Salesforce coding lessons for the 99%Finally, Apex tutorials for point-and-click admins! Written by a self-taught Google engineer.
Salesforce coding lessons for the 99%
Preface: this post is part of The Definitive Salesforce Careers Guide series.
Your Salesforce resume is only living up to 10% of its potential!
Try this: save a copy of your current resume. Then, remake the exact same resume using every tip in this post. It won’t be easy. When you’re done, compare the resumes side by side. Night and day!
I know this will work because I’ve read literally thousands of Salesforce resumes and less than 5% of people really get it right. But don’t be too hard on yourself – my resume sucked too until I was put into a position to hire Salesforce professionals. Once you’re on the other side your eyes are opened!
Rule #1: Have at least three Salesforce certifications
In the current era of Salesforce, there are no excuses for having less than three certifications.
There are over 20 different Salesforce certifications and on average I see at least three certifications per resume these days. Ideally, you’d have at least five.
If you need help getting certified or you’re not sure which ones to get, read my Certifications Guide.
P.S. if you have more than 50 Trailhead badges, put that on your resume too.
Rule #2: Specifically add Lightning as a skill
Even though most orgs are still on Salesforce Classic, almost all are planning to migrate to Lightning.
That means you either already know Lightning, or the company will have to train you. Your Lightning experience now has a huge premium and it’s something you must specifically call out.
Rule #3: Put your best material on the top of your resume
Fact: Hiring managers will judge your resume in less than 10 seconds.
It’s unfair but it’s true. The only part of your resume that’s guaranteed to be read is the first sentence.
Have a ton of certifications? Put the certification section first. Went to a great school? Put that up top. Won some interesting awards or worked for a nice brand name company? Straight to the top!
This applies to each subsection too. The very first bullet point for each job should be its best.
Rule #4: For each org you’ve worked on, include the number of users
There are few objective measures in this industry that’ll give recruiters insight on your Salesforce knowledge. Your user count is one of them.
Generally, having experience in Salesforce orgs with more users is a good thing. You get exposed to more Salesforce features and challenges that smaller orgs never see.
For example, larger orgs are more likely to use features like the Translation Workbench. Admins in larger orgs are also more likely to have experience solving performance issues using indexing.
You can still stand out if you don’t have experience in a small org. For example, you can highlight that you’re a solo admin and thus have experience as the decision maker in an org.
Regardless, different companies are looking for people with different backgrounds. Include your user counts to let them know where you stand.
Rule #5: For each org you’ve worked on, tell one interesting fact about it
Companies want to hire people who have solved interesting problems. It’s boring seeing resume after resume where candidates just say they implemented Process Builders for Sales Cloud.
Tell me a story. Make me believe you were part of something special. Was your org featured at Dreamforce? Does it have an abnormally large amount of integrations? Does the CEO log in every day? Did you max out your storage limits?!
These are the tidbits recruiters love to share with their colleagues as they hype up your interview!
Rule #6: Include specific AppExchange app experience
Every org uses AppExchange apps. And if a company sees you have experience with an app they use, it’s a strong indicator of a fit. Plus, it’s one less thing they’d have to train.
Including the names of apps you’ve worked with is an easy way to get free resume brownie points!
Rule #7: Tweak your resume to match the job description
Your resume should be different for each job you’re applying for.
Find the keywords that are used in the job description and make sure to include the exact same keywords in your resume.
Does the job description mention “reports” often? Splatter the word across your resume!
This gives recruiters confidence that you’re a match, and, it especially helps if they’re using technology to bubble up candidates.
Rule #8: Use a lot of numbers to show impact
At least half of your bullet points should have some number in it.
Many resumes say something like this: Improved efficiency by building XYZ
Improve that same bullet by saying this: Improved efficiency by 25% by building XYZ
If you don’t have any metrics around your contributions… are you sure you really improved things?
Regardless, start tracking metrics in all your projects from now on. If you really don’t have any metrics for a past project, estimate it.
Rule #9: Only use @gmail.com email addresses
I’m not biased, this is just how things are. People will assume you’re not up to date with technology.
Rule #10: Keep your resume under one page long
Fact: people will read more words in your resume if it’s less than a page long.
Brains instantly shut off when they see a lot of text. Heck, I’d be surprised if you’ve even read this far.
If you’re applying for a job in the USA and you don’t manage more than 40 people, you absolutely should have a one page resume. Mine certainly is.
Some tips for keeping your resume under one page:
Whew! That’s a lot to take in!
We’re going to analyze some real Salesforce resumes to make sure this all sinks in.
Hope you enjoyed!
Next post: Salesforce resume analysis #1: Mid Career Professional!
A big THANK YOU to everyone who joined!
We’ll have to do it again, there were so many questions we ran out of time!
