Third Republic (TR): To start with can you tell us just a little bit about yourself, how you first got into Salesforce, your Trailblazer story?

Christine Marshall (CM): I am an accidental Admin. I bounced around after university, I have an English literature degree which didn’t help me in any way career wise. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I had jobs in account management, sales, support management, project management. But I used to get bored all the time, and I changed jobs really frequently. Then I was working for a heavy machinery dealership, and we had a really old CRM tool. It was terrible, and when we got a new one, it was Salesforce. I was like, this is great, this is the best part of my role. So that’s how I really fell into it.

TR: Would you have said you saw yourself being an Admin at a company, in charge of the whole CRM, looking back, or was this a complete dive into the deep end and just run with it?

CM: Complete dive into the deep end and roll with it. It’s always an accident, but I always take on new things and just assume that I’ll be able to work it out. I think I’m a very proficient Googler. The first time when we first set it up, I wanted a new CRM tool to help me do my existing job better. Working in sales support a lot of that was sales strategy, marketing strategy, analytics, looking at our market share, how could we improve our sales, and I needed a tool to help me do it. I was really passionate about getting a CRM tool, and when they said, ‘Sure, but you have to do it yourself’; find it, set it up, train everyone, I wanted to do that to make my own job better. I think most people will agree but initially, as a non- IT professional, you think ‘I don’t know if I’ll be able to do this’, but once you get into it, it feels really intuitive, and Salesforce makes technology easy for us.

TR: Is there any particular groups or schemes that you got involved with, that really helped your learning and powered you through to champion in this platform?

CM: A real key aspect for me was the Answers community. I don’t think I realised it existed for at least 18 months. I remember when I first started using Salesforce, setting up this platform. I actually tried to print off the entire user guide for Admins, which was hundreds of pages, and I didn’t realise there was any other support. It was 2014, so it was just before the dawn of Trailheads, I didn’t know anyone else that used Salesforce, that looked after Salesforce, so I spent a long time trying to figure out for myself literally using the Salesforce guide.

Then I discovered the Answers community, and that’s when it really took off. It’s an amazing place where you post your question, and you’ll literally get an answer within minutes typically, and you’ll get three or four people that will try and help you. People that will take you through how to solve something step by step, send links to relevant help documents, and also tell you if actually, it’s a known issue, which sometimes it can be, and they can be really hard to find. So the Answers community was really pivotal for my learning.

TR: Was there any other groups or schemes that you got involved with that helped you learn?

CM: Unfortunately, not I think I spent the first few years really teaching myself and using the online resources. That’s part of why I try and get involved in things now, like Salesforce Supermums, because I wasted time. It probably took me longer to learn things because I wasn’t part of any programme, because I was learning on my own and I was making mistakes along the way. It’s great, I think now that we have so many new resources, and programmes are making it far more accessible. You’re getting the benefits of professional teaching, but at a fraction of the cost of what used to happen. It used to be that you could only really go into the Salesforce taught courses which were financially quite prohibitive, very expensive.

TR: It’s fantastic, how you’ve achieved so much in a relatively short-time, especially by self-teaching. Out of this whole journey from start to finish so far, what would you say is your biggest Salesforce achievement?

CM: My role before this one was an all-singing, all-dancing, it was the best Salesforce platform I had ever seen, and it was because we’d integrated everything from start to finish. We had DocuSign, we had Congo, we had SurveyMonkey, and I was suddenly working with an awful lot of third party integrations, which was a big change for me. I was used to just working on SalesCloud. I think I didn’t realise that I was going to have all of those things, when I joined the company. I thought it was just going to be SalesCloud administration again, and to find out that actually I was going to be responsible for a lot more than that was a huge learning curve and a big challenge. Now that I’m in a role where I’m back on just SalesCloud, I miss the challenge of other third party tools, working with integrations. I’d definitely like to get back to that at some point.

TR: In terms of teaching and getting involved with different integrations and products, you’re 4x certified. How did you find those certifications? How did you prepare yourself?

CM: When I got my first full-time Salesforce administration role, I didn’t realise that this company had specified it had to be someone certified. I went for an interview, I went for a second interview, no one ever asked about certifications, and I got this job. It was only months later, when I told them, I passed my Admin certification and they all looked a bit stunned and horrified, because everybody thought I was already certified. Then I wanted to do my Advanced Admin as my second one, but that is such a scary exam. It’s got all these features like territory management and it’s really complicated, it is really hard, if you don’t use it, you don’t set it up. So to avoid doing that exam, I went off and I did the Platform App Builder, and then I still couldn’t face the Advanced Admin, so I went off and did my Sales Cloud. Then I finally took the Advanced Admin, mostly because I had a certification voucher, and it was going to expire. That’s how I ended up doing things. I did the Sales Cloud as a beta exam, and had two weeks where I just had to study and then go for it, that works really well for me, I’ve been planning to do my Service Cloud since December, and it’s booked for July, and I’ll probably push it back to September.

TR: Would you advise people to book certifications to give them that goal to aim for and to hold themselves accountable?

CM: I think it is important to book it and set yourself a date so that you’ve got a goal to work towards. Otherwise, it’s really easy not to make time. My job is really busy, I do quite a lot of community stuff, so I can go; ‘Well, I haven’t got time to study’.

What I really find is that I only need a few weeks, in all seriousness, of studying I always use Focus on Force, I think they’re amazing. I get their study guides; I get their mock exams. Then for the two weeks before the exam, I just do mock exams over and over and over again until I know the whole thing inside and out, and then go and do the exam.

TR: You mentioned that you have a lot of community involvement, and you recently got recognised as an MVP. What do you think, out of all your community efforts and what you do, what do you think added up to being an MVP?

