How to Make Your Next Account Executive Hire

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Last updated at 09-15-2020 18:12:07

Overview

Methodology

More than 16,825 companies advertise 142,582 Account Executive jobs on SimplyHired and its partner sites each year. After analyzing job postings and salary information from these companies, as well as direct job seeker feedback, we’ve compiled a list of insights to show you how to attract and hire your next Account Executive most efficiently.

Hiring Process

In the past quarter, we’ve seen 32,465 job posts from 6,828 employers in the United States. This is a decrease of 12.2% compared to the previous quarter. On average, there are 49 Account Executive job seekers for every active Account Executive job, which shows that it is a job seeker's market.

Writing a Job Description

In the past quarter, Account Executive, Sales Representative, Account Manager, Customer Service Representative, Outside Sales Representative, Inside Sales Representative, Business Development Manager, Administrative Assistant, Sales Manager, and Sales Executive seem to be the most sought after jobs amongst the Account Executive candidates in the United States. This is pretty consistent compared to the same data in the last 6 quarters. If you use one of these currently popular titles in the job description, you'll likely be able to attract a lot more candidates to apply.

For the Account Executive candidates who are actively applying to jobs in this same period, we see that 5.4% of the active Account Executive candidates have less than 3 years of experience, 11.5% have between 3-5 years of experience, 25.0% have 6-10 years of experience, and 58.1% have over 10 years of experience. The average years of experience has shifted from an estimated 11.9 years to 11.9 years. If you're posting a job in today's market, expect candidates with about the same experience level to apply to your job compared to the last 2 quarters.

In the previous quarter, the most popular skills that employers are looking for include sales, communication skills, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Excel, negotiation, Microsoft Powerpoint, Salesforce, time management, Microsoft Word, and account management. Demand for contracts, lead generation, Microsoft Access, social media management, Tableau, English, word processing, construction estimating, and information security has significantly increased. If you are looking for an Account Executive with a similar skill set, be sure to follow industry best practices in skill requirements.

Job posts with salary information received about 2.5 as many applies as those without it. In the past quarter, less than 18.8% of the job posts displayed salary information. By adding salary information to your job posting, you could potentially increase the number of applicants by approximately 150.0%.

Example Account Executive responsibilities

  • Meeting with clients to talk about potential jobs and find out what they need
  • Proposing, preparing, and presenting product presentations to clients, often at trade shows or other industry events
  • Marketing products or services to potential customers, including choosing appropriate tools and channels
  • Measuring the success of marketing activities and making adjustments as needed
  • Managing existing accounts and accounts in the pipeline

Recruiting

Active Recruiting

When reaching out to candidates, it’s best to understand where to look. We’ve identified hiring trends in states as well as companies regularly hiring for Account Executive positions. This should provide a good place to start looking for qualified candidates. According to our data in the last quarter: California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Illinois are the states that have the highest demand for Account Executives. Texas, California, Florida, New York, and Illinois are where most job seekers are searching for Account Executive jobs. If we look at the Account Executive to job ratio, Washington, New York, California, Montana, and Alaska have the lowest number of Account Executive applicants per job. Delaware, Idaho, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Hawaii have the most active Account Executive job seekers per job.

Passive Recruiting

While actively recruiting candidates for your role, you should also post your job to SimplyHired. By posting for free and paying only for the qualified applicants you want, your post will automatically go to a network of job boards to reach millions of qualified candidates. With SimplyHired, it doesn’t end with the post. You can track your applicants throughout the hiring process with our simple and easy to use Applicant Tracking System (ATS).

Review Candidates

In the last quarter, we estimate there are 1,555,384 job seekers interested in Account Executive opportunities in the United States. That’s a 28.6% increase compared to the previous quarter with 1,249,720 active job seekers. Around 5.4% of the active Account Executive candidates have less than 3 years of experience, over 11.5% have between 3-5 years of experience, 25.0% have 6-10 years of experience, and 58.1% have over 10 years of experience. The average experience level of the available Account Executive candidates is 11.9 years. Active candidates in the Account Executive profession most commonly have bachelor's degrees, followed by high school diplomas, associate's degrees, and master's degrees. When setting education requirements for your position, aligning with the industry standard makes it easier to find potential candidates. Application rates indicate that Account Executive candidates are likely experiencing a market in which applicants have less negotiating power. From an employer perspective, you'll have a greater selection of candidates to choose from and may want to invest in automated screening tools.

Interviewing Candidates

Interview Process

*Self-reported data collected from 12,742 Account Executives from 1/1/2020 to 6/30/2020, via online employer reviews for companies including Total Quality Logistics (TQL), Comcast, Yelp, Aramark, DISH, Spectrum, JD Mellberg Financial, T-Mobile, Indeed, and J.D. Mellberg Financial.

After analyzing post-interview data from Account Executive candidates in the last 6 months, we see more than 35.8% of the candidates self-reported being hired within 1 to 2 days. Around 81.9% of the candidates for this job reported being hired within 2 weeks. If your process takes longer than 2 weeks in the recent market, you'll likely lose these candidates to other employers. Most of the Account Executive candidates are expecting a on-site interview, phone call/screening, background check, and group interview. Most employers do not require a problem solving exercises or presentation. If you are trying to hire your next Account Executive quickly, consider simplifying and streamlining the hiring process. As for the interview experience, more than 62.9% of the candidates had a good or great interview experience, and more than 34% of the candidates thought that the interview leaned more towards difficult.

Example Interview Questions

  • What inspires you?
  • What do you like to do in your spare time?
  • How would you promote our company?
  • What do you do to stay focused?
  • What are your goals for this job?

Final Review and Offer

Reference Check

Checking references is a quick and easy way to check for any red flags that didn’t arise to this point in the hiring process. Great insights can be provided by former colleagues and employers.

Crafting an Offer: Salary and Benefits

The average Account Executive salary offered by employers increased for 1 out of 6 consecutive quarters in the United States. In the last quarter, we see a decrease of 6% from $75,855.81 to $71,063.16 compared to the quarter before, which is the biggest decrease in the past 6 quarters. For Account Executive positions, the most common benefits job seekers reported being offered by employers include: healthcare insurance by 81.9%, dental insurance by 74.7%, paid time off by 73.0%, vision insurance by 67.9%, a 401k plan by 62.9%, discounts by 24.5%, and stock options/grants by 16.5%. While still relatively rare, more and more employers now offer flexibility benefits, including mostly remote, fully remote, location variety, flexible working hours, somewhat remote, sabbaticals, paternity leave, and maternity leave, to attract and retain Account Executive candidates to their organization.

Background Check and Drug Test

According to self-reported job seeker feedback, 29.5% of the employers conducted a background check, and 11.4% of the employers conducted a drug test prior to the hiring of their Account Executive candidates.

Onboarding

When you’re ready to hire an Account Executive, SimplyHired is here to help with your next steps. Our Human Resources Information System (HRIS) provides onboarding tools and other essential HR tools. From document signing to time off tracking, our HRIS will help you seamlessly move an Account Executive candidate through the hiring and onboarding process.
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