From Academia to Tech Sales after Hyrise Academy

As a parent of two small children, Lara needed a flexible, online bootcamp that could accommodate her schedule and help her land a career in tech right after graduation. Lara shares how Hyrise Academy gave her the real world experience she needed to pivot her career from academia to tech sales. With Hyrise Academy’s career support and extensive list of employer partners, Lara received three job offers after bootcamp graduation.

What inspired you to pivot into tech sales?

After finishing my master’s in Roman Studies with a focus on the Italian and French languages, I was looking for new job opportunities. I didn’t want to move far from my home in Düsseldorf, Germany because I have two kids, but because of the pandemic, it wasn’t easy for me to find a job after my degree. When I found out about Hyrise Academy, I realized that tech sales required you to do research, communicate, and present, which are the things I enjoy most! Hyrise Academy was a good fit for me and my skills. 

Why did Hyrise Academy stand out to you?

Hyrise Academy stood out for its flexible schedule, individual mentorship, and the good job perspectives I would have after graduating. That’s what made me want to give this bootcamp a try. 

What was the Hyrise Academy application process like for you?

There was an hour-long call with Hyrise Academy and an assessment. There were first some general questions about the education path and then some behavioural questions. After reviewing my scores, Hyrise Academy said I would be a good fit for the program and that I could get started immediately.

How does tuition work at Hyrise Academy?

Hyrise has what they call a success-based tuition model. This means, as a student, you don't pay tuition up front, but rather only when and if you find a job after the bootcamp. In some cases, if Hyrise believes you are a great fit for one of their specific hiring partners, you will have the chance to take the program for free and the partner will cover the cost of the bootcamp. 

What was a typical day like at Hyrise Academy?

The bootcamp was self-paced and online so you could organize how quickly you went through the course. We worked in a small squad of 3 people, and met live on Monday’s and Friday’s together with our coach. The rest of the week, I would work on the course materials between 10am-3pm. I chose to commit to this program part-time because I have two small kids. 

Do you have any advice for other parents that are interested in enrolling at Hyrise Academy?

My advice to other bootcamp parents is to go through the bootcamp without giving up. Sometimes you might not reach all of the targets, but it will come with time. It’s important to keep going.

What did the curriculum cover at Hyrise Academy?

The beginning of the course covers tech sales theory, which I quickly got through. Then came the more practical part where we were onboarded at a real company, and this was the best part about the program. At Hyrise Academy, you have real world experience with prospects and leads that you can call. We had to provide the leads, perform cold calls, perform cold emails, and prospect on LinkedIn. In addition, we had to schedule a discovery call to see if the product would fit our client’s needs. The last part of the program taught us about demo calls and closing, and we practiced these with simulations.

Since this was a self-paced bootcamp, how did you connect with your instructors and cohort?

I met with my instructors and cohort twice-a-week. One of these meetings was with my squad to exchange how the class was going. The course was self-paced with some people going faster than others, but everyone was involved and supportive. We were all connected on Slack, so if anyone had a question, you could answer it, and vice versa. Once a month we would have an icebreaker session where we would gather around and play games. I only went twice because my schedule didn’t line up, but there were definitely possibilities to interact with each other. It was also possible to connect with the other students for a small, virtual coffee break.

We had a call once-a-week with our sales coach. They would do things like record our cold calls and listen to them to see what we could do better. I found this really helpful. 

How did Hyrise Academy prepare you for the job hunt?

Hyrise Academy goes over job hunting at the end of the course. They cover topics like writing your CV, writing a cover letter, and making a profile on LinkedIn. While you’re looking for a job, they still offer coaching and they continue to support you while you’re trying to find a job with their hiring partners. Hyrise Academy set me up with interviews at many different companies. 

Did Hyrise Academy prepare you for the job interview process?

Yes! Hyrise Academy gives you the typical questions that you might get in a tech sales interview, so I felt prepared for my interviews. Of course, an interviewer may give you other questions, but because of my training from Hyrise Academy, I always felt like I had an answer.

Were you placed with one of Hyrise Academy’s employer partners right after graduation?

I had an interview with Hyrise Academy partner, Doctolib, a platform for logistics and organization of medical services, while I was still in the middle of the bootcamp. The job didn’t work out because they needed someone with a flexible schedule, and as a mother of two, that kind of schedule wasn’t possible for me. I still ended up with three job offers and finally decided for the ATOSS Software AG.

Tell us about your new tech sales job!

I’m just about to start at ATOSS Software, which creates software for workforce management. I will be working as a Junior Sales Manager, which is the same thing as a Business Development Representative. In this role, I will receive a list of new leads from different branches, and then I will have to contact them through cold calls, emails, or social media (xing, LinkedIn). After qualifying them, I will give them  to an Account Manager who will hopefully in the end close a deal.

Looking back on this career change journey, was Hyrise Academy worth it for you?

Yes, it was worth it. I enjoyed the bootcamp and now I have a job in tech sales, so I’m happy I enrolled at Hyrise Academy. Without this bootcamp, I wouldn’t have had the idea to go into tech sales. Hyrise Academy also gave me the real world experience I needed to get a job after graduation. Most of the tech sales positions I applied for wanted applicants to have experience, and because I attended Hyrise Academy, I was able to say I had that kind of experience. 

Find out more and read Hyrise Academy reviews on Course Report. This article was produced by the Course Report team in partnership with Hyrise Academy.