Sales

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Sales Development Series: Meet the North America Sales Development Team

Sales Development is a crucial part of the Sales organization at MongoDB. Our Sales Development function is broken down into Sales Development Representatives (SDRs), who qualify and validate inbound opportunities from both existing and prospective customers, and Account Development Representatives (ADRs), who support outbound opportunities by planning and executing pipeline generation strategies. Both of these roles offer an excellent path to kickstarting your career in sales at MongoDB. In this blog post, you’ll learn more about our North America inbound team, which works with customers all over North, Central, and South America. Hear from Manager Ravelle Mantoura and a few Sales Development Representatives about the SDR role, team culture, and how they’re looking to grow their careers at MongoDB. Check out the rest of our Sales Development series here . Ravelle Mantoura , Regional Sales Development Manager for North America As part of the inbound Sales Development team, there is an enormous opportunity for growth as you develop many skills in the Sales Development Representative role. Due to the nature of inbound, we tend to have a lot of conversations with customers who are further along their MongoDB journey than others. This means you will have a lot of customers asking questions about the product and features to understand what solution makes the most sense for them. Because of this, you will get well acquainted with the product and develop strong technical know-how around MongoDB offerings. Additionally, you will develop skills to understand how companies of all sizes purchase software. You’ll also have the opportunity to work with dozens of different Account Executives across the company, understand their business flow, their methods, and learn more about their organization -- it’s a great way to build relationships as you decide which path to take. Lastly, due to your customer calls, you will gain a deep understanding of our sales methodology very quickly which will prepare you well for the next role. All of this is incredibly valuable as you look to grow your career and decide which path makes the most sense for you (Enterprise or Corporate). To be on the inbound team means to work alongside marketing closely, understand the marketing to sales funnel, how data impacts results, and how to use the data you are given to have an impactful conversation with a potential customer. You will not be dedicated to one team or region but the entirety of North or Latin America, giving you the opportunity to network, build strong relationships with dozens of different stakeholders, and master your communication and relationship-building skills. We have a few different types of roles on the inbound team, so the typical day-to-day work can vary. For some, a daily structure will be around assisting customers through the live Sales Chat on our website, answering “contact us” forms, or responding to customer calls. This is a fast-paced role where you will help dozens of customers a week who are interested in speaking to sales. We typically schedule a meeting to understand the customer’s project and needs, so a large chunk of your week will be having live video conversations with customers. For the other roles on the team, we have individuals who respond to customers who have engaged with our marketing content. This can be anything from downloading the Enterprise Edition of our database to attending a webinar put on by MongoDB. Reps will reach out via phone, email, and LinkedIn to establish a connection and have a conversation around the potential customer’s interest. Lastly, we just launched a new strategic role on the team where reps will work on Enterprise accounts deemed with a high propensity for growth by marketing. The day-to-day in this role will focus on building connections within the entire account and understanding how the company can potentially leverage MongoDB in their current applications. This role is more strategic so there will be a heavier focus on building out messaging and strategy for approaching the account. The day-to-day in this role will be centered around gathering intel on the account, creating an action plan on outreach, and setting up live conversations with the customers you make contact with. Regardless of what role you’re in on our inbound team, you’ll have weekly, monthly, and quarterly enablement, training, and coaching sessions to set you up for success in your next career step. There are so many things that I love about our inbound Sales Development team. First, I enjoy being able to coach and develop my reps and seeing their growth throughout their tenure as they pursue a sales role at MongoDB. Second, getting the opportunity to learn about companies of all sizes and hear about the cool projects they are working on. Recently, one of my reps had the opportunity to meet with an architect from a popular digital music platform from the ’90s who wanted to completely re-platform their services to capture new market share. Another rep met with the CTO of an AI company where they use robots to track body motion throughout warehouses. Some really cool stuff! Lastly, being part of inbound and handling customers all across North, Central, and South America who are on different parts of the MongoDB journey makes every day exciting! Luiza Ozório , Sales Development Representative When I was looking for new career opportunities, I researched three points that I consider extremely important when assessing the job market: consistent company growth, people and culture, and training and growth possibilities. MongoDB excelled on all these points and when evaluating the two offers I received, I chose to join MongoDB. The Sales Development team culture is very collaborative. We are all on the journey of constant learning, so we often do teach backs on topics that contribute to our daily routines. We also share best practices and anything else that can help other team members develop. There is a culture of learning and development at MongoDB, with well-defined paths for career growth and open feedback which is an exciting working environment to be in. In terms of how to succeed, I don't think there is a specific formula that makes someone successful, but I believe in the importance of being consistent, disciplined, following the sales process, and, above all, communicating with stakeholders in a clear and effective way. Being part of a company that is constantly growing gives us the opportunity to build together and accelerate the company's development even further. I believe in the excellence of what MongoDB offers and I see that we really help our customers develop and scale their businesses. This feeling of being able to help is what energizes me! Brandon Bell , Sr. Sales Development Representative I chose MongoDB because the sales training is second to none. From the first interview, it was clear that MongoDB heavily invests in its people. I felt extremely welcomed and I could tell that MongoDB was a collaborative organization. I spent my first few weeks getting to meet others throughout the organization and going through our Sales Bootcamp which is a training program that’s designed to equip new hires with a strong technology and sales foundation before fully ramping into their role. MongoDB is uniquely positioned in the market to be the foundation for modern applications. It’s an incredible opportunity to be on the ground floor of so many digital transformation efforts. MongoDB is the foundation of so many applications that solve real-world problems! It's incredibly exciting getting to work with various customers with a wide variety of use cases like IoT, Machine Learning, and Blockchain technologies. What will make you successful is being intellectually curious and having a willingness to learn. Our industry and customers' needs are constantly evolving and being genuinely interested in keeping up with these changes is key. At MongoDB, your success is directly correlated with your ability to implement feedback and learn from your mistakes. Coming to the role with an open mind and an appetite to learn is one of the best things you can do as an SDR at MongoDB. My next step is going to be joining our Cloud team as a Cloud Account Executive. In this role, I will get the opportunity to support a lot of early-stage companies as they look to grow and launch new applications. In the long-term, I aspire to become an Enterprise Account Executive where I will get the opportunity to partner with some of the largest companies in the U.S. as they continue to innovate and create applications that will impact millions of people. I feel so fortunate to have joined a sales team that truly cares about everyone's success. Angel Rivera-Vega , Sales Development Representative One of my best friends was working at MongoDB and suggested that I apply to the Sales team based on the continuous growth that he experienced within the company. I had already been developing my tech sales career at other companies, and I knew a little bit about MongoDB through NodeJS and Javascript courses that I took back in 2017. I applied, and here I am! My onboarding experience with MongoDB was gold. I was blessed with a team that consistently helped me through the onboarding process. They always supported me when I needed it, and they consistently coached me on the path to success here in MongoDB. I have to admit that my journey through MongoDB’s Sales Bootcamp was the best sales training process in my professional career. Something that makes me feel very excited about my role is that I have the opportunity to help multiple entrepreneurial initiatives become a reality. I also enjoy promoting solutions to challenges that help enterprises in the long run. It feels great to interact with different companies across the globe and learn about different cultures. In my opinion, there are two critical elements for an SDR’s success. The first one is their mindset. The most successful SDRs are capable of continuously finding opportunities in which MongoDB will fit companies' initiatives. The second is that they are willing to learn and improve consistently. They are curious, test new ideas, and continuously improve on their execution. As I continue to progress my career at MongoDB, I see myself as a Cloud Account Executive in my next role. I like the idea of helping companies embrace cloud technologies such as MongoDB Atlas. In today’s world, all modern applications are empowered with data. To make good use of data, all modern applications need to use cloud technologies that will operate independently. These technologies will help companies to boost development productivity, reduce complexity, and facilitate innovation. What makes MongoDB exciting and unique is to see how much the company is growing year over year and know that our work is contributing to this continuous success. MongoDB is full of incredibly talented and capable people, and I always learn something new from them. Interested in joining the Sales team at MongoDB? We have several open roles on our team and would love for you to transform your career with us!