In case you missed my Career Strategies Talk, check out the full recording.
More info on the talk here.
One more round of applause for Toni V. Martin, who put this talk together and was a wonderful host and contributor!
Until next time,
David
Thank you to Toni V. Martin, multi-Dreamforce speaker and “Consultant Chick” extraordinaire for coming up with this webinar idea!!
How to attend:
Toni, our wonderful host, and I are gonna tackle all the toughest career questions, LIVE, such as:
Then we’ll have a Q&A section where you can ask us your questions… LIVE!
Promise I’ll hold nothing back and give you the straight scoop on how to succeed!
Register now and talk to ya next week!
P.S. and what great timing alongside the Definitive Salesforce Careers Guide!! =P
Preface: this post is part of The Definitive Salesforce Careers Guide series.
Let me start by saying I’m not making any money off my opinion here – it’s unbiased!
That said, I believe 90% of job seekers in this industry will benefit from working with a recruiter. I’m talking about a recruiting agency, not an internal recruiter at the company you’re applying to!
Most people do not work with recruiters. It’s natural to think that if a recruiter gets a commission from placing you (say 20% of your salary), that means they’re theoretically eating budget that could be used towards your salary instead! While this is true to a certain extent, it’s mostly our egos talking.
Reasons why you should work with a recruiter
Recruiters have inside information you’ll never get on your own
A recruiter works very closely with a company, sometimes over many years, to fill job positions.
During this time they’ll learn things such as:
Your recruiter is your wingman in these situations. Good luck finding out all that stuff on your own!
You might make more money when working with a recruiter
This is counter-intuitive, but true. Here’s why:
Perssonally, I absolutely despise salary negotiations and I’d rather leave that to the professionals =)
Recruiters help you scale
A recruiter is not your primary method for applying to jobs.
But your primary method is going to eat up a lot of time and cover only a few jobs. And since there are a ton of Salesforce job openings – it’s likely you just won’t know about a lot of them.
That’s where a recruiter comes in. They’ll help you find the jobs you didn’t know you wanted.
You have nothing to lose
Got second thoughts about working with a recruiter? Walk away!
There’s really no commitment required. I’m totally afraid of commitment (ask my wife) so I love this!
Reasons why you should NOT work with a recruiter
You have a weak resume
Take the time to build a marketable resume before working with a recruiter.
This is especially true if you’re new to the industry or you’re looking for entry level jobs. No recruiter wants to spend time to do this for you when you potentially generate minimal commissions.
Having a strong resume doesn’t mean having a ton of experience. There are a ton of things you can do to improve your resume immediately without changing anything about your work experience.
You know every company you’d ever want to work for
If there’s only a handful of select companies you want to apply to, there’s no need to have a recruiter help you scale. You don’t need to scale!
This is mostly true for people who are already very happy with their jobs, and would only leave for a dream gig. For example, if the only way you’d leave your current job is if you got an offer from Google, ditch the recruiter and apply to Google yourself!
Don’t forget that recruiters can help you find remote jobs too – so don’t count them out if you live in a smaller area!
My personal experience with recruiters
I really wouldn’t be at Google if I didn’t work with a recruiter at some point in my career.
It was a recruiter that helped me find my first real job in the Salesforce industry. It was a job I didn’t deserve, but she did a heck of a job hyping me up as my wingman.
She ended up getting me a salary way beyond what I deserved, and then, somehow she was able to increase it by another $20k. No way would I have been able to negotiate that on my own!
When I applied to Google I did not use a recruiter. It was my dream job and the only job I was applying to at the time, so I didn’t bother using a recruiter. Even though I got the job, I ended up taking a massive pay cut. Maybe I should have used a recruiter!
P.S. I really don’t want to endorse certain recruiters over others, but if you’re curious which recruiter I worked with in this example, it was Hire On-Demand. No they did not pay me to say this!
Hope you enjoyed this post and got some fresh ideas on how to land your next job!
Next post: How to get companies to recruit you!
If you’re ever confused about which tool is right for the job in Salesforce, this course is for you!
Apex code, Process Builder, Workflow Rules, and Flow… each has their pros and cons. These tools are optimized for specific situations – join Don Robins and I to learn when’s the best time to use them!
Dive into the the pros and cons of various “clicks vs code” tools such as Apex, Workflow Rules, and Process Builder as we work together to solve a common business scenario. By the end of this course, you’ll have learned a step-by-step approach to decide whether or not you should use code in your next Salesforce project.
This course will be free only until June 11th 2018, so check it out while you can!
It’s the perfect starting point for the Apex Academy too!
Cya!
David
Preface: this post is part of The Definitive Salesforce Careers Guide series.