CM: It’s been quite hard to know if it was any one thing that’s contributed to being an MVP, and I’ve been really lucky that quite a few people who nominated me, sent me private messages to let me know that they nominated me and why. I had people nominate me for my work on the Answers community, people that nominated me because they came and saw one of my talks, for example at London World Tour. People that have nominated me based on the blog. I do think it’s a combination of things.

I think MVP is quite a difficult thing to achieve. Not that it should be the aim. But a lot of it is about who you know, and who knows you. If you’re contributing enough that people are aware of what you’re doing, because MVP, not only do you have to be nominated, but it then goes through a round of selection by other MVPs, before then going through a selection by Salesforce, so it’s quite a difficult thing to get through. I’m sure that there are a lot of people doing a lot in the local community, that maybe don’t make it through, because the wider community don’t know who they are. I guess a lot of what we try and do in the Salesforce community is champion other people and recognise other people’s achievements, publicise them for it, to make sure that they also get that recognition.

TR: Would you say that being an MVP is not only about giving back to the community, it’s also nurturing others to potentially be MVP themselves or to be group leaders or other kinds of influential members of the community?

CM: Yeah, absolutely. I would say that a lot of MVPs do this because they want to support other people. They run user groups because they want to provide great content to their users. They want to create an environment where others can meet and network. They put people in touch with recruiters, or with people that are hiring. People that write blogs. A lot of these blogs are not about the individuals, they are about teaching and training other people: tips, tutorials. I think that is what makes an MVP; it’s someone that is a teacher. It’s someone that wants to teach others and help them succeed, usually by making it easier. Being self-taught, being unaware of all the things that were available to me, I want other people joining in now to know; come to this user group and come to this community event, here are all the blogs you need, here are the resources you need. Let me save you time. That’s what my blog is all about, like a one-stop-shop. If I do a tutorial, it will always finish with; here are all the resources that I use, here are all the resources I think you’re going to need so that you don’t have to go off and spend that time, I’ve done that bit for you.

TR: Part of your MVP journey, is tailored around your blog, The Everyday Admin. Can you tell us a bit about your blog?

CM: I’ve always loved writing; I did an English literature degree. Have always used it as part of my job, but it didn’t really occur to me that I would use it as part of my Salesforce role. Then I spoke at my first community conference back in 2018, at Inspire East, and Paul Ginsburg from the Netherlands said to me, ‘Oh, you should write a blog. I think you have a style of talking to people that would translate really well and that people would enjoy.’ I thought, well, why not? I love to write. I love Salesforce. I am a little bit introverted, so I am more comfortable behind the screen. That’s why I got started on the Answers community and not in a live community initially. So I went off, I chose WordPress, which makes it really easy to set up a blog and literally within a week had a blog set up and my first blog post going. It’s been going since October 2018, I’ve done 42 posts, and have had almost 40,000 views.

TR: That is an incredible achievement. What kind of content do you put on your blogs? Is there a specific theme or is it everything Salesforce?

CM: My first blog was about Inspire East, because it was the first ever Inspire East, and my first time talking. It was a community post about the events, about how it was being a first time speaker. It’s such a nice thing, blogging, I really enjoy it and it’s been so beneficial. It’s such a nice way to give back to the community.

I like to keep it very focused. It is a blog aimed for administrators. I’m not a developer, I don’t really know anything about that, so I stick with what I know. There’s the occasional post about me and about events I go to, but for the most part it’s top tips or step-by-step tutorials. It’s always things that I’ve discovered, that someone has told me, or that I found in the course of doing my job, and I’ve thought, I wish I’d known. Or if I found something difficult, I’ve tried to put instructions in layman’s terms so that the next person trying to do it doesn’t have to struggle.

TR: One of the other things that you do to give back is you’re a user group leader. How did you come across becoming the user group leader?

CM: One of the things for me, is that I just keep saying yes to things, and every time I’ve thought, ‘I’m not sure if I could do that’, I just do it anyway. Once I started taking that approach, and getting involved in the community, opportunities started to roll into me so I no longer had to go out and find them and apply for things, they started coming to me and the user group leadership was one of those things. I’d probably been active in the community, in person, going to events, speaking at events for a couple of months, when I got a phone call from someone who’s a key player in the Salesforce area in the southwest. He said to me that one of the leaders had stepped down, and would I be interested in stepping up and becoming a leader? I don’t think that he would have known to speak to me, to ask me, if I hadn’t been so active in the community already. I know that the opportunity only came about because I kept saying yes, I kept putting myself forward for things and being public facing.

TR: What kind of format do you have to your user group events? How do you go about planning them? And what do you try and achieve from them?

CM: We are definitely less frequent than others. We wanted to make it manageable, and one of the issues being in Bristol, in the Southwest, is we have quite a small Salesforce community. So when it comes to sponsors and speakers, it can be quite hard to recruit them and get people that are willing to come to Bristol. We do them every two months, always on Thursday, between six and nine o’clock usually, we try to have two speakers, one sponsor. We keep them reasonably short and snappy, 15 to 20 minute sessions, because I know that mostly what the people come for is the networking. But I think, it’s important that we get more out of it than just networking. I want people to learn and I want people to have access to content that they might not otherwise have. If they can’t go to community events, if I can bring those speakers to us, then nobody misses out. We can all learn something. There are so many solo admins in the southwest and speaking from experience, typically we are unaware of certain clouds, certain features, certain best practice. So the user group is a great chance for us to educate ourselves on things that we just don’t come across in our day jobs.

TR: Given the state of the world at the moment, actual in person events can’t happen at the moment. How are you finding being an MVP, a group leader, a really active member of the community? Are you able to do all that community engagement virtually?

CM: All the blogging is really simple to keep doing from home. I attended the London admin user group virtually, and was so impressed, they did such a fantastic job. I think that’s reassured me that I can do the same thing for Bristol. I’m quite nervous. But a lot of that is because I know that the people come for the networking, and they love to be in the same room, and I don’t know how that’s going to translate as a virtual meeting. I suppose the benefit though of this virtual format is we’re going to be able to open it up to a much wider community. Other people are more than welcome to join if they’re interested in the content.