November 10, 2021

Sales Development Series: Meet the North America Account Development Team

Sales Development is a crucial part of the Sales organization at MongoDB. Our Sales Development function is broken down into Sales Development Representatives (SDRs), who qualify and validate inbound opportunities from both existing and prospective customers, and Account Development Representatives (ADRs), who support outbound opportunities by planning and executing pipeline generation strategies. Both of these roles offer an excellent path to kickstarting your career in sales at MongoDB. In this blog post, you’ll learn more about our North American outbound team, which is divided into territories covering North America West, North America Central, New York City and the Mid-Atlantic, and New England, East Canada, and the South East. Hear from Regional Manager Jordan Gregory and a few Account Development Representatives about the ADR role and how MongoDB’s sales culture enables employees to grow and succeed in their career. An overview of Account Development in North America Jordan Gregory , Regional Manager of Sales Development for New England, East Canada, and the South East Account Development at MongoDB is crucial to the success of our sales organization, being the first point of contact with all of our prospective customers. We partner with our incredibly talented Enterprise Account Executives to find new business opportunities within some of the largest and most complex organizations in the world across a broad range of industries (financial institutions, video games, telecommunications, insurance - you name it!). The Account Development team culture is one of extreme ownership. It’s about controlling what we can control, building off of each other’s strengths, enjoying working together, and holding ourselves and each other accountable for growing and failing forward every day. If you work hard, you play hard, and that culminates in a lot of fun with this incredible group! MongoDB has a growth-focused culture. Our management and Sales leadership team take learning and development seriously, and the most successful individuals on the Sales team are those who are committed to growing and learning in their role. MongoDB is an open-source data platform company, and I firmly believe that if you can sell an open-source data platform, you can sell anything. This is one of the most challenging places to sell and because of that, and the focus on growth and development, I’ve seen countless people (including myself) take their careers to new heights. The hardest part of sales is prospecting, and it’s something we train our ADRs on extensively. You’ll learn how to identify your Ideal Customer Profile, execute deep discovery and qualification, and progress deals forward to Qualified Pipeline. You’ll also go through our Sales Bootcamp and on-the-job training. Another product of the ADR program is the massive impact we have on revenue which allows folks to build their internal brand and make lifelong connections. On top of that, we have structured upskill programs to set our ADRs up for success in the next role that they’re pursuing internally, whether that's as a Cloud Account Executive, an Associate Account Executive, or other non-direct sales roles like Customer Success and Field Marketing. We’ve also had internal promotions from the Sales Development org to Sales Enablement. At MongoDB, there is a lot of mobility to progress your career in the direction you want, and you’ll be truly valued as a person rather than an employee number or a revenue target. Hear from some team members Andrew Brownlee , Account Development Representative for New York City I joined MongoDB because it seemed like a great place to start my journey to being an Enterprise Sales Executive in the software industry. The people here have a winning mentality and operate as a team when faced with a challenge. The products are world-class and we invest heavily in R&D. MongoDB also has a process called BDR to CRO that’s geared towards developing and promoting sales talent year over year. The most exciting part about working here is the opportunity ahead. To be successful at MongoDB takes conviction, drive, and curiosity. You have to be firm in your opinion that our technology can transform an organization for the best. You must have the drive to push when it's easy, and when it's hard. The best ADRs are focused on being effective with their activity day-to-day and aren't dissuaded by how easy or hard that particular quarter is. Curiosity will help you grow in your career. It’ll also help you get the respect you need amongst your stakeholders. Maria Dorsey , Account Development Representative for North America Central I joined MongoDB because I was looking for a challenging yet rewarding start to my software sales career. It was clear to me throughout the MongoDB interview process that there is a huge emphasis on growth and development which is exactly what I was looking for. During my onboarding, I received a lot of support from my team. Although learning the MongoDB value proposition, products, and sales process can seem overwhelming, my team set aside time to ensure I was ramping up successfully. My manager also took the time to listen to my concerns, talk through tech fundamentals, walk through use cases I was unfamiliar with, and was an ally that I could depend on. What makes me stay at MongoDB is the opportunity for growth, the culture of the Sales Development organization, and the collaboration with enterprise reps and management. I’ve been extremely lucky to learn from and work alongside Enterprise Account Executives, Regional Directors, and my Regional Vice President who all truly care about my growth and success. The biggest thing that makes someone successful as an ADR is their willingness and eagerness to learn. MongoDB doesn’t necessarily care if you come from a software sales background (some of the best ADRs have not), but rather your ability and eagerness to learn the tech, sales process, and stakeholder management. These characteristics are a great foundation for building a long successful career at MongoDB. Vlad Pak , Account Development Representative for North America West I joined MongoDB because I wanted to challenge myself and gain experience working in enterprise sales. MongoDB is an incredible company that offers many opportunities for personal, professional, and financial growth, but the thing that keeps me happy here is the culture. I am surrounded by driven and intelligent teammates and leadership that cares about my success. It's great to be supported from an employee-first perspective. I think the two key traits that make someone successful on my team and in my role are proactiveness and curiosity. Many of our team members are proactively sharing insights, collaborating, and facilitating engagement with each other which benefits us all and drives us to be the best ADRs we can be. Curiosity is the bread and butter of any successful sales professional and will directly impact the quantity and quality of the meetings we set, helping us attain our quotas! I am looking forward to growing my career with MongoDB in a closing role and taking on the challenge of owning my own sales cycle. It’s exciting to work for a company that is leading the charge in digital transformation and changing the way enterprises approach technological innovation. It has been a great learning experience so far, and I can’t wait to see how the organization will grow and evolve along with my career! Interested in joining the sales team at MongoDB? We have several open roles on our team and would love for you to transform your career with us!

