u/QuestionTotal2874

Huge crossroads and decision fatigue.

I’ve been out of tech selling for 4 years to be a SAHM and now need to return to work.

However, I am in an unusual spot where I can pursue any job that makes me happy even if it just brings in minimum wage. I recognize I am fortunate.

My personality leans towards healthy risk taking, challenging myself and being ambitious, and I already have 8 years under my belt of mid market SaaS, however this was pre-AI.

I’m wondering if at this point I just work at a bookstore or cafe or do something low stress if money isn’t the primary driver anymore despite me enjoying the craft of my previous career.

Should I leave ego behind and just find a low-stress analog job?

Would you return to this career if you didn’t absolutely have to or even had a shadow of a doubt about your future in it?

I tend to glorify the past, but I recall the highs were high and the lows were low. Felt like a constant rollercoaster and I worry about my ability to compartmentalize that when I am a mom with small kids who don’t deserve to have my bad work day projected onto them.

Be honest. Do you think certain types of sales roles are actually ill suited for parents, especially parents of young children, to take on? For example, a Founding GTM account exec at a startup? Regardless of what a company's culture or state/country's legal policy says, I'm imagining it's hard to explain to your boss that you have to leave right when the work day is over to pickup kids and do the bed and bathtime routine when you likely have peer reps 10-15 years your junior who are childless, hungry, and willing to work late hours into the night? right? Sure we could say work smarter not harder, but how does it really look when you're the first one out even if the work day is over? Which types of roles are the least ideal for parents of young kids/babies vs. the most ideal?

I’ve been stuck at conversational Swedish level for years. Nobody’s fault but my own. Too easy to get away with speaking English despite having Swedish friends and family.

I have an expat friend who has taken the free language classes offered by the government who said they’re pretty useless for getting results. The teachers are tired and the classes are more for making friends.

I’m serious about going from conversational speaking and understanding to fluent. I already have a knack for learning foreign languages easily, so my only barriers are time, disclipline and consistency.

I am past the point of using Babbel or Duolingo.

What’s at stake: I’m in tech sales and need to be able to converse with clients fluently. I know this will take time and daily practice but I need a tutor who is results-oriented and understands this specific niche (software sales and AI jargon).

Where can I find someone who isn’t just a native speaker but actually knows what it takes to bring someone from conversational to fluent speaking, reading, writing and comprehension in minimal time? DM me if this is you or if you know someone. Very serious inquiry.

ETA: other specific reqs I want: tutor should be a Native Swede. Familiar with the Stockholm accent (no offense but I don’t want to learn another accent), and I want precise corrections with my accent and nuances such as how and where I emphasize words in a sentence. It shouldn’t just be textbook accurate but I should sound as close to a native as possible.

If you’re the first ever Account Executive hire at a tiny AI tech startup, what would be your non negotiables and best practices for building a GTM playbook from the ground up?

What would do you in your first four weeks?

If you’re relocating to a new region where COL and salaries, even for quota carrying reps, is dramatically lower (like by 30-50%) but you have tenure, what’s your favorite way to answer this during an interview? If it’s for a company you genuinely want to work at. Do you bring it up first or wait until it comes up? How specific do you get and what justification do you use? Do you wait for them to reveal budget for the role before you volunteer your number? I know not to give a range.

Been a while

If you have interviewed for a GTM (Account Executive) role at Lovable or Strawberry (the AI browser), can you share what the interview entailed and what your experience was like? What were your impressions of the company?

It's feeling pretty daunting re-entering this job market during this time, and I'm not sure if it's because I'm sucked into subreddits that are messing with my head or if this is truly a reflection of reality.

I took an extended family leave for a few years to focus on raising our kids after a nearly 10 year tenure as a midmarket AE at companies you all have heard of. I don't want to give too much away.

I've taught myself the best ways to use the latest tools i.e. everything to do with AI workflows, and my selling skills haven't gone away despite my brief departure from the workforce. Now is the right time for ME to reenter the workforce even if it's the wrong time for the workforce.

What would you do if you were in my shoes? I'm already narrowing in on companies I want to work for, examining LinkedIn mutual connections, and multi-threading my way into an interview as if I was prospecting into a company. Is landing a decent job exclusively about who you know instead of that being just one of many important factors?

I just discovered the company Mentimeter and couldn’t help but notice their sales roles have zero commission structure. Isn’t this sure to be a red flag in the future assuming a rep decides to interview for an AE role at another company?

Does anyone here work at Mentimeter in a closing sales role? What’s the incentive to perform well, just keeping your job?

What am I missing? Is this company so great that it’s truly worth it to work here?

Note: keeping some details vague for privacy.

American relocating to Stockholm with my family in a few weeks. I spent nearly a decade as a mid-market Account Executive at a few well-known tech companies before stepping away for four years to raise our young children; something I know is less common in Sweden than in parts of the US.

Now I'm re-entering the job market and eyeing AE roles at Stockholm-based tech companies, and I have a few questions:

On the gap: I'm getting auto-rejected at step one pretty consistently. Is a 4-year parental career break a bigger red flag in Sweden than it would be in the US? What's the best way to frame it? I've been leading with honesty is the best policy. Or is this just the current market?

On language: What are the best companies with offices in Stockholm that expect you to be in-office (which is my goal) and are also okay with you only speaking English? I will be taking Swedish lessons, however it will take time before I'm proficient.

On timing: Is it worth applying now, or should I wait until after Midsommar/summer holidays when hiring picks back up?

On office culture: I actually want 5 days in office. Are there Stockholm tech companies known for that culture that I should be targeting?

Any honest takes appreciated. Not looking for false reassurance, just trying to understand what I'm walking into.

Last question: I'm assuming förkortad arbetstid only works in theory but not in practice if you're in a quota-carrying role, right? Please correct me if my assumption is wrong.

I'm curious about the types of jobs that are accomodating in practice not just in theory to förkortad arbetstid vs. the types of jobs in which it's impractical because of the expectations of the role or company.

Tack!