TR: Working at home, obviously now everything is virtual. Have you got any top tips for working at home, just in general working from home or getting involved with the community from home?

CM: I would say being at home, take the opportunity to get involved in other user groups, to join virtually ones that you can’t go to in person. I think that’s a really great thing to do. We’ve still got our Trailblazer groups, we’ve still got Twitter, we’ve got LinkedIn, where people are very active. It is important to stay socially connected.

In terms of actually working from home, I really like it. I’ve done jobs where I’ve been completely remote all the time, so it hasn’t come as a big change to me. I can really concentrate, which I appreciate. I can put my music on which I really enjoy.

TR: Do you think it is more important now more than ever, with us all being at home to stay connected? And if so, how would you stay connected?

CM: I think it’s important to stay connected, especially with friends and family. I think you cannot underestimate how beneficial a video call is. Using something like Zoom or Google Hangouts, or just FaceTime, it’s much better than phone calls when you can actually see someone’s face, it’s a whole different kind of communication. But I also think you have to be careful not to get quite burnt out. For me, I’m very lucky, a lot of people have made contact, trying to stay in touch, and that can actually be a bit overwhelming and distracting. Especially if you are still working, and other people are working less or they’re furloughed. You might not have the same capacity as they do to respond and be very socially active. So I would say it’s really important to stay connected. Don’t be isolated. But if it’s overwhelming, that’s okay as well because we’re in an unprecedented time where you’ll find that a lot of people, need a lot of social interaction, more so than normal.

TR: What would be your favourite function or feature or part of a release that has either just happened or is coming up?

CM: I am just about to dive into the Summer 20. I have just got my pre-release. org. so I haven’t jumped in there. But something I loved from the Spring release was Einstein opportunity scoring. The functionality has been around for a while, but it wasn’t available to everyone, and now it’s free for most of us, so Enterprise Unlimited. It’s genius. It looks at your opportunities, it scores them based on previous win rates and losses and industries, and it’s just absolutely fascinating.

TR: Is there anything to look out for, coming up that you think is worth a note?

CM: Definitely get your pre-realease org. coming probably quite a bit down the line, not for a few releases, but we’re going to start to see some real changes in the user interface and making that a lot more intuitive. In the future, we should see a very different lightening page, where we can make fields appear and disappear based on other options that we’re choosing. I think it’s going to make a much simpler page layout, a much better user interface for our users.

If you’re a Salesforce professional and would like to join Christine Marshall, in our Q&A series, please get in touch with us today!

The post Christine Marshall, Salesforce Administrator and MVP appeared first on W.I.T. Republic.

For our first event we were joined by two fantastic speakers, both experienced Salesforce professionals: Anna Pappas, Senior Director, Financial Services GTM Lead for Salesforce at Capgemini, and Devin Spence, Solution Architect and Founder of Seelman Consulting.

Partnering With Salesforce

Anna started the event by talking about how your professional journey can get you to one of the greatest modern day tech companies. Providing a bit of background into her career, Anna mentioned how she began as a marketer in the manufacturing industry, then moved to product management in industrial products, and has also worked in banking and sales in consulting.

Throughout her career two things have remained consistent:

• The need to know who the customer is, and everything about them
• The requirement to deliver an excellent customer service

…. Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Anna emphasised how Salesforce goes beyond CRM, to encapsulate an entire platform delivering a true customer 360 experience. Salesforce has understood that businesses from a digital transformation perspective require more than just a front office, they want; integration, analytics, security, IoT and collaboration.

Discussing how Capgemini work within the Salesforce environment, Anna segmented their activities into four sections:

• Innovations; proliferation of technology
• Omni-Channels; exponential growth of channels and business touchpoints
• Technologies; emergence of new online, and ecommerce platforms
• New Business Models; a new wave of Challenger banks, FinTechs and BigTechs

To hear Anna talk in detail about these segments, watch the video of the event here.

Finishing her presentation, Anna highlighted the market opportunity for this industry: the financial services industry is growing at 22% and is the fastest growing industry for Salesforce. 

Fighting Back Against the Transformative Pandemic

The second speaker of the event, Devin Spence, provided a narrative for how to turn the events of the current pandemic into a positive, alongside as a manager how you can support your team members, and finally the impacts of the pandemic as a woman in tech.

Devin spoke about three key aspects that will help you to become an all-star consultant, during the pandemic:

• Being an active listener 
• Transition to a ‘true partner’ 
• Keep the engagement 

As a manager, to effectively support your team members during these uncertain times, Devin emphasised the importance of things other than billable hours, how mental health days should be mandated and to successfully manage a team, you first need to lead by example.

The final topic of Devin’s presentation focused on how to keep your sanity as a woman in the tech industry. With the pandemic creating extra pressures on industry professionals, Devin discussed the following factors as a way to prevent the position of women in tech from both stagmenting and reversing to how it was in the past.

• Flexibility
• Reflect on what’s important and prioritise
• Accountability
• Lend a hand where you can

During the networking session both Anna and Devin spoke about the challenges they have faced throughout their career in the tech industry, and how these can be overcome. It was also emphasised how the position of women in the industry is changing with Anna commenting: “Women today dominate in a lot of these areas, it may not feel like it but I promise you, there’s a lot more women in technology today than there have ever been.” 

As always, we’d like to thank everyone who attended the event as well as our brilliant speakers, this was a great start to the Women In Salesforce series. If you’d like to speak at our next Women In Salesforce event, don’t hesitate to get in touch!

The post Women In Salesforce #1 appeared first on W.I.T. Republic.

Barbara talks to us about how she got to where she is today, the challenges and benefits of implementing Salesforce for non-profit businesses and discusses how data will help towards social change in the future.