When an elephant calf is born, the entire herd helps raise and protect the calf for years to come. There is a mutual altruism within the herd, even among elephants who are not family members.
Elephants in the herd form special bonds with each other that transcend time and distance apart.
In the Salesforce world, it can be scary and difficult applying to jobs just by yourself. Doing this also doesn’t give you the highest chance of success.
The best way to land a Salesforce job is to do this three-pronged approach:
#1: Apply for the jobs you want the most – the best jobs are the ones you want to spend all your time and energy on. You want full control over these applications so you’re going to work on them yourself. This is a process you can absolutely optimize – most of this career series will cover this!
#2: Use a recruiter to help you find the jobs you didn’t know you wanted – in an industry with a massive demand for Salesforce professionals and limited supply, there will be many prime job opportunities that you simply will never know of. Let someone find these for you.
#3: Make yourself easily found so companies can recruit you – many companies are in desperate need to hire someone as quickly as possible! This is especially true in the Salesforce industry, when professionals can easily hop from job to job to maximize their salaries. Take advantage of this!
Don’t worry, we’re going to cover each of these points in depth!
Next post: Should you work with a Salesforce recruiting company?
Preface: this post is part of The Definitive Salesforce Careers Guide series.
There are two ways to apply for jobs in the Salesforce world:
The Turtle Way
In a single mating season, an adult turtle will lay hundreds of eggs in a nest on a beach.
As the swarm of turtles hatch in unison, they instinctively rush to the sea. From this point on, each baby must fend for themselves until adulthood – they will never meet their birth mothers.
It is estimated that only one in one thousand hatchlings will survive until adulthood.
In the job application world, this is the quantity over quality method. A job seeker will apply to as many companies as possible. Even if they have only a 1% chance of getting the job, with enough applications, they’re sure to get at least one job offer.
This is the most common way people apply to jobs, and for good reason: it’s easy and doesn’t take much thought.
The Elephant Way
An adult elephant gives birth to a single calf.
For the next five years, the mother fully commits to raising and loving her one calf. She develops a strong bond with her calf and the two are affectionately in constant contact with each other.
The mother will stop at nothing to protect her calf.
In the job application world, this is the quality over quantity method. Apply to few jobs, but pour your heart and soul into each application.
As much as I love turtles, I strongly recommend the Elephant method. Why?
How do you know which method you’re using? Simple. If you’re applying to more than one job a day, you’re using the Turtle method. Using the Elephant method, each application will take at least a day to complete. Sometimes it takes weeks!
But I guarantee you it’s worth it. With focus, you can increase your chances at getting a specific job by 10X. With super focus, you can increase your chances to nearly 100%!
And everything will improve because of this. Interviewers will like you before you even meet them. Job offers will be higher because HR departments will be impressed with your application. And on your first day of your job, you’ll already have a strong reputation.
I’m sure this sounds unbelievable, which is why I’m dedicating an entire guide to help you learn it.
And don’t worry – we’ll use a few other methods to make sure you have a healthy pipeline of jobs too! More to come!
Next post: An extended look – How to apply for jobs in the Salesforce industry!
A beautifully written story about a woman’s journey back into Salesforce after surviving cancer.
I thought I’d share this dose of wholesomeness and inspiration with you:
Welcome (Back) to Salesforce: One Year Later
Special shout out to Amplify (formerly Girlforce) and the L.A. Women in Tech user group – what you do for the Salesforce community really matters!
God bless you Rachel Park… and welcome back!
I believe Salesforce is the hottest industry you’ll ever experience in your lifetime. 100%.
In fact, with the right preparation, multiple recruiters will be reaching out to you every single day for Salesforce positions paying over $140,000 per year.
This guide has all the lessons I’ve learned throughout the years as I’ve:
I hope you read every word in it!
Getting started:
These are your pre-requisites for applying to jobs in the Salesforce industry!
How to apply for Salesforce jobs:
Not as obvious as you might suspect!
The perfect resume:
Having trouble getting interviews? Your resume is holding you back!
The interview:
A company wants to hire you at this point. Don’t let them down!
Long-term career planning:
The future isn’t guaranteed. Start planning now!
Follow this guide word for word and I promise you you’ll get your dream job! This is the industry where dreams come true =)
When you find success, I hope you’ll share your story with the world and inspires others too.
I’m cheering for you!
David
Send me your resume at sfdc99.mailbag@gmail.com and you could win…
More and more people are asking how to get Salesforce jobs – it’s more important now than ever to tell you all my secrets for landing that dream job!
Perfecting the resume is essential to this, and to properly teach you, I’ll need a few example resumes.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
Hope you can find the courage to send me your resume and potentially change your career path forever!
Thank you in advance!
David
P.S. there are three open Salesforce positions right now at Google!