Lacking Salesforce experience? Get building!

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We’re often asked how to best approach securing your first Salesforce opportunity prior to having the experience of using it hands-on in a role. “Should I pass as many Salesforce certifications as I can? Should I apply to many jobs, or become a Ranger?”

Our advice is that there’s a way, not only to increase your own confidence but also to impress a hiring manager by applying the skills that you’ve learnt, through creating your own Salesforce portfolio of work.

We’d encourage aspiring and also experienced, Salesforce professionals, to build their own Salesforce projects as part of a larger portfolio. Although a lot of people are eager to get into the Salesforce space, we do find that it’s actually quite rare for people to build in their own time. Therefore a great way of making you stand out.

Creating an experience to demonstrate your abilities shows that:

– You are committed and have a passion for Salesforce

– That you think outside the box and are a creative person who can apply these traits in a role

– That you are capable of solving business challenges with the Salesforce platform

What should I build?

The best part is, that you’re only limited to your own imagination as to the use case that you choose, and so why not make it something you’re passionate about in another area of your life? Or perhaps something topical? For example, we recently saw one built around tracking COVID-19 cases across Australia. It was engaging and attention grabbing.

How do I use what I’ve built?

There are so many ways that you can leverage your hard work. You could link out to it in your resume so that hiring managers can see that you’ve gone the extra mile when you’re submitting a job application. If you’ve secured yourself an interview, you could create a guest account for the interviewer to walk them through a demo. You’ll give yourself a stronger starting point from which to approach answering questions with a use case to talk to.
You could blog about what you’ve built, create social posts, the list is endless…

It’s not just us….

Throughout our Talent Hub Talk podcast episodes, the resounding consensus is that if you’re lacking in previous hands-on experience, creating a project to demonstrate your abilities will impress a hiring manager.

“Because a lot of the trails are not just theory based, they’re asking you to roll up your sleeves and build something. If you can evidence that, or talk to that in an interview, then immediately you’re showing a prospective employer about how you’ve taken theory and you’ve put it hands on before you’ve had the job..” Dan McBeth, Head of Salesforce, Davanti Consulting

“I relate it to having stories to tell…if I were interviewing for a job, I want to have stories that I can tell, you’re a storyteller as an interviewee and so when people ask “tell me about something you’ve built on the platform”, you want to have something to say. Making your own experience, building apps, building out a portfolio and then not just attaining the Admin Cert but then doing the “now what?” Mike Wheeler, MikeWheelerMediaPlus.com

We’d love to see what you build and so feel free to share with us, and if you post online, make sure to tag us so that we can appreciate your handy work..

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