Third Republic (TR): How did you begin your career in Salesforce? 

Barbara Christensen (BC): About 10 years ago, I was the Membership Coordinator, IT Manager, and Digital Communications nerd at a conservation non-profit. We had our supporter data siloed across an ungainly sales CRM, ‘95-chic eBase (FileMaker), MS Access, and many spreadsheets.

With an amazing consultant (who is actually now my boss at Percolator Consulting) we transformed all that mess into a Salesforce-centered system, to more fully understand and engage our supporters. That’s when I realized how much I liked working in engagement technology and that Salesforce was a powerful platform for building that.

TR: Could you explain a bit about the journey you took to get to where you are today?

BC: My journey was more of a wander – I haven’t always been techie! My older brother was a budding programmer way back in the 80’s and my dad worked in electronics. To be candid, as a girl, I was actively discouraged from participating in their tinkering, and it worked: I avoided tech for a long time. 

After college, I ended up in Seattle, where the then tiny, Gates Foundation library program was just starting up. Luckily, they took a chance on a clueless 24-year old with good customer service skills, a head for strategy, and a glimmer of technical acumen!

I learned a ton about good support and training there but it hasn’t been all tech work since. I also earned an M.S. in Soils, focusing on contamination (still my lab’s data nerd, of course), and that’s how I ended up in conservation… but the tech always drags you back! 

TR: What advice would you give to those starting out their Salesforce career?

BC: For me, Salesforce is a tool. I would never be happy just building, say, a hammer over and over again, even if it’s the best hammer out there, with an integrated cocktail shaker. However, using that hammer to make the best homeless shelter or accessible playground (or after-work manhattan), that is what fulfils me.

I’d say focus on the mission, goals, and strategy. By solving how to make Salesforce serve those, you will still fully learn the tool, better leverage its power, and hopefully love your work… in the end.

TR: Do you think certifications are a good way to continue career development?

BC: I know lots of people are motivated by certifications, and that’s awesome. They aren’t my main focus. I find experience and solving problems far more valuable. I do hope non-profits, who don’t always have the economic buffer to hire unwisely, look beyond the certification.

It’s important to people who also understand the sector and know how to use technology to meet their mission, manage the demands of a 360-degree system, and help their team succeed. 

TR: How important do you think the Salesforce community and networking is to achieving success in the ecosystem?

BC: I honestly don’t think there is anything more important! The Power of Us Hub is my stomping ground, and I have learned more helping other people with sticky problems than anywhere else.

I love helping on great community projects like NPSP How-To Videos (which is captained by previous #SalesforceQA subject Bill Florio), Office Hours, Amplify, and Community Sprints. While there, I have made some great connections with people I admire and like a whole lot.

TR: After two decades of working with non-profits, what are some of the challenges and benefits you have come across while working with non-profit businesses? 

BC: Non-profits and their funders, on the whole do not invest enough money, staff time, or strategic focus on their tech stack and data, nor do they recognize its deep integration with successful engagement. I think they underestimate the lost potential – in fundraising, campaign influence, program success, and staff growth – of treating engagement technology as an afterthought.

Maybe because of those funding limitations, some of the best innovations also come out of the sector. There are terribly creative, resourceful, and smart NGO folks eeking out way more than most from the tech they do have, and all while doing it to feed people, teach communities, save wildlife, and more. NPSP alone is full of great stuff, even some tech that is community-built, because of their focus on open source. I wouldn’t want to work in any other industry!

TR: What do you enjoy most about the work you do with non-profits?

BC: Celebrating the on-the-ground change our clients achieve is the easy answer, of course. I’m deeply invested in Percolator’s progressive vision. However, the best part of my day-to-day is empowering awesome admins to take a journey much like mine, from being an order taker and tech firefighter to architecting an integrated engagement system born of mission-driven strategy.

I know what it’s like to manage an ever-evolving tech stack as just a small portion of your job description and budget and to struggle to keep up, let alone create real progress. It’s so great to work with them to focus on strategy, be resourceful, and leverage enterprise-level tools (and thinking) to meet their mission. I love our clients’ hardworking admins!

TR: You are passionate about the power of data for social change, could you explain this in more detail?

BC: Real change comes from people, not data. Data just makes it easier to engage enough people so that change becomes inevitable. At Percolator, I’m lucky that I get to think about how data can best mobilize people by focusing on a really great engagement strategy.

When you understand the audiences your organization interacts with and the roles you need them to play to achieve your mission, you can capitalize on existing resources, identify gaps in your campaign or marketing tactics, and break down silos in your organization. That gives you real people power.

TR: How do you see data helping towards social change in the future?

BC: There’s a paradox I don’t think we can ignore as we move into the future of big data. On one side, big corporate data is being used unethically to target vulnerable people, benefit bad actors, and cause real harm. Recent US elections are an object lesson in the iniquity of data used for the wrong purpose.

But, like science, data itself isn’t inherently bad and there is much good it can do if wielded justly. Disciplines like epidemiology, public health, and ecology show us every day how large sets of unbiased data can help us identify and solve important problems. 

Recognising this paradox, however, technologists, scientists, and leaders must constantly engage with their community – all of it, not just the wealthy, white, or powerful portions – to make sure their innovation and use of data doesn’t run roughshod over the most vulnerable and disenfranchised. It’s vital that we remain vigilant, thoughtful, and connected.

TR: Do you have any predictions for the future of Salesforce and where the ecosystem is headed?

BC: I’ll speak to the backend more than customer-facing innovations. I love to see the growing number of declarative tools for admins to build on the platform. Maybe because I came to my current skills via that unexpected route (like many women and other underrepresented people in tech), it’s exciting that you don’t need a computer science degree to accomplish a lot.