September 27, 2021

How to Prepare for Your Enterprise Account Executive Interview at MongoDB

At MongoDB, our Enterprise Sales team is growing rapidly as we strive to build a salesforce with a legendary reputation of excellence and integrity. Although we are eager to add new reps to our team, we are focused on ensuring we hire the right people for the job and that we’re the right company for you, too! Because of this, our interview process may not be as quick or look the same as other companies’. We feel confident that we’ve designed our interviews to uncover a mutually beneficial opportunity that will allow anyone who joins the team to look back on their time at MongoDB as a career-defining point in their lives. Our typical interview process includes three interviews, a sales profile assessment, and a final interview that we call “The Challenge”. Throughout these interviews we want you to meet as many people on our team as possible. Your interview panelists may include the Regional Director (RD) you’d directly report to along with RDs from other regions. You’ll also typically meet with a Regional Vice President or SVP depending on your location. We ultimately want you to be introduced and exposed to teams across the company so that you receive insight into our broader culture and can decide if MongoDB is the right fit for you. We recommend treating the recruitment process similar to a sales cycle including preparation, qualification, and closing. No matter the interview, you should be aware that all MongoDB Enterprise Account Executive interviews are around the three Whys: Why MongoDB? Why you? Why now? Why MongoDB We want to ensure that we can support your career growth at MongoDB. At each stage of the interview process, leaders will want to dig in on the three P’s: 1. People Our executive leadership team is made up of some of the best in the industry. To understand who is behind the success of the company and how they got here, we recommend looking into some notable MongoDB figures such as our Executive team and Board Members. Prior to each interview, you will receive a guide with the names of the managers you’ll be interviewing with. We recommend doing some research on these individuals and their team members, along with other Enterprise Account Executives at MongoDB. It’s likely that you’ll be asked about this research during your interview, so be prepared to discuss what you found. 2. Product The MongoDB data platform is complex which can make our sales process rather technical in certain use cases. While we don't expect you to come with database expertise, we do want to know why you have an interest and see the value in selling it! We recommend taking a look at our customer testimonials online to learn how MongoDB technology is applied. We also recommend researching our differentiators, which should help you understand why a C-Suite executive should buy MongoDB. Below are some resources to help you get started. MongoDB Technology Overview Why MongoDB Atlas 3. Process Come prepared to talk about your week, where you spend your time, and how you plan and prioritize your accounts. While our EAEs do handle some existing business, the main focus is on new pipeline generation as we continue to disrupt a huge market. Our Sales team follows the MEDDIC sales qualification methodology as well as our own internal sales process. This provides the team with a proven roadmap on how the most successful sellers have closed deals and promotes a common language within our teams across the globe. We recommend you speak to the sales and qualification process you follow currently and understand how they compare. Why you We’ve spent a lot of time defining our sales process and how our Enterprise Account Executives can be successful. Because of this, we’ve been able to determine what top-performing reps at MongoDB have done differently and what characteristics help them quickly develop and achieve great records of closed deals. Coachability: There’s a ton of enablement at MongoDB, and we want you to make use of it! If you enjoy coaching and development, this is a good environment for you. Drive: The database market is massive, and MongoDB owns less than 1% of it. To be successful, you’ll need grit, a competitive nature, and a drive to disrupt one of the largest addressable markets in the software industry. Street smarts: Although the MongoDB product is technical, there is still a very human element to the sales process. We look for people who have emotional intelligence, the ability to “read the room”, and are empathetic. Ability to build pipeline: It may seem obvious, but our top performers are great at generating business meetings that impact their number of deals closed. You’ll need to excel at and enjoy hunting new business! Champion building: We strongly believe in making long-lasting connections and look for individuals who can identify and build a MongoDB Champion within their customers. Why now We believe that timing is important and want you to feel confident in your decision to join MongoDB. We encourage you to think about the following: Do you feel ready to leave your current role? If so, why do you believe now is the right time for you to do so? What are you not receiving in your current role that you’re looking for in a new role? Do you feel confident in your decision to interview with MongoDB at this time? These are things that will be discussed during your interview process, and we hope that you can happily articulate why you believe MongoDB is the next step for your development and career. Learn more about the Enterprise Sales team from some of our team members Interested in pursuing a career at MongoDB? We have several open roles on our teams across the globe and would love for you to transform your career with us!

