“What About The Market?” A detailed look ahead into the Growth Tech Job Market for 2023

This seems to be the consistent question coming from everyone we speak to at Zeren when it comes to career opportunities. Although it is always good to have up-to-date knowledge of current market trends, we should all remember that investment-backed businesses in growth mode usually do not have the luxury to be market driven. These businesses have deadlines to hit, additional rounds of funding needed and above all, need to identify the very best talent to get them through the next stages of growth. I try to remind myself and my team on a regular basis that we can only control what is in front of us at that particular time and that true change makers always have a place in the market!

I’ve gathered our industry experts in our key functional areas and share their thoughts on two critical questions for 2023:

1. What does the demand for talent look like in your key functional area and what do you expect to change in 2023?

2. What advice do you have for those looking to advance their career opportunities in 2023?

Rob Samet, Partner GTM

1. On the sales front in B2B Software, whether its leadership, management to individual contributors, demand for 2023 will remain strong for top producers. My advice is to follow the deal flow and dry powder. There will be specific “hot” sectors of continued growth and innovation in 2023 from AI to cyber. Stick to the basics – look at the management team, investors, value prop/differentiators, direct competitors, market share, revenue and paying customers, direct and indirect/channel strategy, overall growth plans and projections, and as always, look under the hood as best you can on the actual technology.

2. Tech companies look at individual contributors’ results in achieving their sales quotas. For leadership, it is typically taking a company from a certain level to the next tier (i.e. hockey stick growth from $10M to over $50M+ ARR). Always highlight your successes and personal track records in regards to growth.

Kyle Elliott, Senior Consultant Sales & Customer Success

1. As we head into a changing market for 2023, I believe the demand for customer success will be higher than ever. As our clients head into the “current customers are king” mindset, it will be imperative to have exceptional customer success talent within their organization to help with retention, client experience, and overall growth within an existing account whether corporate or enterprise level.

2. The demand for talent on the sales side, will be more on hiring a functional sales leader within the company. Companies who are seeking market/territory expansion need to hire a sales leader to get them off the ground in 2023 to then build for 2024 and beyond.

Monika Dowal, Partner and Head of Technology

1. With the slowed-down VC investments in H2 2022, we have seen a decline in tech positions across engineering, data and product. The trend of “almost” irresponsible funding had to come to an end at some point, and what we have now is the market that is “righting” itself in the same way it did after the dot com boom and the mortgage bubble. The silver lining for prospective job seekers is the ability to see clearly which companies are a strong bet with the right foundations, and which ones are operating on a pipe dream and quickly diminishing left-over funds.

2. Human inclination is to ride the wave and see what happens. I can say that strongest companies, teams, products, and characters are built during the uncertain times. Exceptional candidates should not shy away from making moves; instead, take chances when the market has already eliminated poor bets.

As you can see, market conditions are exactly that, conditions. One true way to navigate all conditions is to have true visibility of your highest value points. This will lead you to your strengths and allow you to be seen as a true change maker. That is exactly what we do here at Zeren, we enable change makers to thrive in the best investment-backed growth technology companies.

Here’s to a prosperous 2023, see you out there!