I don’t know if it’s a prediction as much as a hope: I’d love to see new tools. training, and engagement for the “admin-eloper.” The move to command-line coding and complicated IDEs like Salesforce DX and Visual Studio, while the simpler tools are sunsetted, has left some of us scrambling (we will miss you, Mavensmate).

There’s a lot an advanced admin can accomplish in that middle ground, with an approachable development app (and wouldn’t a little training AI built-in help new coders a ton?!) I think we are a growing audience, so I hope to see something exciting there.

Finally, do you have any further comments or advice for those new to navigating the ever-changing world of Salesforce?

BC: That one’s easy! Be a learner: admit when you don’t understand and ask for help. Be willing to help others, because you will learn even more by teaching. That’s all pretty easy to do when you get involved in one of the many online or in-person communities in Salesforce-land. As for me, I’ll see you on the Power of Us Hub.

The post Barbara Christensen, Salesforce MVP appeared first on W.I.T. Republic.

Bhavana talks about her interesting career moving from the NASA Control Centre to the Salesforce ecosystem. She also discusses what she believes has contributed to her success in Salesforce and offers her top tips to others navigating a career in the ecosystem.

Third Republic (TR): To kick off, could you tell us a bit about your career, how you got into Salesforce and your journey so far?

Bhavana Singh (BS): In 2012, I managed another on-premise CRM system, and version upgrades were a nightmare. I couldn’t believe that Salesforce does three upgrades per year that happen while you sleep. It sounded fictional and magical! I fell in love with the Salesforce platform and decided to make a career change to be doing something, anything, on the platform. That was in 2012 and I am so happy with my decision as this platform has now enabled me to work for myself doing what I absolutely love.

TR: So, before getting into Salesforce you worked in the NASA control centre. What made you decide to go for a career change and leave NASA for a career in the Salesforce ecosystem?

BS: I really enjoyed working on NASA projects. But unfortunately around that time, NASA was facing budget cuts and projects were being cancelled. So, I shifted focus and my next job was working for a financial company. This is where I eventually came across Salesforce and became truly fascinated by the platform. When I left that job, I started my own consulting firm. I am a registered partner now and am very fortunate to be doing what I love for a living.

TR: Not only are you a Salesforce MVP but you were also awarded the Developer Golden Hoodie in 2018. What do you think has helped you when it comes to achieving these accolades?

BS: If you ask any MVP or a golden hoodie recipient, they will all the same thing – they never set out to win any of these awards. Both of these awards are a recognition and a celebration of individuals who have a passion for learning, the love for community and are always paying it forward.

I am honored to be chosen for both awards. When I was awarded the golden hoodie, so many young women reached out to me as I had inspired them to also further their technical career. I am really happy that I can be that role model and am truly grateful for Salesforce for recognizing and celebrating Women in tech.

You can find out more about MVP program here and about the golden hoodie here.

TR: What are your top tips for others navigating a career in the ecosystem?

BS: Learning: Always be learning. I am personally addicted to learning and trailhead. I joined the 100 days of trailhead last year. I would start my day with one hour of trailhead. That really instilled in me the habit of daily learning. I still follow it, even on weekends. It is addictive and fun.

Networking: If you are not part of your local user groups, you are missing out on a huge resource. Join local user groups as well as the virtual ones. There is a big Ohana presence on twitter. Take an active part in that. There is so much to learn out there and there are so many Ohana members who are generous with their time and willing to share their expertise. Network and promote yourself.

Invest in yourself: I make the best effort to go to a few conferences (Dreamforce and Trailheadx) and as many community events as I can every year. I see the cost as an investment in myself. And it hasn’t disappointed me. I always return from these things with new insights and new energy. I have made many lifelong friends that I have made at these events.

Certifications: Certifications are a way of proving to yourself that you have mastered the concepts related to that part of the platform. Employers and clients are also looking for candidates with certifications.

However, don’t just cram learning to take the test. Only take the test when you have spent sufficient time mastering the concepts by doing them. We are so lucky that we are able to get free developer orgs and are able to test anything we want hands-on. Put this resource to use for yourself. I have a developer org that I have maintained since 2014. Every time I learn a new concept, I try to create a working example there so that I can refer back to it in the future.

Have Fun: If you are not having fun at your job, then you won’t be able to give it the energy and passion it deserves. If you don’t like what you do, change it when you can. If you are not able to change it right away, spend time off hours developing skills that will allow you to change it in the future. Having fun is really key to advancing in your career.

If you do these things, your career can’t help but be elevated

TR: As a woman in tech, what are some of the challenges when it comes to starting a career in the Salesforce ecosystem?

BS: I believe the challenges are similar to women starting a career in any technical ecosystem. Our numbers are small and we sometimes don’t see role models that we can look up to. But I believe things are so much better in the Salesforce ecosystem compared to other places I have worked before. I have so much support provided by other women in tech and allies.

Two years ago at Dreamforce, I found out that there are less than 5% of women CTAs in the world. I feel a movement started around that time. There are so many of us now studying to become CTAs. I believe we will see the number go up in the near future. Salesforce does an excellent job of providing support to women in technology and by being an equality and diversity role model.

If you’re a Salesforce professional and would like to join Bhavana Singh, in our Q&A series, please get in touch with us today!

The post Bhavana Singh, Founder at Three Moons Consulting appeared first on W.I.T. Republic.

In this blog, she talks about her career journey and how she got to where she is today. The challenges she faced making the career change and going back to school to learn how to code. And finally offers her advice to those looking to do the same.

“There’s so much help out there, and a lot of people don’t know it,” says Moody. “Go for it…. This is hard, but you can do it.”

Read Lydia’s full interview here: http://careerreadyindiana.com/blog/career/lydia-moody-starting-over-in-a-tech-career/

The post Starting Over in a Tech Career appeared first on W.I.T. Republic.

Meighan talks to us about her journey from Admin to Architect. She also discusses some of the challenges she’s faced as a woman in the ecosystem and the significance of the community when it comes to improving diversity not just in Salesforce but in the world of tech in general.