September 10, 2021

Moving Across the World and Changing Roles: Meet Jake McInteer

At MongoDB, our employees are empowered to transform their careers and grow in the direction they want to. Jake McInteer is a perfect example of that — after building his career in London at MongoDB on our Solutions Architecture team, he is relocating to Sydney while transitioning to the Enterprise Sales team in the region. Take a look at this interview and learn more about his career path and what he’s most excited for in his new role. Jess Katz: Tell us a bit about how you wound up working at MongoDB Jake McInteer: I’m a Kiwi (New Zealander) who has always had a passion for technology - I think it’s probably in my blood as my parents met at the Government Computing Centre back in the ‘80s and just about everyone on my dad’s side of the family works in technology as well! I tried to be different from my family and study Accounting at university but quickly got bored and switched to an Information Systems degree. After that, I moved into a Consulting role with IBM, but I always felt myself gravitating more toward go-to-market functions. Eventually, I had the opportunity to move to a Presales role in a smaller company specialising in data and analytics and lept at the chance. My time in my first Presales role really confirmed for me how great of a space it is - an intersection between technology and business that gave me an opportunity to work on a wide variety of different things. In 2019, I made the call to move over to London with my partner for some overseas experience and started looking for a new role. MongoDB’s reputation of a high performance culture that was disrupting a market dominated by stodgy legacy vendors really excited me and put them at the top of my list. On landing in London in July 2019, I met with the Solutions Architecture Manager for Northern Europe and together we pushed through a handful of interviews within two weeks. The rest, as they say, is history. JK: What was your onboarding experience like? JM: In one word, incredible. From MongoDB University, through coaching sessions with people across the Solutions Architecture team and trips to HQ in New York City attending Sales Bootcamp and New Hire Technical training - I was left in awe at the resources MongoDB invests to give new hires everything they need to launch their careers at MongoDB. JK: What does a Solutions Architect (SA) at MongoDB actually do? JM: An SA at MongoDB is a technical expert that helps customers understand and evaluate MongoDB. We work closely with the Sales team to help potential customers understand the value of MongoDB as well as when and why to use it. In practice, this means we work closely with our customers’ development teams, with various people spanning software engineers, database administrators, product owners, security specialists, architects and more! We also support our marketing team by running various workshops and webinars. From time to time we also work on our own projects, building out various demos and applications. JK: Tell us a bit about what you’ve been working on as an SA JM: Being an SA at MongoDB has given me the opportunity to work on some of the biggest transformation initiatives of some of the largest companies in the world. I’ve been privileged to work with leading organisations across Financial Services, eCommerce, and even the Air Transport industries while in the role, and on projects that affect millions of customers and billions of passengers - it’s been incredibly rewarding. As we went virtual due to COVID-19, I also ran some of our first virtual-only workshops and webinars, including building out demos and hands-on workshops for developers to complete. JK: So what’s next for you in terms of your career? JM: I’m actually right in the middle of making a big move! My manager and I have always had regular development conversations since I started, and last year I expressed an interest to continue my growth and development into a full-time sales role, as well as my personal desire to move back down under and be a little closer to family in NZ. While I absolutely love the MongoDB team in the UK and have developed friendships here that will last for a lifetime, I am looking forward to further building my career with the team in Sydney. This move is also a career change! With huge amounts of support from my manager and others across the business, I’m making the transition from Solutions Architect to Enterprise Account Executive in Sales. I start my new role at the beginning of September and I’m excited to get started. It’s been awesome being a part of our UK team as it has gone from strength to strength, and I’m excited to get started with our Australian Sales team next. The Australian team is firing on all cylinders and is led by the impressive Jeremy Powers. In my view, it’s a great place, team, and environment for me to make the shift into a full-time Sales role and to continue developing my career all while being closer to family back home. JK: What are you most excited for in your new role? JM: Two things have got me super excited to get started. Firstly, the opportunity to make the transition into an Enterprise Account Executive role and join our formidable sales organisation is an opportunity too good to pass up. Secondly, I’m particularly looking forward to the opportunity to work with businesses in New Zealand and introducing new customers to the incredible technology we offer here at MongoDB. New Zealand has a burgeoning tech sector and some incredibly interesting companies and opportunities - one great example is THL Digital who we’ve done a lot of work with recently. I can’t wait to help them solve some of their biggest challenges and give developers down under a better way to work with data. Interested in pursuing a career at MongoDB? We have several open roles on our teams across the globe , and would love for you to build your career with us!

August 31, 2021

Employee Spotlight: MongoDB Product Manager Talks About His Role And The Company’s Push For Inclusivity

