From losing his IT job to a $74K OTE sales role: how Sarvil got out of retail
In short
Sarvil lost his job in IT and ended up working in retail, sure he did not have the skills for a well-paid IT role. After failing a lot of interviews, he made interview skills his daily practice, drilled the cold-call round, and accepted a Business Development Representative role at $74K OTE, including a car allowance, after negotiating about $5,500 more.
- Role
- Business Development Representative (sales)
- Reported pay
- $74K OTE: $48,500 base, $16,000 commission and an $800-a-month car allowance
- Negotiated
- $3,000 more base and $200 more a month for the car
- Before
- Lost an IT job; 15 months in retail
These are one student’s reported results, in their own interview. They are not a promise or a typical outcome: every search is different, and results depend on the person, the field and the market.
The interview
How He Landed a $74K Business Development Representative Role in Canada 🇨🇦 | Negotiated $5K
Watch on YouTube (opens in a new tab)Where Sarvil started
Sarvil lost his job in IT in mid-March and started working in retail. He was sure he could not get back into IT, because he did not have the skills for a good salary there. He ended up stuck in that retail job for 15 months.
He had been following Bani, then Ishank, clicked a link in one of the videos and booked a call. He admits he came to that screening call casually and did not take it too seriously, but he enrolled.
What changed
For a few months after joining he was dealing with other things and did not give it much attention. From mid-February he started applying actively.
At first he failed first rounds two or three times, then second rounds, then third. He did mock interviews and came to one conclusion: interview skills are what you need to spend most of your time on. He went on to interview with at least seven or eight top companies across North America, and at one reached the sixth round.
His weakest round was cold calling, so he practised it with ChatGPT’s voice feature. It got to the point where, by round three or four of an interview, he could feel he would get the next round.
When the offer came, he reached out to the coaches about how to negotiate, watched the negotiation videos, made notes and negotiated twice. The company took six or seven days to come back.
Where the coaching came in
His coach kept repeating one instruction, follow the steps and do not skip them, and Sarvil says that is all he did. The coaches also reviewed his interview recording and presentation, and walked him through how to negotiate when the offer arrived.
Just work on your interview skills day in day out.
The result
Sarvil accepted a Business Development Representative role, a sales role outside tech: $48,500 base, $16,000 commission and an $800-a-month allowance for his car’s maintenance and fuel, $74K OTE in all. He negotiated $3,000 more on base and $200 more a month on the allowance, around $5,500 a year.
He says it felt so nice to finally come out of retail and do something he discovered after joining the coaching.
Update, : Sarvil now earns $120K OTE, as reported to Immigrant Ninja.
These are one student’s reported results, in their own interview. They are not a promise or a typical outcome: every search is different, and results depend on the person, the field and the market.