Salesforce Republic (SR): You’ve had quite an interesting career in Salesforce going from an Admin to an Architect. Could you talk us through how you got into a career in the Salesforce ecosystem?

Meighan Brodkey (MB): It was a crazy situation really. I found a posting as a customer success manager, applied and then it was love at first login. My role as admin was fantastic, however, I decided it was time to get certified. So, I began working with tech companies in Seattle and this is when I started to learn about coding. This is where I really realised my passion and decided that I wanted to become a master of the platform – an Architect. I then went into consulting, which was a whole new challenge. From here, several summits reached out asking me to work with them as a TA. I’m truly grateful that I found Salesforce all those years ago, it has provided me with a career I’m so proud of, as well as a community of people like no other.

SR: As a woman in tech, what are some of the challenges when it comes to starting a career in the Salesforce ecosystem?

MB: We’re definitely a minority. However, I have noticed that there are more women working in Salesforce than other tech roles. It’s definitely more difficult as a woman working in tech and as you become more technical, you notice that there are fewer and fewer women around. You might face some animosity as you progress up the ranks but as long as you know your stuff and are able to back it up, you’ll find success. Proving yourself can be a challenge but I think that comes with any career. As long as you’re confident in yourself and your abilities, others will have confidence in you too.

SR: What advice do you have for other women looking to succeed in the Salesforce space or the world of tech in general?

MB: Try to figure out what it is that you want and keep pushing for it. It’s also really important for us women to work with each other and lift each other up. In my experience, a large amount of push back and animosity comes from other women in the industry. Because there are so few of us it can be a highly competitive environment, but it’s important that we share our experiences and help each other to succeed.

Networking is key, there are so many events now not just for Salesforce professionals but also for Women working in tech. Regardless of whether you’re interacting with the community online or in person, networking will only ever be beneficial to your career – there’s always someone that can help you.

SR: In your opinion, how important is the Salesforce community when it comes to improving diversity in the ecosystem?

MB: It’s so important! I think we can learn so much from the active ecosystem that we work in. It’s such a rare community. There are so many people willing to share their experiences and knowledge both online and in person. You can learn a lot about what you need directly from your peers. In today’s digital world we can reach each other from across the world, finding the answers to your questions has become so much easier. There are some great community groups from more general Salesforce meetups to specific events such as Women in Tech groups etc. There are always opportunities to share your experiences at community events, for example, I’m a regular speaker at the Seattle Women in Tech meetup.

SR: How do you think businesses and communities can work on improving the numbers of women working in the tech space?

MB: Again, it’s all about working together. I think it’s really important for businesses to work with the next generation of talent. High schools’ students and graduates need to be aware of the career opportunities that Salesforce (and the tech industry in general) offer. It’s a career that can be really tough to break into, especially for women. However, businesses are starting to make waves in terms of equality. I’ve definitely noticed a much more open line of communication when it comes to these issues. Saying that, there’s still some way to go. Community events can be a big help and seeing more and more businesses get involved in these is great.

SR: What are your top tips for others looking to take their career from Salesforce Admin to Technical Architect?

MB: These are my top pieces of advice when taking the journey from Admin to Architect:

1. Experience – this has to be my number one tip. I think it’s important for anyone, in any role to gain experience. Be open-minded and try to get a broad range of experiences in different businesses.
   
2. Talk to your peers. The Salesforce community is abundant with people willing to share their insights and experiences, so take the opportunity to learn from your peers.
   
3. Join your local user group and attend community events. There are 100s of events, meetups and conferences for Salesforce professionals all over the world. These are great places to network and learn more about the ever-evolving ecosystem that we’re working in.
   
4. Never be afraid to ask questions. This one is important. You may think that you know everything there is to know about your specialism, but I can assure you there is always something to learn. Salesforce is always changing. So, whether you’re just starting out or are a veteran of the platform, never be afraid to speak up and ask questions.

SR: In your experience, what are some of the key traits that you need in order to succeed as a Technical Architect?

MB: Be resourceful. There are always situations that will arise that might limit your abilities, whether it’s budget or technology, so being creative in your problem-solving skills is essential. Leadership and communication skills are essential. You have to make sure your team will follow you and that you have the skills to guide them to success. Teamwork is also something that will be essential to your success. You need to be able to listen to your team and work together in order to solve problems. Being knowledgeable. The CTA isn’t an easy qualification to be awarded. You need to have a desire to learn. The more knowledge you have the more successful you’ll be. Never stop learning.

SR: Do you think that Salesforce certifications are essential when it comes to success in Salesforce?

MB: Yes, due to the fact that companies do look at them. However, what I would say is don’t take certifications before you have the knowledge. In my opinion, they’re something look at getting once you’ve done some implementations and got some experience. Experience is so important when it comes to getting certified. Although I definitely do see the value in getting certified and would say it’s essential, if I had to choose between certifications or hands-on experience, I see the experience as more valuable.

SR: In your opinion, how does being involved in Salesforce community groups benefit careers?

MB: In a number of different ways. When you’re starting out (or at any stage in your career really) it helps massively with learning and increasing knowledge. Attending various events will ensure that you’re networking with and meeting new people in your area. You never know who you could meet at an event, it could be your next employer. Getting your name out there will undoubtedly benefit your career. In my opinion, it’s extremely important to participate where you can and give back to the community.

SR: Finally, what’s the best piece of advice that you have received throughout your career in Salesforce?

MB: Follow your passion. But be open-minded, trying things out is super important. Working in different industries, for different companies, on different projects, will provide you with a range of invaluable knowledge. If you’re passionate about something don’t let anyone or anything deter you. Secondly, I would say, make sure you connect with the community. Use the large ecosystem that is at your fingertips. The way I learned about Apex and Visualforce was because of the community. Without becoming involved in the community, I never would have learned a lot of what I know. Don’t just take, help out where you can too, your peers will be really grateful for any help you can give, and it helps keep the circle growing.

