How Tripp went from feeling stuck to landing his first Customer Success job

“How did you land a Customer Success position coming from a completely different career and background?” 

 

 

Prior to the Aspireship course, what was your background in Customer Success?

I had no direct experience with customer success as a job title. However, I held positions that dealt with maintaining strong client relationships and delivering high quality guest experiences in the hospitality and project management fields.

What excited and intrigued you about Customer Success?

I wanted to utilize my skills and experiences from my previous role and transition to the tech world. I have a passion for ensuring people get the full value out of what I am offering and receive a great sense of satisfaction when a customer expresses their appreciation for my efforts. I felt Customer Success fit perfectly with my passion of taking care of others. 

Did you have any challenges or hurdles when making your decision to interview for CS jobs? How did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge was not having any job title on my resume with customer success in it. I felt I was starting off behind other candidates due to that. I ended up researching how to learn the basics of CS and came across Aspireship’s Customer Success Foundations course. Once completing that coursework, I added the certificate to my LinkedIn, tweaked my resume to highlight my client relationship experience, connected with industry experts on LinkedIn and applied until I was given opportunities to interview.

What was the process like switching into your new position?

Like every career change, it was a little intimidating going into something new. However, the support I received from Ana with Aspireship has really helped with my confidence. After being rejected from my first opportunity, we hopped back on a call and adjusted my interview strategy. I had another opportunity come along that went through 5 interviews and was unfortunately still not selected. However, that same company reached back out a little over a month later informing me that they received approval to add another person to the role and offered me the position. It just goes to show if you make a lasting impression that employers will keep you in mind.

What is your motivation and inspiration for this career change?

It is a mix between being able to do something that I am passionate about and look forward to doing everyday and being able to be financially secure at the same time. I thankfully came across a great company that compensates their employees well while also having a great mission behind their product. It was a win-win all around and I am glad I took the leap of faith.

In recommending CS as a new career path for others, what do you feel are the most important skills to develop in the first few months in this field?

Empathy and active listening. Being able to put yourself in the shoes of a customer to understand the positive and negative feedback of your product is crucial. When you show the customer that you truly care about showing them the value of what you have to offer, they will notice that and it will build the relationship stronger. It will make the tough conversations easier since they will know that you have their back.

How were you spending your time prior to finding the course?

I was applying to roles that were similar to my previous one and CS roles blindly. I felt like I was throwing darts and hoping for a bullseye without doing any real leg work. I started losing hope and felt myself slipping back into complacency and accepting the situation I was in.

How did you come across Aspireship?

After applying for some roles, I ended up on tiktok searching “Customer Success Certifications.” I ended up coming across a few profiles promoting Aspireship so I looked into it more. It was the first coursework that was not only affordable but a bang for your buck as well. I enrolled in late October 2022 and received my certification early November. I ended up accepting my new position in February 2023 and starting in March. 

Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?

Since graduating college in 2017, I felt like I was stuck and didn’t really have a thing I was good at. I had great experience overseeing multiple teams at high end hotels and sports stadiums but was overworked and reached complete burnout without ever seeing a substantial increase in pay. Since investing in Aspireship, tweaking my resume and connecting with CS experts on LinkedIn, I am looking at an 80% increase in base pay and 105% increase in overall compensation. To anyone else thinking of making the switch, If I can do it, you surely can too. You will just need to know that it isn’t easy and you will need to put the work in but it will pay off if you keep at it and stay positive. 

 

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