Editor's note: This was originally published on AfroTech's Website . Having a game plan for your career can help you reach monumental milestones and attain goals that not only benefit yourself, but the greater good of the company that you work for. Just ask product manager (PM) at MongoDB, Garaudy Etienne, who has succeeded at the company by using his expertise of processing data to help fuel product growth. Thanks to his engineering and business background, Etienne helps elevate MongoDB products to a higher level of success in the industry’s competitive landscape. The product manager knows the in-and-outs of tech and advocates for inclusivity in the workplace too. Etienne spoke with AfroTech to share an inside look into his unique experience working at MongoDB as a product manager and how he’s using his impact to dismantle offensive database terminology through the master/slave removal project. AfroTech: Tell us about your background and your role as a PM with MongoDB? Etienne: I’ve been a product manager for three years and was previously an aerospace engineer. I grew up in Haiti, Belgium and New Jersey. I obtained my bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Princeton University and my MBA from the University of Chicago. I’m a product manager for the sharding team at MongoDB. Sharding is the process of splitting up a customer’s data over several smaller computers instead of one giant computer. At a certain scale, it is a cost-effective way of storing and processing more data for most companies. Our team is responsible for making sure the data is split in a way that lets websites or apps stay fast as they continue to grow. This means if an app grows to millions of users, they can still read or write information to their database without any issues. AfroTech: What experience(s) prepared you the most for this role? Etienne: My engineering background combined with my MBA have most prepared me for this role. Knowing that I wanted to be a product manager before attending business school helped me focus my learnings and efforts with that singular goal. AfroTech: How were you recruited/promoted/hired into this role? Etienne: Believe it or not, I just went to MongoDB’s website and applied for a “Product Manager, Distributed Systems” posting the company had. I received an email shortly after, asking to set up a phone interview with the recruiter. I’d like to point out that this is not a recommended approach. It’s best to connect with an employee and get some more information about the company and a referral, if possible. AfroTech: What exactly does being a Product Manager mean? Etienne: First, let’s define what a product is: a product is anything you create for other people to use. Being a PM is all about helping the company build a better product. It’s about discovering what to build (and not build) for our customers and when to build it. This means setting a strategy and vision for the product so the engineers see a maximum impact for their efforts. I do this mainly by asking lots of questions, talking to customers, and talking to other teams close to customers, such as customer success managers, technical services engineers, and solutions architects. AfroTech: What inspired you to become a Product Manager? Etienne: I knew that I was interested in business in college. When I finally decided that aerospace was no longer for me, I knew I wanted to still be involved in technology but in a business capacity. I did some research to see what career paths were at the intersection of business and technology. I also spoke to a coworker who was applying to business school at the time to get his thoughts. The more I researched, the more I believed that product management was the right path for me. Photo Credit: Garaudy Etienne, Product Manager, Server at MongoDB kicks off MongoDB's 2019 Black History Month event hosted by TUPOC/Mongodb AfroTech: What’s important to know/do once in the role, and what are the career advancement opportunities for a Product Manager at MongoDB? Etienne: Once in the role, it is important to focus and learn to say no. Requests come from all over the place. It can be customers, sales, marketing, engineers. Not only can you not please everyone, but not every request will lead to a better product. As far as PM career advancement opportunities at MongoDB, there is always plenty when a company is growing, and growing fast. For me, this means soon becoming a Senior PM, then leading a team as a Lead PM. We’ve just hired two Directors of Product on my team, which is the next step after Lead PM. If you don’t want to manage people, there’s always the opportunity to manage much bigger or more important products. AfroTech: How does your role as a Product Manager at MongoDB differ from others? Etienne: One huge difference between being a PM at MongoDB and other places I’ve worked is that I don’t have to spend time managing project timelines. At my previous role, I spent 60 percent of my time managing project timelines. The majority of my time is now focused on discovering/solving customer issues and figuring out how our team’s product fits into the overall company vision and the competitive landscape. In addition, I have been empowered to set the entire strategy for sharding. I recently had a meeting with our Chief Product Officer, where I laid out our plan for the next three to five years. I have never had that kind of autonomy before. It is pretty standard for all other product managers at the company, no matter the level. AfroTech: How do you think your company is making the working environment more inclusive? Etienne: The company has taken several steps to make working there more inclusive. Some of them predate my arrival, such as the parity pledge. The parity pledge promises to interview at least one female candidate for every job opening of director and above. The company is currently undertaking an effort to remove offensive database terminology such as “master/slave” and “whitelist/blacklist” from our code base. Senior leadership has reached out to Black employees to continually get their input and feedback. MongoDB also recently made Juneteenth a company holiday. I personally felt like I mattered a little more when our CEO spoke about the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd before it became just another PR ploy for tech companies. AfroTech: Tell us about your role as an advisor on the master/slave removal project? Etienne: The master/slave removal project started back in January. I have been involved in the discussion from the beginning. I was a staunch advocate for making the changes to older versions of MongoDB when we were debating whether or not to just do it for our latest version onwards. These changes will take close to a year of engineering effort, and it was a good opportunity to challenge the company’s commitment to Black people because this affects our bottom line. I have been in every meeting, from defining the scope of the project, to the design and implementation, and I’ve had to be involved both as a product manager and as a Black employee. AfroTech: Is there anything else you would like to add? Etienne: I wish MongoDB was a more well known company by the layperson. I think a lot of great Black employees in tech are missing out on an awesome company because we’re in the database space and our main users are developers. I’m hoping to do my part to democratize access to information about both MongoDB and product management for Black people in tech. Interested in pursuing a career at MongoDB? We have several open roles on our teams across the globe, and would love for you to build your career with us! Join MongoDB in supporting organizations fighting for racial justice and equal opportunity. Donate to our fund by December 31, 2020 and MongoDB will match the donation up to a maximum aggregate amount of $250,000. Learn more here .