If you’re a certified Salesforce professional like Salesforce MVP, Meighan Brodkey, and would like to be involved in our Q&A series, please get in touch with us today!

The post Salesforce MVP, Meighan Brodkey appeared first on W.I.T. Republic.

But what does that mean for those professionals working in the industry?

Of course, it means there are a lot more opportunities, but it also means there’s a lot more noise. With hundreds of jobs being advertised, by numerous businesses and agencies, almost every day. The industry is becoming inundated.

So, how can you cut through the noise and find a job that will benefit your career, whilst capitalising on the industry boom? Well, we think that the answer lies in using a specialist tech recruiter.

Here are our top five reasons why choosing to work with a specialist tech recruiter can help elevate your job search, and your career.

1. Expertise

This one should be pretty obvious, but it’s not spoken about enough. Just as tech professionals spend their career becoming experts in the industry, so do specialist tech recruiters. They simply have to if they want to succeed in helping plug the skills gap in this ever-evolving industry.

As Gemma Blezard, Founder of The Architech Club put it in her Salesforce Q&A with us “Recruiters need to have the same level of commitment to the ecosystem as everyone else. The reason they’re consultants is that they match the solution to the problem. How can they do this if they don’t understand the problem?”.

Specialist recruiters are those that have fully immersed themselves in specific digital technology; they understand the nuances of what a business needs, what you do, and how you might fit into a role. Compare this to a recruiter who doesn’t have this understanding, and it’s plain to see why a specialist consultant is much more capable of matching you with that perfect role.  

2. Personalised search 

This goes hand-in-hand with the above. Having increased expertise in an industry, increases the likelihood of a recruiter being able to present you with a range of job options. All of which will be relevant to your skills, experience and requirements.

Forget being sent Developer roles when you’re in fact an Architect or being offered permanent roles when you’re a contractor. It might sound ridiculous, but with the speed at which the tech industry is evolving, situations like this aren’t unheard of.

The fact is, without expert tech knowledge, recruiters simply can’t match your needs. Specialist consultants understand the nuances of what you do. Therefore, you’re much more likely to find that you are offered relevant roles that are of genuine interest, and that will advance your career.

3. Speed

Specialist tech recruiters understand the speed at which this industry moves. They work to the fast pace of the industry. Knowing they can’t afford to be lax with how they handle their processes.

As a result of this industry understanding, a specialist recruiter will push businesses for feedback, interviews, and for commitment. Fundamentally, your process with an industry expert will be more seamless than if you work with a recruiter with no real appreciation for businesses needs.

4. Communication

There is nothing more frustrating than being approached about a role, expressing interest, and then hearing nothing further. It’s commonplace in the entire talent acquisition industry and probably one of the key irritants for any candidate. The good news? Specialist tech recruiters are working with a much smaller talent pool than generalist recruiters.

As a result of the digital skills gap, and the rising demand for tech professionals, specialist recruiters are placing more emphasis on their candidates simply because they appreciate that they are a scarce resource.

You can guarantee that you’ll be top of their list to get back in touch with as soon as there is any news. Anyone working in the tech industry knows they’re a hot commodity. So, choosing to work with people who appreciate that and pay you that extra bit of attention during your job search, is only going to benefit you.

5. Increased reach

Specialised tech recruiters are rare. As a result, they are known in their industry. Businesses frequently come to them with their hottest jobs, and they have access to clients and companies who might not even be advertising their roles themselves. Choosing to work with a specialist recruiter means you also gain access to these unique opportunities.

You’ll directly benefit from a consultants’ increased reach in the industry. They will be working on jobs they want you to fill. So, you’ll be hearing about these opportunities as soon as they hit the market.

If you want access to the best tech jobs, then a specialised recruiter is the way to go.

Whether you’re looking for a new role, or would just like to keep an eye on the market, getting in touch with a specialist recruiter can provide many career benefits.

If you’d like to find out the benefits of using a specialist recruiter, get in touch today to harness their years of experience in the tech industry and boost your job search!

The post Benefits of Using a Specialist Tech Recruiter appeared first on W.I.T. Republic.

Melissa talks to us about the benefits and challenges of starting a new player in the Salesforce market. She discusses the importance of soft skills, such as communication and business aptitude and reveals her views on certifications.

Salesforce Republic (SR): To kick-off, could you tell us a bit about your background and how you got to where you are today?

Melissa Shepard (MS): My background is in software development. I have a Bachelor’s in Computer Science & Mathematics. When I graduated from college, I became a Java software engineer and later a .NET developer. When the tech bubble burst, I decided to pursue my MBA in information systems. This helped to differentiate me from a typical software engineer. I was then introduced to business systems such as ERP’s, CRM’s and system integration.

While I was working on my MBA, I was hired to help build the IT department of a company. I was responsible for customizing the ERP system using .NET, and also I was given the responsibility of customizing Salesforce without any code since it didn’t really exist yet. I recognized the need to integrate our systems and was given the opportunity to write our integration middleware using .NET & SQL server. This is when I realized that I enjoyed working with business users and automating business processes overwriting software for external use.

SR: Could you explain a little more about what it is that LizzardTech Consulting does and how you differ from other Salesforce consultancies?

MS: We focus on Salesforce architecture and development, involving architectural oversight in all phases of the project. Since I started my career in Salesforce doing architecture and development, I have found that architecture plays such an integral role in the success of projects. It also leads to higher-quality development.

I built my company using a team-based approach, as opposed to the individual contributor model. This is because I believe in synergy and collaboration. All teams always have at least one senior-level/architect level person overseeing all work even if it is just part-time. We aren’t just typical consultants, we’re passionate about what we do. My team is constantly learning and delivering high-quality projects with a high success rate. We also champion Women in Tech and female architects and are involved in many things that relate to these subjects.

