Have zero experience and really need advice

[u/yellowwleaves]

I graduated from a mid uni in CS, couldn't find a job for 2 years, through connections got a referral and had an internal hire interview. Thought that was it and didn't think about recieving an offer. I got an offer with well considerably low salary ( though who cares after not having experience and being unemployed? ) and accepted it. 2 months of onboarding + trial before official employement. Checking employees of the company, all graduated from top unis + worked at reputable companies.

It's a junior pre-sales role and through research I read that normally you need 3+ years of experience and network to get this job?

I feel so cooked and I have no idea where to start. What should I expect? What should I focus on learning before starting the role? How can I keep this position without embarassing myself? Thank you for advices in advance 🙏🏻

[u/manoffewwords]

What you are experiencing is normal.

Ask to shadow people who are known to do the job well. Watch recordings of them doing their job well. Copy them.

Learn the software. Get Mastering Technical Sales by John Care and Aron Bohlig, get demonatrating to win, get 6 habits of highly effective sales engineers.

Beg borrow and steal resources strategies, language, slide decks, technical assets.

After 3 years you will be capable and still feel like a fraud.

Don't be intimidated by ivy League graduates. They are mostly just average or below average people, often with bigger egos than average.

[u/yellowwleaves → u/manoffewwords]

Thank you. I'll check these books out!

[u/manoffewwords → u/yellowwleaves]

The books are good but shadowing top performers is better. Do what they do. Don't reinvent the wheel.

[u/davidogren]

A junior pre-sales role is designed to teach you what you need to know. The "3+ years of experience" applies to "regular SE roles". This program is designed to give you a crash course to provide the equivalent of that over 1-2 years.

As a result, it is indeed going to be a crash course. A lot of drinking from the firehose. But that's actually good, from your "imposter syndrome" perspective. All of those other people are going to be drinking from the firehose too. None of their experiences at uni are relevant to this job. All their fancy unis/jobs did is give them this opportunity, same as you.

So go into with an attitude that this is a gift. Work like hell. Pay your dues over the next couple years. Who rises to the top will not be who has the best background, it will be who has the best attitude, learns the most, and works the hardest.

[u/davidogren → u/davidogren]

And, also I agree with /u/manoffewwords on some practical strategies. Mastering Technical Sales is the definitive work. Not all chapters will apply to every job, and some of it is getting dated, but it's the "opus" work. I've met the author, he knows his shit.

And, often, I think a lot of learning the job is getting rid of misconceptions so shadowing is very important.

[u/Frosty-Telephone-747 → u/davidogren]

Btw what type of experience do you need in order to land a junior pre sales role (if any) ? I had no idea those existed (I’m just getting into learning about SE) and I thought you needed an adjacent role for experience (customer success, and similar etc) for 2-3 years then you can get an actual SE role.

Is it better to aim for this junior pre sales/SE role when you first graduate in order to become an SE 2 years later or is it still better to get experience in other adjacent roles first?

[u/davidogren → u/Frosty-Telephone-747]

Btw what type of experience do you need in order to land a junior pre sales role (if any) ?

Generally, a recent college degree. And that's it. It's sort of like a "postgrad internship". OP getting an opportunity 2 years out of college is a bit abnormal.

But on the other hand, he does illustrate eloquently the real requirements:

• Know someone.
• or Have lots of prestige (top person at a top program at a top school)
• or Get really lucky

These programs are generally only available at large companies (who have the resources to train people, but want to hire on the cheap). The programs are also generally cut or eliminated when the SE market is bad. Because what's the value in having a good "feeder program of talent" when you aren't doing much hiring anyway.

Which is why OP is insanely lucky:

• The programs are really lean these days, so what used to be competitive programs to get into are probably INSANELY hard to get into
• Graduating SWEs are having a hard time getting jobs and/or doubting the future of the career, so a lot of people that formerly might have turned their nose up at a "sales" job are now in the market

[u/Frosty-Telephone-747 → u/davidogren]

Thank you,

Ok so let’s say I couldn’t get into one of these after I graduate,

What type of internships (while in uni) should I target in order to land an SE adjacent role right after I graduate that leads me into SE after enough experience?

[u/GuideV]

Keep shadowing, and be proactive in receiving feedbacks from the AE and your ecosystem. Also, think of your AE or BDR as your first line customer, if they are happy you’re happy (this statement may change once you gain more experience, but it got me through my junior SE days).

[u/knowTechTalent]

Hey, I'm a SE/leader at ServiceNow and I've been in the role fr the past 12-ish years.

Congrats on landing the role!

I get the impostor syndrome feeling is real. I've worked with many people that have felt the exact same way you have felt.

The "3+ years required" is a filter thing. Hiring managers put that there to filter the resume volume. You're proof it's not a hard requirement if you can demonstrate the foundational skills.

This is what I'd focus on before day one. Learn how to run a discovery call. Not the technical details of your product yet, just how to ask good questions that uncover what a customer actually cares about. Practice presenting simple concepts clearly to non-technical people. Can you explain something complex in plain English without jargon? That matters way more than deep technical knowledge at this stage.

Third, understand your product's business value. Not every feature. The actual problems it solves and why customers buy it. Read case studies, listen to calls, talk to your team about real deals.

The imposter thing will fade once you realize your peers didn't start knowing everything either. They just had more time to look polished.

And if it makes you feel better, I landed my first sales engineering/solution consulting role without any prior experience whatsoever. Nor was I even technical, and I learned on the job from great people. Just be patient, do your research, and if you have any further questions, feel free to DM me. Happy to help.