December 7, 2020

From Exec. Assistant To Cybersecurity Specialist: Dawn Charles

Editor's note: This was originally published on AfroTech’s website. It’s never too late to reinvent your career or make a pivot into the technology field. Just ask Dawn Charles, Business Support Specialist at MongoDB. Charles worked as a personal trainer for 12 years before she took an executive assistant position that eventually led to a career in cybersecurity. MongoDB is a database platform that provides the back-end infrastructure used by many popular apps, including the online game Fortnite. It’s an attractive option for tech professionals all over the world, including Black tech professionals who are looking to elevate their career. Charles spoke with AfroTech to share her experience working for MongoDB as a Black tech professional, gave advice on individuals looking to make a career switch and provided tips on how to keep your personal cybersecurity measures up-to-date. How Dawn Charles Made a Career Pivot Charles started working for MongoDB five years ago and has been a crucial part of the success of many departments at the company. When she first joined the company, she was a recent cancer survivor and knew she wanted a job that could provi​de financial security. MongoDB fulfilled both requirements, and although it was her first time joining a larger company compared to previous employers, she was able to become involved with many teams, including the developer relations, solutions architecture, sales, and product marketing functions. As a Business Support Specialist, she now works in the global security department and supports the Chief Information Security Officer. Charles aides with special assignments, manages the security brand and works as a liaison for global teams to guarantee their “personal security is aligned and secure.” “Initially, I started at MongoDB as an EA [executive assistant] to two sales leaders,” says Charles. “Everything revolved around making quotas and performance of the sales teams. I would volunteer to get involved with other team projects, one being our sales bootcamp, which was a very small program then.” “I offered to help in things that interested me, not necessarily looking for a change, but just to explore new things and make my day to day more interesting” Charles adds. “It adds to your workload, but gives you insight to what other roles might entail, and also proves that you are up for the task before even making a change.” Over the last five years, Charles’ exposure to new areas of the company contributed to her versatility, and she still has large goals she’d like to see come to fruition. Charles suggests that those who are looking to switch roles should shadow someone in the role they’re pursuing, and get as much insight as possible. “In all of my career I have always been very social, building great relationships with people I have worked alongside on different projects.” Charles adds. “Having this has enabled me to have access to amazing people who are always willing to provide advice and support.” Which has led to having many champions on her side who believe in her. When it comes to working for MongoDB as Black woman in particular, Charles describes it as being “great and interesting.” As a UK native, she says it’s been amazing because she has the opportunity to work with a diverse group of people, not just from the U.S, but from all over the world. Her experience helps her realize that she is her own biggest advocate, which means she learns to not only speak up for herself, but to also speak up if she comes across something that is not “fair or just.” The Importance of Online Safety Since MongoDB is a database company, cybersecurity plays a huge role in guaranteeing that their customers and the company are protected. Charles believes that online safety is just as important as everyday security measures, such as locking your doors and cars, which is standard. “Our whole lives and all of our personal information are online, but security is an afterthought for many,” says Charles. Below are a few key steps Charles believes are necessary to keep yourself safe online. Secure your home's WiFi connection Make sure your phone and computer OS are up-to-date along with specific apps. Enable an auto update feature so that you don't have to remember. Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) and password managers. Use MFA to mitigate risk of password loss. Create passphrases instead of passwords e.g. DawnLikesSmoothies9492! Make sure nothing personal that people can search about you like your animal name or the year you were born. Use a password manager Avoid password reuse since hackers use breached credentials (e.g, credential stuffing). Sign up for 1Password for your one stop site to store all of your passwords. Email is the most important asset to secure Email provides access to all your accounts via password resets. Protect your email! Once again use MFA and a secure pin on your phone. Use biometrics if available. Considering her effort and dedication to ensure safety for all based on these tips, Charles said that she is “proud and incredibly lucky to work at MongoDB.” “Our work environment and culture is amazing and we are encouraged to actually have fun in what we do,” Charles says. “I truly enjoy the people I work with and have made some amazing connections that will last a lifetime. MongoDB continues to grow, and we are always welcoming new people to the team.” One of the MongoDB core values is to “Think Big, Go Far.” If this is a motto you can see yourself working by, explore current job opportunities on their career page . Join MongoDB in supporting organizations fighting for racial justice and equal opportunity. Donate to our fund by December 31, 2020 and MongoDB will match the donation up to a maximum aggregate amount of $250,000. Learn more here .

November 25, 2020

How Growth and Leadership Foster Change In The Tech Space

Editor's note: This was originally published on AfroTech’s website . Are you on the hunt for your next role in the tech space? We know firsthand just how difficult it can be to find a company that is truly committed to investing in Black talent, so we’re highlighting a few of our top picks that are currently hiring. First up is MongoDB — with over 2,200 employees, this New York-based tech company provides database software that powers companies like Epic Games (best known for its popular game Fortnite), Shine Text, Coinbase, 7-Eleven, and more. MongoDB prides itself in cultivating an environment for employees to share their ideas about diversity and inclusion in the workplace without judgment. The general purpose database platform focuses on elevating productivity and scalability for both its clients and employees, which sets up a space for everyone to shine. The company offers opportunities for Black tech professionals to thrive as it values different thoughts and perspectives and those who approach tech solutions in a unique way. No matter their gender, race, age or sexual orientation, employees are valued and respected by MongoDB’s leadership. Its open environment encourages employees to perform at their best and elevates the success of the company. Let’s explore one employee’s experience and his unique role at the company. Tosin Ajayi leads MongoDB’s global corporate Solutions Architect team. He is a prime example of how a Black tech leader creates and influences an inclusive company culture for all employees. Ajayi uses his position to promote growth, leadership and foster change. For example, he’s currently building an Associate Solutions Architects team . The team is suited for junior or early-career professionals and provides them a great start to a highly coveted technical presales career. “The presales role is unique as it combines the technical prowess of an engineer, the vision of a product manager, the sales acumen of a sales rep and the design and troubleshooting skills of a consultant,” Ajayi said. “In essence, it bridges several functions within an organization to bring solutions to our customers and revenue to MongoDB,” all while furthering MongoDB’s goal of inclusion as a top priority. While Ajayi believes that practicing inclusion is everyone’s responsibility, he asserts that MongoDB’s tone about inclusiveness is set at the executive level, which helps such a culture thrive. Here are concrete initiatives that MongoDB has implemented to support diversity in the workplace: The company holds all-hands meetings where the executive team takes open questions. For a company this size, it’s quite impressive considering the diversity of thoughts and opinions in a large employee base. And yes, the questions often reflect that diversity in thoughts and opinions. MongoDB signed the ParityPledge to ensure that at least one qualified woman candidate is interviewed for all VP and higher positions. There is a company-wide Decoding Inclusion series that addresses a variety of topics like race, the LGBTQ+ community, and mental health. MongoDB is really big on feedback. Surveys are consistently run in order to seek to understand employees’ visceral feelings towards their work, their team, team makeup, leaders, workplace, and work conditions. MongoDB has a dedicated D&I team. In fact, this interview is happening as a result of the great work Cindy Class and Danielle James are doing. Companies across the country are tackling current events such as the disproportionate rate of COVID-19 affecting Black people and the violence at the hands of police. These events require open dialogue for employees to express their thoughts and feelings and MongoDB has done just that. Ajayi agrees that it’s important to have these conversations in order to “disambiguate the stance on human decency issues and promote inclusiveness”. “Employees aren’t a monolith,” Ajayi said. “Yes, we’re a collection of driven and talented professionals — but well above that, we’re human beings. Employees want to feel heard, they want to know that their feelings and opinions matter, they want a company whose philosophy they can align with. Talking about current events is a display of awareness, it shows a sense of connectedness to the outside events that can and often affect employees. More importantly, it shows empathy and support for employees.” These candid conversations help Ajayi as a leader, allowing him to “address the historically taboo topic of race and racial injustice.” When topics such as these are addressed it impacts the success of the company positively and creates a “psychologically safe environment” at work. “Another point here is that employees are only as good as they feel,” Ajayi said. “I find that people give more of themselves when they’re in a space where they feel psychologically safe.” MongoDB continues to promote their mission of inclusivity and diversity through various initiatives like scholarships to their MongoDB World conference, an Intern Mentorship program, affinity groups like The Underrepresented People of Color Network (TUPOC), Queeries, MDBWomen, Underrepresented Genders in Tech, Veterans, and the Green Team, and the company’s Decoding Inclusion series that was launched last year by the Diversity and Inclusion team. “The [Decoding Inclusion Series] is an opportunity to educate and sometimes challenge preconceived ideas about D&I,” Ajayi said. “[These sessions] are sponsored by MongoDB executives. We feature employees and bring guest speakers to talk about a variety of topics including race, gender, mental health issues, and other topics that pertain to D&I.” Ajayi revealed that he found sessions like the most recent Decoding Inclusion conversation on race very informative, resulting in his own self-evaluation about his understanding of community and societal differences. He is proud to see these types of programs not only deconstruct the taboo topic of racism in the workplace, but make changes as a result of it. “I encourage all organizations to embrace the humanity of their employees, not just the workers in them, and promote an environment where people can talk, like my company has done for us,” Ajayi added. MongoDB is dedicated to creating opportunities to impact change, not only at the company but throughout the community. Are you a tech-minded dreamer, who is passionate about innovation? Grow your career at MongoDB, view open roles here and make sure to indicate that you learned about the role through AfroTech when applying. Join MongoDB in supporting organizations fighting for racial justice and equal opportunity. Donate to our fund by December 31, 2020 and MongoDB will match the donation up to a maximum aggregate amount of $250,000. Learn more here.