SR: What are some of the benefits and challenges of starting a new player in the Salesforce market?

MS: Salesforce is such a huge ecosystem with endless possibilities and opportunities. From being a service and consulting company to developing apps for the AppExchange. There are so many global events such as Salesforce World Tours, TrailheadDX, Dreamforce, as well as all of the community-led events. And let’s not forget all the user group meetings. I myself am the group leader of Manchester NH Women in Tech and regularly speak at other user groups. I love to travel around to events, it gives me the chance to network for my business and spend time with friends across the ecosystem. Salesforce is in high demand right now so there’s a huge market and room for many players.

One of the most challenging aspects is the number of partners that have entered the ecosystem. Gaining the attention of AE’s takes a lot of work and relationship building, not to mention a lot of time. I came into this bootstrapping not taking any funding from any outside sources, which has been a huge challenge.

If I could do it over again I would ensure my personal expenses are minimal so I don’t have to worry about paying my own bills while building a business. It was definitely a challenge with two children in college when I started building up my company. That’s where I’m at for this year, so I can spend more time working on my company as opposed to working for my company. This is the advice that I’ve received from many mentors. You really need to have the time to build and nurture relationships in order to consistently bring in project work and gain new clients.

SR: What advice do you have to those looking to start their Salesforce career journey?

MS: Get as much hands-on experience as you can even if it is an internship type of role or isn’t the highest paying job out there. Certifications are not everything, but they certainly help. This is something that I have done with people and I’ve trained them to bring them along to learn along with myself and other senior people within the company. I am all about constant education, learning and getting certifications. Saying that experience is a huge must as well and something I am willing to work with people to get.

Be open to all possibilities and opportunities and figure out what it is you really like to do along the way. Some people choose the admin path, some choose the developer path, some choose a hybrid, some aspire to be a solution or technical architect. Also, find a cloud or two and features that you really love to work with and become an SME in that area because you never know, you might be speaking about it at Dreamforce one day!

SR: In your opinion, what are some of the key traits that you need in order to succeed in the world of Salesforce?

MS: I think it’s important to have some level of business aptitude, good communication skills, technical ability and willingness to collaborate. Development in the Salesforce world often takes interaction with stakeholders and isn’t just some job that you do in isolation. It is a different kind of development and is much more interactive than sitting and writing code all day. Being a team player and caring about what you produce for the client is very important. Being adaptive and staying on top of the latest features and having a willingness to learn will get you far.

SR: As a 23x Salesforce certified professional, what is your view on certifications when it comes to pursuing a career in Salesforce?

MS: As a 23x certified Salesforce professional, I’m all about certifications as it will help you understand things that you might not get through experience (however, a combination of both is necessary). Hands-on experience will help solidify what you learn through gaining the certifications. It’s a base of knowledge you can build on in order to attain higher levels of expertise. But certifications are not the be-and-end-all – they’re stepping stones on the journey. I only got my first certification in May of 2016. I relied upon my many years in Salesforce until I decided to start building my company. Having a certified professional was a requirement for becoming a Salesforce partner, so I started learning.

I kept going along with my Platform Developer certification, and two years later my Salesforce partnership became in jeopardy. I needed a second consultant certification. In order to get one of the other certifications for me to keep my partnership, I had to go get the admin certification first. A week later, I got my Sales Cloud certification to keep my partnership. After this, I decided to keep going and help us get enough points to become a silver partner. I completed one certification after another, getting my Application and System Architect along the way. We did end up becoming a silver partner in 2018.

SR: How important would you say the Salesforce community is when it comes to career advancement?

MS: It is SO important for career growth and also it is SO much fun! Get involved in the community through your local user group or at community-led events. This is something I didn’t do until very recently and wished I had discovered the community earlier on. I started reaching out once I began preparing for the CTA review board (which is still in-process) and I’ve met some amazing people who’ve become close friends.

There are so many wonderful people who will become life-long friends who you’ll meet at different events around the globe. People are also more than willing to help each other out in so many ways and support each other. I love going to events and catching up with all of my Salesforce colleagues. It’s one of my favorite things about being in this industry and something I was missing out on for years! Get on Twitter and find us all on there. It’s how we all stay in touch when we are not hanging out at events!

SR: What are some of the biggest changes you have seen throughout your time working in the Salesforce ecosystem?

MS: When I started working with Salesforce it was very limited and the whole force.com platform didn’t really exist. I was doing integration with the SOAP API and some customizations could be done with s-controls. Also, Salesforce wasn’t so widely used for a while. I’ve seen it grow exponentially in the past 10 years and the growth of the platform and capabilities is almost mind-boggling. Salesforce is always delivering new features and functionality or adding on by acquiring other companies. It’s constant learning and training for me to understand how we can help our clients leverage Salesforce technology as best as possible.

SR: One of the biggest challenges right now in Salesforce is sourcing and engaging the right talent. How do you tackle this at LizzardTech?

MS: I find people through networking, reaching out to recruiters who I have developed personal relationships with throughout my career, and engaging people that I can trust. I meet a lot of people by going to events and working on projects myself so I always keep in touch with people that I might want to bring on down the road. There are also certain things I look for when determining if someone would fit well within our team.

SR: Finally, what are your suggestions for other businesses trying to close the skills gap?

MS: Find creative ways to find and also keep talent. I know a lot of companies have trouble keeping talent once they become skilled and trained due to other companies offering more attractive compensation and opportunities. Develop a culture where your employees come first, support education and training, support people going to events, support certification. Create a place where people feel valued, can be in charge of their own careers and where people can really be happy and won’t want to leave.

If you’re a certified Salesforce professional and would like to be involved in our Q&A series, please get in touch with us today!

The post Melissa Shepard, President & CEO @ LizzardTech appeared first on W.I.T. Republic.