It’s always tough looking for a new job. But there are some things you can do to make it easier for yourself. Our guest today is no stranger to the podcast, and if you’ve been tuning in long enough then he might not even need an introduction. Nevertheless, I wanted to interview Binayak Konungo on this episode because he just moved to a new company and I thought it might be nice for you, the listener to get an insider look at how he did it.

Join me and the Bearded Bini as we talk about how he handled his job search, his criteria for selecting the job and how he got hired, and also, how work has been for him since starting a new role in a new company.

Key Takeaways:

Tune in to our conversation and learn:

• A little background on Bini’s sales engineering journey and how he turned out to be my co-host on the podcast
• How his job search started and how he looked for possible roles to apply for
• Bini’s criteria for finding a good company to work in
• Why the best way to get a job is through connections
• The necessary evil he hates doing when applying for jobs
• Why he advises to keep your options open, widen your funnel
• How he found the role he’s currently in right now
• What the application was like and how many interviews he went through
• What you should remember when you don’t know the answer to a demo
• How he deals with the overwhelm of learning so many new things in his first 3 months on the job

Quotes:

On the importance of company culture: “You have to have a culture of treating your people well and having your employees’ best interests at heart.”

On the best time to apply for a job: “The best time to apply for a job is when you’re not desperate to leave your current job or you’re out of a job.”

On why keeping your options open during a job search: “Try to get as far into the process with at least two (companies) so that way, if something doesn’t work out, then I at least have that other one that I really want to go to that works out, but as I get further into the funnel with other companies, I’m not as likely to spend a lot of time reaching out to new companies I haven’t reached out to yet.”

On being proactive as a Sales Engineer: “Jump in there, become that trusted person, and have a conversation and create your own identity there. If you think that something could be done better, speak up about it.”

Not So Fire Round

1. What do you love about sales engineering?
   
   

I don’t know if I’m there yet, but eventually, it’ll be the point where I get to be that trusted advisor because of the fact that you know the solution from a technical perspective, you know what the business people are looking for, and you’re able to bridge that gap really well.

2. What would you change about sales engineering?

I wish you could just plug something into your brain and just know everything about everything. Also, better sales engineering enablement.

3. What are some other books, tools, or resources you would recommend for Sales Engineers?

The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddharta Mukherjee

We the Sales Engineers Resources – http://wethesalesengineers.com/resources/

We the Sales Engineers Forum – https://forum.wethesalesengineers.com/

4. What separates great Sales Engineers and salespeople from the not so great or ordinary ones?

Those that are inquisitive and are also not afraid to step outside of their role to do what’s best for the customer or the company. 

Connect with Binayak on Linkedin: 

Other Resources Mentioned in the Episode:

Road to Sales Engineering

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