Overview
You recruit candidates into SV Academy's SDR training bootcamp. You source people who want to break into tech sales, screen them for baseline aptitude and motivation, then get them enrolled in the 90-day training program. Your job is to keep the training pipeline full - they're trying to triple monthly enrollment from 50-60 grads to 150.
Role Snapshot
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Role Type | Internal Recruiting (for training program) |
| Sales Motion | Outbound-heavy + some inbound from marketing |
| Deal Complexity | Transactional (simple application process) |
| Sales Cycle | 1-3 weeks (application to enrollment) |
| Deal Size | N/A (recruiting role) |
| Quota (est.) | 150 enrollments/month (shared team goal) |
Company Context
Stage: Series A/B stage (202 employees, established bootcamp model)
Size: 202 employees
Growth: Scaling fast - trying to 3x monthly grad output to meet employer demand
Market Position: Operates in the competitive tech bootcamp/training space. Differentiator is the no-fee placement model for employers (60% women grads, 40% African American/Latinx, 70% first-gen college students)
GTM Reality
Pipeline Sources:
- 40% Inbound - people who find SV Academy through Google searches for "SDR training", "break into tech sales", bootcamp comparison sites
- 50% Outbound - you source candidates on LinkedIn, job boards, university career centers, community organizations
- 10% Referrals - existing students/grads referring friends
Structure: You work with marketing to convert inbound leads and do heavy sourcing to hit volume targets. There's likely a small recruiting team splitting the 150/month goal.
Competitive Landscape
Main Competitors: Flockjay, Vendition, Aspireship, other sales bootcamps/training programs
How They Differentiate: Free training model (no upfront tuition for qualified candidates), focus on diversity, employer partners don't pay recruiting fees
Common Objections: "Is this a real job training program or a recruiting agency?" / "What if I don't get placed after?" / "Can I really break into tech sales with no experience?"
Win Themes: No upfront cost, proven placement track record, diversity mission, quick timeline (90 days)
What You'll Actually Do
Time Breakdown
Sourcing (35%) | Screening Calls (30%) | Follow-up/Nurture (20%) | Admin/Coordination (15%)
Key Activities
- Sourcing candidates: You spend hours on LinkedIn, Indeed, university job boards looking for people with baseline qualifications (some college, customer service experience, sales interest). You send tons of InMails and connection requests. Most don't respond.
- Phone screens: You do 8-12 calls per day with interested candidates. You're assessing: are they coachable? do they have basic communication skills? are they serious about this? can they commit to 90 days of training? Many aren't a fit.
- Application management: You chase people to complete their application, submit documents, schedule interviews with the training team. Lots of follow-up with people who ghost mid-process.
- Pipeline reporting: You track your funnel in a CRM/ATS. How many sourced, screened, applied, enrolled. You're measured on conversion rates at each stage and hitting monthly enrollment targets.
The Honest Reality
What's Hard
- High volume is exhausting - you need to talk to 200+ people to get 30-40 enrollments (rough math). Lots of rejection and no-shows.
- Many candidates are exploring multiple bootcamps or not fully committed. You spend time nurturing people who never enroll.
- The "free training" pitch attracts some tire-kickers who aren't serious about changing careers. Qualifying out the wrong people takes time.
- Balancing quantity (150/month goal) with quality (need people who'll actually graduate and get placed) is constant tension.
- Admin work piles up - data entry, scheduling, following up on incomplete applications.
What Success Looks Like
- Hitting your monthly enrollment target (probably 30-50 enrollments depending on team size)
- High conversion rate from screen to enrollment (shows you're qualifying well)
- Grads actually getting placed into SDR roles (downstream metric you don't fully control but reflects on your sourcing quality)
Who You're Recruiting
Target Candidates:
- Career changers with some college (don't need degree completion)
- People in customer service, retail, hospitality looking to get into tech
- Recent grads who didn't land a job in their field
- Folks underrepresented in tech (company focuses on diversity)
What They Care About:
- "Is this legit or a scam?" (lots of skepticism about free training)
- "What's the catch?" (understanding the income share or placement model)
- "Will I actually get a job after?" (placement rates, employer partners)
- "Can I do this while working?" (time commitment questions)
Requirements
- 2-3+ years of high-volume recruiting experience (agency recruiting, RPO, or internal TA at a fast-growing company)
- Comfortable making 50+ outbound calls/emails per day and doing 8-12 screens daily
- Experience recruiting for roles that don't require prior experience (entry-level, career changers, diversity recruiting)
- Familiarity with ATS/CRM systems and reporting on recruiting metrics
- Ability to assess soft skills and culture fit in short phone screens
- Comfortable with ambiguity and changing priorities as the company scales