November 10, 2020

How MongoDB’s Engagement Managers Help Our Customers Succeed

If there’s one thing our employees can agree on, it’s that MongoDB is committed to our customers’ success. From using customer feedback to build new products and features to spinning up new teams to improve customer experience, we’re always on the lookout to improve quality and functionality. In fact, this dedication is found at the very start of our sales process, which is why MongoDB established a new team to better support our customers. I sat down with Ben Sandmann, Senior Manager for North America’s Engagement Management team, to learn more about it. Here, he talks about our new Engagement Management teams in North America and Europe and why it’s an exciting opportunity for those considering a role. What Are Engagement Managers, and Where Do They Fit into the Sales Process? Partnering with the sales team and as part of MongoDB Professional Services, Engagement Managers specifically focus on service offerings. This is a great opportunity for someone to help MongoDB increase our revenue generated from services. Engagement Management is a presales role, adding value to our sales teams as well as to our customers. As an Engagement Manager, you’ll come in early in the sales process when a customer is planning to move forward with our products and scope out what additional services are needed. You’ll work with the customers to understand their unique needs and challenges, performing a deep assessment to identify relevant add-on services . You’ll then suggest bespoke professional services such as training, advisory, or consultation to help those customers accelerate time-to-value on their investment. This is crafted into a services proposal and presented during the sales process. Once the proposal is agreed upon, you’ll build a statement of work to be delivered during negotiations, which includes effort estimates and resource needs. How Does This Role Differ from Roles in Other Companies? The job description may make Engagement Manager sound like a delivery role, but in reality, it’s business development and presales on the services side. It’s also much more entrepreneurial. Ben breaks down the key differences. “At large companies, there’s typically some form of professional services managed in presales,” he says. “However, Engagement Managers (or roles similar to it) are usually tasked with a request. For example, Sales Representatives might have a handful of accounts they work with, and they’ll loop you in later in the process and task you with what they feel the customer needs.” At MongoDB, Engagement Managers can make the role their own. “Although you’ll still work with Sales Representatives and their accounts,” Ben explains, “you have a lot more autonomy and freedom to be creative. For instance, you can come up with new initiatives to drive business. One of our Engagement Managers recently created a renewal initiative that we’ll implement for all upcoming renewal customers.” How does MongoDB Set Up Engagement Managers for Success? As with all our sales-focused employee roles, MongoDB offers extensive training. This includes technical training that covers the first stages of what our consultants do, to help Engagement Managers get a deep understanding of MongoDB’s products. After you’ve completed the technical training, you’ll go through our robust sales training program, getting a full view into our sales process and learning how to optimize your skills to best support the sales team. Ben adds that your managers are there to support you, but not act like Big Brother. “You won’t be micromanaged,” he says, “and you won’t have your managers checking in on you all the time. But even with the autonomy, know your leaders will still be there to teach, coach, enable, and show you how to get where you need to be so you can succeed. You’re still very much supported, but you have the freedom to lean into your natural entrepreneurial nature.” Why Is This an Exciting Opportunity? The intriguing part of this role is that it allows you to have direct interaction with customers who are doing innovative things with MongoDB. If you love being hands-on and close to technology, this can be a great opportunity for you. You’ll get a good grasp of our technology and see what resonates without the need to be a developer. And because the Engagement Management team is new, this is a chance for you to come in and build something, shaping tools, processes, and much more. Ben reiterates how this can be a career-changing role. “This team is still evolving,” he says. “Now it’s shifted more toward creativity and looking at the business to see what initiatives we can launch, what internal or external enablement we can do with customers, and which new marketing channels we should use.” But, he adds, “when you join a company that’s been around for as long as we have, you don’t always get a lot of opportunities to grow. That’s not the case here with our team. There’s a lot of visibility and opportunities. You can really make an impact and shape the way we run our business. You’re building something here. Even more exciting is the fact that Professional Services is one of the biggest levers in reducing churn and growing our business. Our product and reputation as a leader allows us to continue to make our mark on the massive database industry, giving you a lot of potential to grow.” Interested in pursuing a career at MongoDB? We have several open roles on our teams across the globe , and would love for you to build your career with us!

