Sales Development Representative

Edtech.com's Summary

Handshake is hiring a Sales Development Representative to join their Employer Revenue Sales Development team. The role involves generating and qualifying outbound opportunities, managing inbound leads, partnering with Account Executives on deal strategy, and consistently exceeding monthly targets while maintaining high standards in communication and professionalism.

Highlights

Build qualified pipeline through personalized outbound outreach and efficient inbound lead management.
Collaborate closely with Account Executives on territory planning, messaging, and deal strategies.
Utilize Salesforce, Gong, and Outreach for tracking activities and insights.
Consistently meet or exceed ramping quotas starting from the second month.
Require 6-12 months of SDR experience or comparable quota-driven roles like consulting or operations.
Must demonstrate proven attainment in quota-driven environments and possess advanced written communication skills.
Expected to exhibit resilience by analyzing and improving results after setbacks.
Familiarity with Salesforce, Outreach, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, ZoomInfo, or Gong is preferred.
Compensation includes equity, competitive salary, 401(k) match, and financial coaching.
Additional benefits cover medical, dental, vision, wellness stipend, paid parental leave, $2,000 learning stipend, flexible PTO, and more.

Sales Development Representative Full Description

About Handshake

Handshake is building the career network for the AI economy, backed by the largest and most trusted job network on the internet. As the only three-sided job marketplace connecting 18 million knowledge workers, 1,500 educational institutions, and 1 million employers, Handshake powers career discovery, hiring, and upskillingâfrom first internships to full-time roles, freelance work to gig work, and beyond.

Founded in 2014, weâve built the most trusted platform for early talentâowning the college-to-career market and powering nearly every career center. Today weâre building on that foundation to help students and early professionals upskill or reskill for the future.

Nowâs a great time to join Handshake. Hereâs why:

Category Leader: Over 92% coverage across US universities & 77% of total US university student population.
Proven Market Demand: Deep employer partnerships across Fortune 500s and the worldâs leading AI research labs.
World-Class Team: Leadership from Scale AI, Open AI, xAI, Notion, Coinbase, and Palantir, just to name a few.
Capitalized & Scaling: $434M raised with a $175M+ run rate.

About the Role

Handshake is hiring a Sales Development Representative to join our Employer SDR team. This role is best suited for someone who works with focus, consistency, and accountability. Youâll be the first point of contact for prospective employer partners; responsible for building qualified pipeline and maintaining a high standard in every interaction.

This is a fast-paced, metrics-driven environment where results matter. The people who succeed here balance volume with quality, learn quickly from feedback, and hold themselves to a high bar. When challenges come up, they pause, reassess, and find a better way forward. Success in this role requires steadiness under pressure, clear communication, and a genuine commitment to continuous improvement.

You will have an opportunity to learn and grow in this role. We support our SDRs and seek to promote them internally based on their demonstrated success in the role, alignment with our values, and a passion for helping students.

Consistently hit or exceed monthly targets; starting at Month 2, new hires are expected to exceed their ramping quota
Generate and qualify a high volume of outbound opportunities through thoughtful, personalized outreach
Manage and convert inbound leads quickly and efficiently, maintaining a high level of context and professionalism
Partner closely with Account Executives on territory plans, messaging, and deal strategy
Track activity and insights accurately in Salesforce, Gong, and Outreach
Reflect on performance weekly; what worked, what didnât, and how to improve

Desired Capabilities

Have 6â12 months of SDR experience or have worked in a consulting, closing, or operations role with clear quota ownership
Can demonstrate proven attainment in any quota-driven role
Have advanced written communication skills and can convey context clearly and succinctly
Donât get derailed by a bad month; you analyze it, adjust, and come back stronger
Take complete ownership of results and can point to concrete examples of how you improved a process or outcome
Are coachable, consistent, and can manage a high volume of activity without losing quality
Bring curiosity and composure to conversations with senior leaders
Are motivated by measurable impact, not hypothetical success

Extra Credit

Experience in consulting or operations
Internship experience in a performance-based or client-facing environment
Hired for a job or internship from Handshake
Familiarity with Salesforce, Outreach, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, ZoomInfo, or Gong

Perks

Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supportedâand thrive at work and in life.

The below benefits are for full-time US employees.

ð¯ Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company

ð° Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching

ð¼ Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching

ð Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend

ð Growth: $2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development

ð» Remote & Office: Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office

ð Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days, winter #ShakeBreak where our whole office closes for a week!

ð¤ Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses

Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.

Original Job Description