WANTED: role models who are not afraid to challenge the status quo
What do a career in sales and young tech professionals in Palestine have in common? If you ask our co-founder and head of Business Development Christian Vejzak about it, he’ll tell you: both have a public image that doesn’t fully align with reality.
Before founding TAP, Christian worked in marketing and sales across the world. According to Christian, sales roles are undervalued and stereotyped. ‘People think all you do is get appointments in the diary. In fact, sales professionals are invaluable for driving growth in any company’.
With TAP, Christian identifies a similar problem when it comes to people’s preconceptions about the Palestinian tech industry. In short, it’s often overlooked, and Palestine’s incredible young tech talent is seldom considered by international companies when it comes to hiring for remote roles. This is true for both software developers, as well as young professionals working in sales and business development.
TAP's mission stems from this issue, and we’re working hard to change the narrative. We champion young tech sales representatives in Palestine and connect them with companies around the world through our 16-week Business Development course.
Changing the mindset
Christian sees that TAP students themselves are often held back by preconceptions too, both around sales careers (‘students often arrive with the idea that sales reps are just really pushy people’), and, more crucially, around their chances on the remote job market.
In order to roll back these preconceptions and bring about a change in mindset, TAP has set up a very specific support network within the Business Development course.
‘We work with an amazing group of sales professionals, who act as sparring partners, role models, and career advisors for our students. They’re invaluable in creating a positive image of sales, business development and remote careers in general’.
The role of the mentor
For TAP, its mentors offer a unique opportunity to showcase a different side of Palestinian sales graduates to the world. Mentors help open up doors, expand students’ networks, and act as a vital link between young, ambitious talent in the MENA region and companies looking to hire in Europe.
Crucially, they are also the voice on the other end of the line when TAP students run into challenges during their internship or when looking for a job. A short phone call, Slack or Zoom away, mentors are armed with advice and support when it comes to the question: ‘Hey, have you ever faced something like this before?’
Christian is clear about the effect of this mentoring:
“Through mock interviews and training, mentors help TAPers understand their own value and their professionalism within the remote job market, and to apply for jobs without underselling themselves’.
Giving back
But the effects of mentoring extend beyond the students and positively impact the mentors as well. The opportunity to give back in a meaningful way is the primary reason mentors choose to guide the professional and passionate students of TAP at the start of their careers.
In this way, the experience of seasoned sales professionals in Europe helps to create job opportunities in the MENA region and make sales a more equitable and diverse place for all of us.
‘We’re always looking for new mentors to join our program’, Christian says, noting the growing number of students applying to the Business Development course and expressing interest in a sales career. TAP invites interested professionals to learn more about becoming a mentor via the link below, and to get in touch to sign up.