November 2, 2020

Meet Sam Fiorenzo: Why I Chose MongoDB for a Second Time

I sat down with Sam Fiorenzo, Enterprise Account Executive in our Austin office, to learn about her quick career growth in sales at MongoDB. We talked about how she progressed through multiple promotions, why she left, and what made her want to come back less than a year later. Ashley Perez: Welcome back to the team! Can you tell me a bit about how you got into sales and why you enjoy it? Sam Fiorenzo: Thank you. I’m happy to be back! I actually went to school for film editing and design, so I fell into sales like a lot of us do. I got my start in sales using my film and design knowledge to sell into the creative, design, and UX spaces. Then, I moved into tech sales at MongoDB. I’ve stuck with sales for a lot of reasons. It fits my personality: I’m analytical, competitive, and find joy in connecting with my customers or landing new ones. Each customer has a unique need, and because of that, it makes every deal at MongoDB different. This keeps the job interesting. It always requires me to come up with new ways to address their needs. Also, MongoDB is a leader in the database space, with a ton of room to grow. There are plenty of new deals to land and growth to enable, which means my earning potential has no cap. AP: You’ve had a lot of success in your sales career at MongoDB. Can you tell me a bit about your career journey? SF: I joined as an entry-level Sales Development Representative (SDR) about four years ago. This was pre-IPO days, so a lot has changed simply because of that. I quickly worked my way up to become one of the first reps on what is now called the Cloud team. This was when MongoDB’s Atlas offering was brand-new, and we had to figure out how to sell it. After that, I was promoted to the Corporate Sales team , where I saw a lot of success again. Then, I was promoted to a senior-level role. AP: It’s impressive to receive that many promotions in less than four years. Congrats! How were you able to secure those roles? SF: I worked hard and smart and as consistently as I could. I focused on being coachable and constantly tried to learn. I also invested in my colleagues (and they did the same for me) by collaborating, helping each other overcome obstacles, and offering general support. This allowed all of us to grow. Finally, I asked for what I wanted. Making my intentions clear helped my managers pay attention to what I was doing and suggest ways to fill relevant gaps. When it was time for a promotion, I believed they could easily consider me for the next role because I put in the work. AP: But despite the career growth, you still decided to move on from MongoDB. Why? SF: At that point, I was trying to grow my skill sets in an enterprise organization. Our sales team — and the entire company really — was growing so quickly. However, the promotion process was not as well defined as I had hoped (and as it is now). Our Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) had just created a program to grow people from within, but it still had things to be ironed out. Although I had seen a lot of success in my career growth, the next part of my career path wasn’t immediately clear to me. So I left in December 2019 to take a sales role at a startup with a new product monetizing a different open source technology. It was an exciting opportunity, and I saw the potential for me to continue to grow my career quickly. But as with many startups, it wasn’t the most stable or safest place to be. I was unsure of our ability to execute, which was a reason for concern. I knew I had to move on, but I wanted to make sure the next opportunity was the right one. AP: So after some soul searching, how did you land on MongoDB again? SF: When I considered my next move, I focused on the following: A large market: MongoDB has a huge addressable market of potential customers. Our product is core and mission critical to most organizations, meaning it’s tied to revenue. This meant larger and more-strategic deals. A world-class product: I wanted to sell an impressive product that was winning or disrupting market share because it was truly first-class. Talented and smart people: I wanted to be surrounded by colleagues who were like-minded. And I wanted to work under leadership I believed in and that could guide me to being better than I was yesterday. I think this is so core to growth and improvement no matter your career. If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re probably in the wrong room. An organization where I can grow: In these uncertain times, it was even more important to work somewhere that had resources to invest in me and where I could build my career. I was interviewing elsewhere, and when comparing opportunities side by side, MongoDB once again came out ahead. Yet, I was reluctant to go back. In my mind, there was a negative connotation associated with “going back to a former employer.” However, when speaking with leaders at MongoDB, they instead positioned me as an asset and an obvious hire. The MongoDB team was “welcoming me back home” with open arms and a quota waiting for me. After more consideration, I realized that the reasons I had left were now irrelevant. I sought advice from people way more experienced than me in diverse careers and with separate — and sometimes conflicting — perspectives. These mentors helped me get past those reservations and focus on what was important to me. AP: It’s clear your leaders really valued you here. How has your role differed from the first time to now? SF: Although my new role as an Enterprise Account Executive is much more strategic, with more responsibilities than when I’d joined as an SDR, I still use a lot of the foundations of pipeline generation I’d picked up four years prior to start conversations with developers and key stakeholders. I also think MongoDB has matured its promotion process this time around. When an organization grows as fast as we did, it’s hard to have all the processes ironed out to help employees understand what it takes to get to the next level or do so in a timely fashion. What previously made for a bumpy road has since been smoothed out. Now, our CRO, Cedric Pech, has created the “BDR to CRO” program. The path for career growth is clearly defined and discussed with each sales employee. I now clearly understand how to get to the next level of my career and have a plan to get there that my leadership supports. AP: So, after everything’s said and done, why would you recommend MongoDB to other sales professionals looking for an opportunity? SF: First, the sales enablement is impressive. I had never been educated on a proper qualification tool or sales process before. Nor had I ever experienced a complicated enough sale where that knowledge would become important. For clarification, when I say “complicated” sale, you need to remember that MongoDB is open source or free for most, and we’re often selling against our own community version. We need buy-in from many different stakeholders who care about different things to get a deal done. It’s also very technical, so we have our Solutions Architects partnering with us, but the best reps are well-versed in the technology so they too can qualify every conversation. Everything we do is meant to be “value-based.” It sounds super fluffy, but the way MongoDB teaches sales reps to engage with prospects is designed to bring a ton of value at every touchpoint. We enable prospects like they’re customers before they actually become one. This commitment and care continues after they sign on the dotted line. Also, I really believe MongoDB is the whole package for building a sales career, with enough resources and thought leadership to continue to be. There’s so much potential here because of our position in the market, and I’m confident it will only continue to grow. If you’re a tech sales professional with high hopes for your career and want to run with the best reps out there, consider MongoDB. If you’re smart enough to know you’ll always learn here and passionate enough to have grit, you’ll likely be successful. A lot of people take a “lower job title” in their careers to be here. I did twice, and it’s been worth it both times. Interested in pursuing a career at MongoDB? We have several open roles on our teams across the globe , and would love for you to build your career with us!

October 29, 2020