We recently caught up with Kaitlyn Chandler to ask about her experience since joining the inside sales team at Bandalier, and the transition from being a SDR to her current role as Jr HR Lead.

What was your educational and work background prior to joining Bandalier?
I have my Bachelor of Arts in English. After I graduated from college, I lived in Prague for a little over a year. I taught English there, and worked in customer service at a startup company. When I moved back to the US, I gained some inbound sales experience working as a sales coordinator for a hotel. The pandemic really turned things upside down in the hospitality industry, and I was looking for a job with more stability. That’s when I came to Bandalier in February of 2021.

What made you choose Bandalier specifically?
I liked that it was a startup. I enjoyed the culture of the other startup company I worked at, and I was excited when I read about Kaizen on Bandalier’s blog. I could tell that everyone would be encouraged to share their ideas and have the ability to make a difference as the company grows. It seemed like there would be a lot of growth opportunities.

What was it like onboarding at a fully remote company?
I wasn’t sure what it would be like doing fully remote training, but it worked out really well. Everyone was so supportive, and Bandalier University is a great and comprehensive training program. It helps that you shadow other sales reps before getting on the phones yourself. Overall, I felt like I was set up for success and everyone in the company was willing to help when I had questions. 

​This was your first B2B sales job, so how would you describe what your day to day looked like to somebody else who may not have done this type of work before?
It was a lot of cold outreach, so making calls and sending emails. I did a lot with LinkedIn with my client too. I also did a fair amount of internal training with workshops and call reviews, and I had daily stand-up meetings with the team to catch up. Then, once a week, I had a meeting with my client to review how things were going. It’s good to be able to catch up with people throughout the day since we do work from home, and it helps to stay sharp and continuously improve on sales skills.

While you were an SDR at Bandalier, your account was BRD, in a few sentences what is BRD?
BRD is one of the largest wallet apps to trade, buy, and sell cryptocurrency. As an SDR, I helped to sell their enterprise product, Blockset, to other companies that worked with cryptocurrency who were looking to accelerate their growth. 

This past summer, you transitioned from the inside sales team into an HR position at Bandalier, what made you want to break into HR?
I enjoy administrative work, and I also knew it would be a challenge for me. I would be taking on a lot of things that were brand new for me, but I was excited to get the experience. I was also excited about the opportunity to give my feedback and make a material difference with Bandalier’s benefits and other internal systems.

In a few sentences, tell us about the type of work you do?
I do a lot of ‘behind the scenes’ work to support the company, like processing payroll, overseeing our benefits, state tax registrations, that kind of thing. I also assist with new hire onboarding and orientation, and sometimes other projects for our operations team.

What has been the most rewarding and most challenging aspects of being in your first HR role?
I love being in HR. It is rewarding to help the team and make changes that could make an impact for the company. I really enjoyed being a part of selecting our new benefits package, for example, and knowing that it could really make a difference. I would say a challenge has been just trying to learn everything. It has been so interesting since we’ve grown pretty quickly in the last year. We have team members in over 30 states now, and each state does things a little differently. Luckily, I’ve had a lot of help and resources along the way. I’m grateful for all the encouragement I’ve had and all I have been able to learn. 

How have you grown while at Bandalier?
I have been able to learn so much, both on the sales and HR sides of the business, and I am so grateful for that experience for my professional development. Our kaizen culture has also given me more confidence in my own opinions and abilities. We are always encouraged to share our thoughts on what we think Bandalier could be doing better.

Who do you think Bandalier would be a good fit for?
Bandalier is a good fit for anyone who wants to learn something new and is looking to take the next step in their career. It’s a great opportunity to learn new skills and you will be encouraged here. If you don’t have prior sales experience, don’t let that discourage you. If you like talking to people, are excited about new things and are willing to work hard, then you will do well here.