling, Confluent, and PatientPop. Growing companies like this are leaning into hiring sales reps from Flockjay because:
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