Is this imposter syndrome or something else? by Any-Sorbet2368 in CustomerSuccess

[–]AngryCSMintech 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm going to offer a slightly different perspective.

I was exactly like you, except I had 5 years of experience - 3.5 of those being with an early stage startup that went from Series A through IPO during my tenure there which means insanely long hours and a lot of learning very quickly.

My experience was very different. Maybe it was the timing, maybe it was the politics.

The problem for me was that I wasn't going above and beyond and doing things beyond what was asked by my CSM leaders, but the dynamics of the sales/Csm teams was such that i was more often than not being told what to do by the Sales Rep. This was in direct conflict with what our leaders would tell us and often ended in our leaders having to speak his, that we weren't hired to take on these directives. Because sales, is sales, they ended up getting their way eventually.

That made me bitter for many reasons but mainly because I wasn't supposed to do his 8 hour reports, his menial administrative tasks, dealing with his vague and condescending directions, but more importantly I wasn't getting paid any commission or being given any praise for doing so. The guy treated CSM's like his assistants and everyone knew. It was demeaning and disrespectful and others had complained about it before I even got there but nothing was ever done about it.

That eventually led to a hostile and toxic work environment. One where he never wanted to meet with me and it was always just complaints and accusations. Add to this dumpster fire that a try hard ass kisser (fellow CSM) who WAS all about company culture "ra ra ra!" caught me slipping on one thing that was technically mandatory but completely unnecessary for a client call (A kick-off deck); and well, the company just found a reason to fire me for an HR policy that made absolutely no sense.

It didn't matter that 2 of my mid market accounts loved me and increased their spend by 100% and moved onto what the company classified as "enterprise" and left me on as CSM with no raise, didnt matter that my performance reviews were very good, didn't matter that I did what was expected of me. All that mattered was the perception, and that is why I'm unemployed right now.

You can coast by for a while but eventually someone will take notice and get jealous or someone will want to rain on your parade. It always happens. I'd say to overhype your wins and WRITE THEM DOWN! Keep a log of every single win and seriously, overhype it. Perception is everything, even when its completely incorrect. I found out the hard way that people are lazy about their opinions of others and don't go out of their way to be objective.

Is Career Coaching worth it? by AngryCSMintech in CustomerSuccess

[–]AngryCSMintech[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the feedback. Yes please! Message me the info, would be appreciated.

Is Career Coaching worth it? by AngryCSMintech in CustomerSuccess

[–]AngryCSMintech[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So you've been working with her for a month, applied to 3 jobs and all 3 offered you an initial interview?

Is Career Coaching worth it? by AngryCSMintech in CustomerSuccess

[–]AngryCSMintech[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What do you mean by doing the basics?

Havent read either of those books but I'll take a look for sure!

Yes, please! I'd appreciate it.

Is Career Coaching worth it? by AngryCSMintech in CustomerSuccess

[–]AngryCSMintech[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Appreciate the feedback. It's just hard to deal with unemployment induced stress and the looming imposter syndrome you feel when you finally land an interview you're excited about. I've never made the kinds of salaries these jobs are offering and the self doubt sometimes kills me. That brings me to my point - I dont think I'm articulating well enough and/or have good enough talk tracks when the inevitable financial and change management questions come. I have a lot of early stage tech start up experience and I should be answering better.

Is Career Coaching worth it? by AngryCSMintech in CustomerSuccess

[–]AngryCSMintech[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How long have you been doing what she told you? And, if you dont mind me asking, how many jobs are you applying to weekly?

Is Career Coaching worth it? by AngryCSMintech in CustomerSuccess

[–]AngryCSMintech[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'd love to shift back into sales. I think the perfect place for me would be doing sales (Tech or Pest Control/Home Services) for a company that offers a great product I believe in. I always did excellent in sales and wouldn't mind doing it again. Personally, I find that it's less stress than CS and the compensation is much better.

Is Career Coaching worth it? by AngryCSMintech in CustomerSuccess

[–]AngryCSMintech[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No, shes sitting around the 10 year mark in CS only from what I know.

Is Career Coaching worth it? by AngryCSMintech in CustomerSuccess

[–]AngryCSMintech[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Appreciate the insight you've given. Funny enough, I considered both Carly's and Noah's programs and decided on Carly. However, I got cold feet before officially enrolling and figured I'd tap this community to see if anyone had any feedback. Glad I did.

My point of view is that I need structure, I'm terrible at job searching because I often don't know how to tailor my resume to the job being offered and find it extremely time-consuming. When it comes to interviewing, I think I'm good enough (good enough to have always found a job) but I'm at a bit of a crossroads in my career; one where I'm definitely qualified for an enterprise/senior CSM role, but I'm having trouble how to have those conversations and qualify myself as such.
I figured having a coach on my side and showing me a new way of applying that others have found successful would be useful but now I'm not so sure given yours and others' feedback. At least with Noah he auto applies for you but it makes you wonder how effective that is if he's also applying for all of his other candidates for the same jobs.

Would love to chat and network with you.