Pros
+ Solid benefits like totally covered health/medical/dental, gym reimbursement, etc + Hip corporate culture, great coworkers, offices with fully stocked kitchens, music, game rooms, offsites, stock options, relaxed environment, no dress code + Brand recognition, Yelp is legitimately a great company that has sustainable growth and you can be proud to be a part of it - looks great on your resume + If you do very well in sales you can be promoted quickly with more earning potential and do have the opportunity to be promoted into a management position or doing national accounts in less than 2 years + Training is fun and very informative, you are given tools and resources throughout your career + Prospecting from Yelp means you have access to data that's relevant for SMBs and you can find leads using the database and backend on Yelp....talk to business owners who use the site actively + Your territory is protected for the most part, so unlike with other sales jobs, you can expect that other reps can't take over your leads +
Cons
- Cold calling...it has its ups and downs. It's cold calling. It can be a grind. - If you start in sales it's pretty impossible to move laterally...so you'll always be in sales - You're supposed to work 40 hours, but your managers and directors have a way of expecting you to work more than that and not get OT, some could equate this to just working hard but it is stressful and makes it harder to have a work/life balance - Your quota isn't adjusted for time off...it's hard to get your manager to approve PTO or feel job security when you take time off and aren't at your quota - Yelp is a quickly growing company so that means things are constantly changing...this can be good, but it means perks can be taken away even after you already earned them like laptops, jackets, wireless technology....nothing done to compensate for this - A lot of your success can be contingent upon the territory you are assigned at random of your first day. A very talented rep can call into a podunk city in the midwest and barely hit their quota, while a very shoddy rep can call into LA and hit their targets, continue to advance and be assigned additional and better territories. Vicious cycle. Easily worst flaw with the AE job. - Benefits do not include a matching 401k...why? - You can have loyalty to the company with 3 years on your belt and be put on a performance plan to be fired after 1 or 2 months of missing your quota...that's just bad for morale. - Job security, not so much. A very common theme among AEs is being terrified of losing their jobs for missing quota - New training classes with incredibly aggressive hiring plans for 50 new AEs every single month in the office...doesn't boost morale or make AEs feel valued. OVERALL, Yelp is a great company to work for and even if you only last a couple months doing sales calls, it's worth it for the experience. There is earning potential and whether you just graduated or have a seasoned sales background I'd recommend giving it a shot as long as you're comfortable with 8 hours in front of a computer and on the phone.