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%
Finally after all these years I get to share with you all my wisdom on how to make a successful blog!
Did you know? When I started this blog in 2013…
Even though I had so many career and personality flaws (I still do), more than anything, I wanted to make a difference in the community. And somehow, SFDC99 endured and changed my life.
…And if I can do it, so can you!!
Watch my full presentation to hear all my stories and learn my tips on how you can build a bigger and better blog than mine. I hope blogging can change your life like it has for mine!
Special thanks to the Official Trailblazer Summit organizers for inviting me to speak on this topic!
HOORAY!!!
I am very pleased to say that you can watch the ENTIRE Apex Academy for FREE this weekend!
Register for the free weekend and access all of this for FREE!!
DON’T FORGET TO REGISTER TO GET ACCESS!!
(No credit card required!)
Now if you have A LOT of free time this weekend, it’s the perfect time to cram my 15 week Salesforce Development Curriculum. I know it’s a lot! I just like the idea of maximizing free stuff =)
Speaking of free stuff, I believe it’s time for another free t-shirt giveaway… stay tuned!
David
This podcast is totally for you. Yes you!
No one ever thinks about their brand. But everyone has one – especially on the job.
How you market yourself – your brand – is something I seldom talk about but it’s one of the few things I know pretty well. It’s a skill that can make you absolutely dominate in your career.
That’s why I’m so happy that the Salesforce Way Podcast wanted to interview me just to talk about branding. Check it out to learn how you can multiply your success by building up your brand.
Podcast featuring David Liu of SFDC99: How to Build Your Personal Brand
Intro to David and SFDC99
01:20 – About Me
02:31 – Why did you start SFDC99?
03:20 – What are the most popular pages on SFDC99?
04:32 – Why do you not like your two most popular pages?
05:52 – Looking back at SFDC99’s success
06:07 – What is David Liu’s brand?
07:24 – What do you NOT like about some blogs?
07:55 – Are certifications being abused in the industry?
09:54 – What is the Apex Academy?
11:38 – Apex Academy scholarships
12:10 – How long does it take to make an Apex Academy course?
Why your brand is so important
13:00 – What is the importance of personal branding?
15:51 – A real life story about the power of branding
17:10 – What’s more important: your brand, or your code?
18:29 – Here’s what people think of you David
20:41 – Plateauing as a developer
How to build a personal brand
22:12 – How do you build your personal brand?
24:42 – Why your brand must be in a niche
26:47 – When can you expand your brand niche?
27:33 – What is the niche of the Salesforce Way podcast?
29:20 – What channels should you use to create your brand? (blogging, social media, etc)
30:48 – Why blogging is the best way to create a brand
31:55 – Why blogging is a horrible way to teach
32:22 – Why do you spend so much time making free content?
36:20 – Is it harder to write code or to build a brand?
How your brand impacts your career
37:45 – How your brand can get you a job
39:05 – How I personally interview candidates when they have a blog
39:55 – How SFDC99 changed my career
41:01 – What’s the return on investment of giving back to the Salesforce community?
I hope this talk opens your eyes on the importance of branding!
Special thanks to Xi Xiao, creator of Salesforce Way site, for inviting me to speak on this topic! Salesforce Way teaches advanced Salesforce developer skills through podcasts, videos, and more.
David
David’s note: Jeanette, you are someone who doesn’t let their background define their future. You have broken past so many barriers and you are trailblazing the path for other women to do so as well! Respect!
I don’t have a college degree. I never really knew what I wanted to do, and didn’t want rack up a ton of debt just to be able to say I had a degree. So I’ve been working full time since I graduated high school.
I started at my previous company 15 years ago working in customer service, which was an entry level position. Over the years, I worked my way through different positions before finally moving into a Business Analyst role in IT. I’d always liked my jobs, but looking back, I was never truly passionate about them.
Then my company decided to implement Salesforce. Everything changed. I was one of a few people on the initial team that was formed to start the implementation and as I started to learn about what Salesforce was and what it could do, I became voracious about learning more and more.
I got my Administrator certification in 2016 and then attended Destination Success in 2017 where I earned 5 more certifications during the week. Despite that, or maybe because of that (I attended your breakout session there), I still wanted to learn more.
I decided I wanted to learn how to code. Having no real technical background, and certainly no coding or software development background, the idea terrified me. After hearing your story at Destination Success and reading some articles on your website, I knew I had to try. It was just a matter of how to get started. I was fortunate that at that time, I was working with an amazing consultant (Zayne Turner, who is now Principal Architect Evangelist at Salesforce) who told me about the RAD Women Coding School and encouraged me to look into the program.
