During the interview and hiring process I mentioned what my current compensation was and what I would need to get in order to make the jump over worthwhile. The recruiter told me that with bonuses we would be able to got to the number I needed. Considering this was a sales development role I assumed that the base salary was only part of the whole comp package. Come to onboarding and it is finally disclosed that the AAEs do not make any commission whatsoever.
Based on the lie of the recruiter I walked away from a very lucrative and successful position to be payed significantly less and in a significantly worse working environment.
I brought up my frustration during onboarding and they tried to spin the blatant lie by saying with the promotional structure, the first 6 months would be at 50k but after making it to an AE position the pay would be around 100k. They used this structure to say that over the course of the year I would make 75k and tried gaslighting me and the other associates that were promised a certain pay that they did not lie to us.
I asked my would-be manager about the compensation and benefits during the recruiting phase, and they told me to refer to my recruiter as they did not have the information. There is a convenient disconnect from managers and knowing the comp that allows the frustration to be redirected.
If you have any sales experience, avoid the AAE program at all costs.
The pay is terrible for the job. They do not offer commission or bonuses. There is no financial incentive to book better meetings or source lucrative business. This position title should be "Sales Intern" if we are being honest.
