Sales Development Representative Summer Internship (Hybrid)

KnowBe4; Arlington (VA); Hybrid; USD 25,000 - 39,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonuses based on monthly sales targets

Employee referral bonuses

Tuition reimbursement

Certification reimbursement

Certification completion bonuses

Job summary

KnowBe4 offers a paid internship in Sales Development in the greater Washington DC area with in-office presence in Arlington, VA. Interns will participate in training, mentoring, and real sales activities to learn prospecting, outreach, and CRM management.

The 12-week program runs May 24, 2027 – August 13, 2027, with opportunities to engage in AMA sessions with executives and hands-on experience in KnowBe4’s security awareness platform. Relocation and lodging may be needed for the duration.

Qualifications

• Strong communication and empathy are essential.
• Confident, positive, and adaptable in a dynamic environment.
• Resilient, competitive, and tenacious with a proactive attitude.

Responsibilities

• Assist in prospecting and outreach to potential accounts.
• Support CRM data hygiene and lead qualification activities.
• Participate in training sessions and role-plays to improve sales skills.
• Attend onboarding and development sessions with sales leaders.

Skills

Strong communication

Empathy

Confident

Positive mindset

Resilient

Adaptable

Competitive

Tenacious

Education

Junior or Senior candidate

Degree in Hospitality, Communications, Customer Service, Marketing or Business Management/Administration

Job description

KnowBe4 empowers the modern workforce to make smarter security decisions every day. Trusted by more than 70,000 organizations worldwide, KnowBe4 is the pioneer of digital workforce security, securing both AI agents and humans. The KnowBe4 Platform provides attack simulation and training, collaboration security, and agent security powered by AIDA (Artificial Intelligence Defense Agents) and a proprietary Risk Score. The platform leverages 15-years of behavioral data to combat advanced threats including social engineering, prompt injection, and shadow AI. By securing humans and agents, KnowBe4 leads the industry in workforce trust and defense.

This position is a hybrid role open to candidates in the greater Washington DC area. This position will require the intern to work in our Arlington, VA office 4 days a week (Monday - Thursday).

Dates of Program: May 24th, 2027 - August 13, 2027 (12 weeks)

Application Dates: You should apply as soon as possible but understand that because of our large pool of applicants, the selection process can take a few weeks. We strive to create a diverse group of interns as we feel that it improves the overall internship experience.

Attention: This is a paid internship. Please note that the intern would be responsible for relocation (if needed) and lodging for the duration of the internship.

Internship Program Details: Join the best internship program around! Interns get unique insight into the minds of the CEO and senior executives during Ask Me Anything sessions. Interns will receive company training, onboarding, and professional development workshops to help transition into the workplace. Interns will also engage in team-building activities and awesome socials. For more information on the internship program, visit www.knowbe4.com/careers/internships.

As a Sales Development Representative Intern at KnowBe4, you’ll see business through the lens of the provider of the world's largest integrated new-school security awareness training and simulated phishing platform as you grow your knowledge of KnowBe4’s products, systems, business operations, and sales strategies. The sales development internship program will give aspiring sales professionals exposure to real strategies and techniques applied in a working sales organization. The individuals selected will be exposed to real sales conversations and get hands‑on experience effectively finding, cleaning and prospecting new accounts to become KnowBe4 customers. You will work alongside current SDRs and interface with the Account Executives you will deliver to.

Key Responsibilities:

• Map company structure and verify their information to find workable accounts
• Map and identify appropriate contacts from the workable accounts
• Learn critical elements of prospecting conversations in preparation for qualification calls
• Role‑play to learn conversation best practices, mirroring, labeling, and objection‑handling techniques
• Conduct calls and emails to drive solid demo bookings
• Schedule and hand‑off demo ready lead to quota carrying Sales Representatives
• Learn how to organize, clean, prospect, and maintain our CRM database
• Shadow sales development representatives with prospective customers to grow in your conversation knowledge, understanding and skills
• Listen to demos of sales calls from Account Executives of varying levels of tenure
• Work with cross‑functional sales teams to understand the KnowBe4 business model better

Learning Objectives:

• Get a full understanding of the Sales Roadmap to Success
• Get a solid understanding of the Information Technology industry and the importance of security awareness training within a prospect’s organization
• Learn all critical elements of a solid sales prospecting process
• Learn and complete a successful sales handoff from prospecting efforts
• Apply negotiating skills effectively
• Translate classroom experience into practical application during the internship
• Attend all scheduled professional development events for the intern program
• On‑job training to learn the best business practices related to prospecting and sales
• Time with inspiring sales leaders who are committed to providing ongoing training & mentoring

Training:

• Industry, KnowBe4 and Sales process training at the beginning of the internship
• Learn key terms related to KnowBe4 and cybersecurity
• Role‑playing to learn conversation best practices, mirroring, labeling and objection‑handling techniques
• Learning best practice techniques for calling and emailing prospects
• On‑job training in key sales development steps and strong administrative disciplines
• Learn time management and balance of workload

Minimum Qualifications:

• Strong Communication and Empathy
• Confident and Positive
• Resilient and Adaptable
• Competitiveness and Tenacity

Education:

• Must be a Junior or Senior candidate
• Degree in Hospitality, Communications, Customer Service, Marketing or Business Management/Administration

We offer company-wide bonuses based on monthly sales targets, employee referral bonuses, adoption assistance, tuition reimbursement, certification reimbursement, and certification completion bonuses - all in a modern, high‑tech, and fun work environment. For more details about our benefits in each office location, please visit www.knowbe4.com/careers/benefits.

Note: An applicant assessment and background check may be part of your hiring procedure.

Individuals seeking employment at KnowBe4 are considered without prejudice to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre‑employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please visit www.knowbe4.com/careers/request‑accommodation.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in KnowBe4’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.