Pros
I enjoyed the remote flexibility the job gave, and the pay was nice.
Cons
Aside from the remote work and pay, working for Vald was one of the most stressful experiences I have ever had.
- Lack of support from leadership
- Intimidation and fear-mongering (I heard explicitly from old colleagues that they were outright told their jobs were on the line constantly, or they were being "watched" by leadership)
- Extreme micromanaging (expect little/no autonomy and to have every email, message, and call critiqued and criticized)
- Extremely high employee turnover
- Aggressive revenue goals and transactional sales tactics in a relationship-based industry (expect to become the pushy salesman to hit your quota)
- Absolutely zero work/life balance (working "overtime" and weekends is almost a necessity, especially at the beginning of your employment)
- Unfair territory assignment (some sales reps had much larger territory distribution than others, giving them more opportunities. Finding opportunities in 3-4 counties is significantly more difficult than trying to find opportunities in 3-4 states.)
- Account Hoarding (senior sales reps tend to hold key accounts for themselves, with newer sales reps scrambling to find traction)
- Lack of professional development (they prioritize hiring practitioners with zero sales experience, only to fire them or have them "managed out" when their only development is going out and learning via "trial by fire")
- Culture vs Reality mismatch (the pillars they claim to stand by are non-existent in their day-to-day handling of their employees)
- Short ramp-up period for complex sales cycles (I hope you learn fast)
- Reputation Risk (The pressure to use overly aggressive sales tactics risked damaging long-term industry relationships)
- Clique Culture