So in the Fall of 2017, I applied to be in the next cohort of RAD Women and was lucky enough to get in! Between that program and your website, I finally felt like I could start to understand code and maybe even write some of my own. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to use many of my newfound skills in my current role and found it hard to continue growing and going down the career path I wanted.
Last Summer I ended up leaving that company after more than 14 years and took a position where I felt like I could spread my wings a little more, continue learning, and get to apply my new knowledge in my daily role. Leaving a company I had been with for that long was difficult to do (it’s the comfort factor), but seeing and hearing other people’s stories and advice about maximizing your potential and knowing your worth I knew it was the right thing to do.
Since leaving I have taken part in the pilot for RAD Women Part II, and am very proud to say that I achieved my Platform Developer 1 certification! I’m now 11x certified, have my Application Architect certification, and am now moving up the System Architect side of the pyramid.
If you were to tell “high school graduate me” that I would achieve the career success that I have today, especially without a college degree, I don’t think she would have believed you. I’m thrilled to say that I get to live the reality of that success every day, and I hope others reading this will be inspired to blaze their own career trail as well!
Jeanette Jett
@JeanetteJett
Inspired by this story?
Read more success stories from other SFDC99 students!
Want to tell the world your story too?
Email it to sfdc99.mailbag@gmail.com and your story could be heard around the world!
It was a great honor giving Salesforce career advice to the hardworking people of Oakland!
We talked about all sorts of things such as:
Watch the recording here – it starts at the 12 minute mark!
(The sound quality improves over time – I promise the content is worth it!)
You can also view the full slide deck here.
Special thanks to the Oakland Salesforce Saturday organizers for inviting me and hosting!
Preface: this post is part of The Definitive Salesforce Careers Guide series.
Gone fishin’!Sometimes people ask me to be their mentor, and honestly, it’s a great honor.
But I always say no. I’m a father of two kids – who has time for that?!
Until I realized… I’m unofficially mentoring a lot of people and I just didn’t know it!
It’s true. I’ve been tricked. And honestly, I really enjoy mentoring these folks. And in this day and age, with the whole internet thing and all, getting a complete stranger online to mentor you is all the rage.
Anyway, here’s my guide on getting anyone to be your mentor. I’ve learned from the best:
1. Don’t explicitly ask someone to be your mentor
You gotta be more subtle than that. From the mentor’s perspective, an official mentor position can be so scary. Are you suddenly accountable for career decisions? What if my mentee is nutty?!
Your chances of getting someone to be your mentor will triple if you never actually ask them to do it.
2. Never underestimate the power of flattery
Flattery is a powerful weapon, and no one is immune to it. Go ahead and lather on the praise – tell your potential mentor how impressed you are with their career achievements. Let them know that they’re your hero and you want to be just like them one day.
When you start feeling like you’re overdoing it, throw in one more compliment and call it a day.
3. Make a down payment
You must invest in this relationship if you expect someone to invest in you back. Realistically, you have nothing to give but your time and attention. But that is enough to make a mentor happy.
Your down payment is your story. Introduce yourself and let them know who you are and why you want to succeed. You must demonstrate a purpose, otherwise you’re just another helpless soul.
Don’t ask for anything in your first message. That’s not how down payments work. Just invest.
Hi Angela, My name is David and <insert flattery>. <Insert your story> <Insert your purpose> Just wanted to let you know I want to be just like you one day. Sincerely, David4. Pay your mortgage each month
Your monthly mortgages are your regular updates to your mentor. A simple email that does nothing other than says how your life has been going is gold.
Again this is an investment. You get your return later. The more you invest, the larger your returns.
Hi Angela, Just a quick update on my career. Recently I've been part of a <insert scenario>. I remembered a blog post you once wrote and <insert flattery>. Hope you've been doing well! Sincerely, David5. Withdraw, but sparingly
It’s time. You’ve invested so much into this relationship and it’s time to finally ask for advice.
By now, your mentor is fully invested in your story and they don’t even know it. You’ve asked for nothing from them, and they have no reason to believe you’re just a stranger looking for shortcuts.
It’s a good time to ask a very specific career question. Generic questions get generic useless answers.
Hi Angela, I hope you don't mind if I ask you for some advice. I have two job offers and I don't know which is best for me. <Insert specifics of offer #1> <Insert specifics of offer #2> I hope you can find a moment to help, <insert flattery>! Sincerely, DavidAt this point no human being with even a sliver of a soul can deny helping you.
Congratulations, you’ve found yourself a new mentor =)
David
Salesforce Saturday Oakland, see ya there!
July 27, 2019
If you live near Oakland California, I hope to see you at Salesforce Saturday next week!
I am very honored to be invited to speak to my local community! This event is extra special for me because I grew up in the Bay Area and my wife was actually raised in Oakland =)
One of the craziest things I’ll ever talk about, is while Salesforce developers already make ~$150,000 on average in the US, in Oakland, they can make $300,000 or more! This is gonna be fun.
