He Couldn't Get an AE Interview. Now He's 3x PClub Winner.
READ TIME: 4 MINUTES
Grit Got Him Here
Tomorrow, my husband Jigar heads to Costa Rica to celebrate his 3rd President's Club trip in 4 years of eligibility at Justworks. Earlier this month, he was promoted to Senior Account Executive.
Look at his LinkedIn today and you'd see 5 years of a track record: 3x President's Club, Winner’s Circle, quarterly dinners, quota exceeded quarter after quarter. The only year he missed President's Club was the year our first baby was born and he was out for 4 months.
This year is different. He made it during another 4-month paternity leave. He had to exceed 165% of quota to qualify.
In 2021, it was a different story.
He was trying to break into SaaS sales with no traditional background. He was struggling to land interviews. Fast forward 5 years and recruiters are the ones reaching out to him.
I knew he'd get there. He has one of the top traits I hire for: grit.
Here's an example. Last week our AC unit broke in the basement. Jigar started asking ChatGPT what was wrong — a few years ago, he'd have been down a YouTube and Reddit rabbit hole instead. Once he had the answer, he grabbed the part and fixed it himself. A few years before that, he rewired the vent over our stove on his own.
Not everyone is that handy. That's not the point.
The point is the skillset. People who have grit use it everywhere, not just at work. It shows up in the basement. It shows up in a stalled deal. It shows up when a job search stalls out too.
Given his track record and the jump into SaaS, I sat down with him for an interview. Here's what he told me.
Breaking In — The Non-Traditional Path
Before Justworks, Jigar was an account manager at Sodexo, managing food, janitorial, maintenance, and landscaping services for accounts like Sanofi. He was selling and upselling services every day. It wasn't net-new sales like his SaaS role.
What made him think he could make the jump? Friends already in SaaS sales, and a ceiling: he couldn't see himself moving up at Sodexo without relocating.
How did he get the interview? A referral. I introduced him to Noelle, and that intro got him in the door. No cold application. No resume that screamed "AE."
What does he wish someone had told him sooner?
"I should have made the switch sooner. I like this better than my job at Sodexo — the work-life balance, the pay, the culture."
Here's what hiring managers miss: candidates coming from outside SaaS already know what they don't want to go back to. That's added fuel for them to perform.
What It Takes — The First Few Years and Beyond
Year one, Jigar didn't struggle the way most new AEs do. His hardest adjustment? Learning how to use a Macbook.
Ask him what's actually driven his success, and he doesn't credit talent. He credits 3 things:
Relationship building. It comes naturally to him.
A thorough sales process. Organized. Responsive. He follows up when he says he will.
Treating coworkers as resources, not competition. He doesn't try to figure out everything alone.
Quota hasn't always been kind to him either. He's been on a PIP before. In fact, he was on the PIP while at his 1st President's Club. These days, whether it motivates him or stresses him out comes down to one thing: his pipeline.
His advice for anyone else making the jump, sales background or not:
"Even if you're not good at sales, or you've never done sales, that doesn't mean you won't be good at tech sales. You'll never know unless you try."
And on what separates the reps who hit President's Club from the ones who don't:
"They're more consistent overall. And they source larger deals."
What he sees in AEs who struggle: they blame the leads. They blame the software. "If that were actually the problem, no one would succeed." The reps who make it put that energy into building pipeline and finding creative ways to sell instead.
President's Club — The Trip and Why It's Different
This year, qualifying meant hitting 165% to annual quota. During a 4-month paternity leave.
He closed big deals before he left and big deals after he came back. He qualified in the final couple of weeks. Last year, he hit it on the very last day.
The moment that mattered most this year: coming back from leave, opening his pipeline, and realizing there was actually a shot. That's what drove him the rest of the way.
His advice for anyone chasing President's Club for the first time: "Treat every deal with the same level of importance. If you're $100 short, you don't make it. Last year I crossed the line with a small deal."
This year's trip is Costa Rica. He's most looking forward to the Ocean golf course and networking with people he doesn't normally cross paths with in the office.
He's won team dinners. He's won Winner’s Circle incentives. None of it hits the same as President's Club.
"You're going to a different country. Portugal last year was amazing — I'd never been before."
I've made it to 1 of his 3 trips. Pregnant or home with the kids for the other 2. When I asked what it means that I hold down the fort so he can go:
"I wish you could come. But it's important. It's a good networking experience, and it's good to spend time with coworkers in that kind of setting."
I agree. My own President's Club trips are still some of my favorite memories from my career. I'd tell anyone chasing one to go.
Hit reply and tell me: what's your favorite President's Club memory? I read every response.
To clarity and confidence in your career path,
Amanda
See you next Sunday.
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