8: Set, Manage and Exceed Expectations to get hired and help clients succeed (James Kaikis, Sales Engineer Manager – Showpad)

Empjoyment: Real-life stories from diverse career changers into non-technical jobs in digital tech companies. Join Nemo Ashong in empowering diversity in tech by helping career changers transition into non-technical roles in tech companies.

As a career changer, there is a natural level of risk associated with an employer taking you on for a role. In fact, the fear of making a mistake with a “risky” higher can be a common roadblock to getting into a new field.

Great – now that that’s out in the open you can use this to your advantage. Why? Because you can make sure you’re taking steps to proactively mitigate that risk for an employer.

James Kaikis shares several examples of how to set, manage, and exceed expectations for both employers and clients through his incredible career journey.

You’ll want to listen to this several times to capture all of the actionable lessons he provides!

Listen now to learn how to:

• Manage expectations effectively, especially for the purposes of job interviews and exceptional client sales & service
• Demonstrate the value you’ll bring to the team from your first interview by doing what few others are willing to do
• Articulate the way sales engineers can fit into organizations and their role within tech organizations (including the difference between sales and sales engineering and what tandem selling looks like in practice)

Get all full episode notes over at https://empjoyment.com/jameskaikis

From Insight to Action

James shared a powerful example of what it takes to exceed expectations for potential employers, through research and going above and beyond from the outset.

Each role and company will differ and we want you to get comfortable with how you reduce the risk of hiring you through demonstrable action.

Your Joyney: Share one example of a) how you personally set yourself apart for other candidates in a job search b) what you’ll do at your next interview to stand out from the crowd or c) what someone else has done that made you feel the candidate was exceptional within the Empjoyment Community.

Getting to Know Today’s Featured Empjoyee: James Kaikis!

James Kaikis currently manages a Sales Engineering team for a tech company in San Francisco, USA.

Prior to his current company Showpad, James worked at Revinate (a hospitality start up) and Hyatt Hotel Corporation prior to that.

James has worked in roles that focus on Customer Experience across a number of industries (Tech, Hospitality, Athletics, & Operations).