Event info:
- Register here
- Saturday, August 3, 2019, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM PDT (add to calendar)
- 555 City Center – The Port Workspaces, 5th Floor, Oakland, CA 94607
Session info:
Which Salesforce career path is right for you? In this session, we evaluate the pros and cons of the core Salesforce career paths: admin, developer, and architect. Every aspect is examined including pay, short and long term job prospects, end games, and more. Then, we’ll give you the best resources for starting down your chosen path!
Special thanks:
Shout-out to Sybil Carter-Love and Cynthia Hill for leading the Oakland Salesforce Saturday chapter!Hope to see you there!!
DavidP.S. Very sorry about the scheduling mishap last round, totally my fault!!!
Free Salesforce admin virtual conference!
July 22, 2019
There’s a FREE Salesforce Business Analyst Virtual Summit going on next week!
This online conference is for you if you’re an admin who wants to level up and become a business analyst. This is the natural admin career path I outline in my Salesforce Career Personality Test!
If I was on the admin track, I’d definitely attend these sessions:
- Getting executive buy-in
- Becoming a Salesforce consultant
- Saying no by saying yes
Check out the full schedule to see what interests you =)
Oh ya – I’ll be doing a session on Developing Persistence, so you should probably check that out too!!
“How does someone with ZERO development skills end up as a Salesforce Technical Architect for a multi-billion dollar org at Google? You’ll find out when David Liu takes you on the mental journey he mastered from transitioning from a marketing career into success as a self-taught Salesforce developer. Not only is David’s story inspiring, but his mission to enable aspiring Salesforce professionals globally to walk in his footsteps. Hear how his lows (10 rejections from Google) and highs (Salesforce Developer Golden Hoodie winner) have shaped his mindset and outlook for his future, and how you can channel the same persistence into your own success.”
Cheers to Toni V. Martin, my Salesforce Careers Webinar partner in crime, for working so hard to get this out for free! If you like what she’s doing you can support her by buying an all access pass!
Podcast: My Technical Architect Journey!
July 17, 2019
I’m very honored to be interviewed by Ladies Be Architects about my Technical Architect journey!
One thing I’ve always loved about podcasts is that you can get really in depth about a topic. And the brilliant Ladies Be Architects asked me just the right questions to get all the juicy, candid details about my career. I hope you enjoy it!
Listen to the full 40 minute podcast:
- 00:00 – Introduction
- 03:25 – Golden Hoodie
- 05:15 – My Story
- 07:45 – What do you do a Google?
- 09:30 – What’s it like being an architect at Google?
- 11:25 – Why are you pursuing the CTA?
- 15:28 – What’s next in your CTA journey?
- 20:25 – What was your experience with the CTA designer exams?
- 23:10 – How do you balance your time at work, life, etc?
- 25:50 – Advice for aspiring architects
- 30:15 – How has the architect journey changed your career?
- 34:30 – What are your thoughts about diversity in tech?
One more big shout out to Ladies Be Architects movement, we are so lucky to have them!!
David
P.S. if you are wondering, yes I am actively making them a special limited edition t-shirt!
What to do if you’re a bad developer
July 7, 2019
The Great Aaron Franklin, Legendary BBQ Pitmaster.I’ve come to the realization that I’m bad at BBQ.
I’ve watched and rewatched hours of BBQ tutorials, read countless recipes, and troubleshooted across the entire end of the internet and back… but BBQ has just not come naturally to me.
Recently, after burning yet another set of burgers, my wife caught me staring lifelessly to the yard. BBQ had broken me.
But there was hope!
I remembered Aaron Franklin, the world’s greatest BBQ pitmaster, who famously started off by making horrible BBQ. I thought, “If he became a great BBQ pitmaster, maybe I can too!”
Then it really hit me. I used to be a really, really bad developer too.
After I completed multiple programming classes, read Head First Java, and finished a book on Salesforce development, I finally mustered up the courage to write my first production trigger.
The trigger was just 5 lines of code and it was virtually an exact copy of a trigger in the book.
Embarrassingly, it took me 8 hours to write this trigger:
trigger DefaultOwner on Account (before insert) { for (Account acc : Trigger.new) {acc.OwnerId = '005i0000000OAO9AAO';} }That’s 1 minute to copy/paste most of it, 1 hour to write the highlighted line, and 7 hours to debug it.
My first trigger was horrible.
…Just like my first BBQ.
…Just like Aaron Franklin’s first BBQ.
But I stuck with it. And I’m sharing this story with you here today because I did. None of my career would have happened otherwise – SFDC99, Google, MVP, Hoodie, etc.
It makes you wonder – what other great careers never happened because people gave up too early?!
