How to get job interviews for Salesforce developer positions

Preface: this post is part of the How to get a Salesforce developer job series.

The easiest way to get job interviews for Salesforce developer positions:
Stop hunting, become the hunted!

Remember, you’re in an industry that has a huge shortage of skilled workers right now. Employers need you a lot more than you need them! And you need to take advantage of that fact.

There’s a huge difference in the application process when an employer reaches out to you. Instead of submitting your resume to a company website and hoping it passes layers of computer and human filters, your resume gets fast-tracked to the “good” pile. And, since recruiters have financial interest in getting you hired, they’re going to do everything they can to help you along the way.

So how do you get recruiters to reach out to you?
You make yourself a presence on their territory: LinkedIn.

A good LinkedIn profile will get your 3 – 5 recruiting emails per day.

Do this…

Your LinkedIn picture is your brand. It’s also the first thing recruiters see when doing searches!

• Smile! Let people know you’re not crazy!
• Look professional! Your attire and hygiene will say “I’m presentable to an executive!”
• Use high definition pictures! A fuzzy picture will give the impression that you’re sloppy.
• Show your certification badges! Let recruiters know you’re committed and successful in the industry – without the need for them to click into your profile.

Don’t do this!

Look at this guy. Just. look. at. this. guy. That’s a face only a mother could love.

Do this…

Tagline: Certified Salesforce.com Developer

Your tagline is the second thing recruiters see about you when sifting through hundreds of potential candidates. It’s also one of the main things a LinkedIn search will scan for in a potential match. Think of this process to be like SEO. Make it easy for yourself to be discovered!

Don’t do this!

Tagline: I.T. Professional and movie enthusiast

This tagline is too generic for a recruiter to understand your core skill set. And while your interests are an important part of your character, they’re not important enough to be a part of your tagline in a professional networking site! Keep that within your profile instead.

Do this…

Join Salesforce groups on LinkedIn! This is one of the prime hunting grounds for recruiters. Joining a Salesforce group opens up permissions for recruiters to contact you, and it also gives you access to the hordes of job postings created within.

Do this…

List your experiences, accomplishments, volunteer work, etc! A well populated profile subtlely tells people that you’re interested in opportunities and at the same time makes your profile favor better in search. If there’s one place you can publicly brag about yourself, it’s your LinkedIn profile!

Don’t do this!

Don’t add so much text to your profile page that it starts to become a chore to read. On the flip side, you don’t want to have an empty page because that says you don’t take your brand seriously.

Finally, do this!

Add me as a friend, I would love to hear from you!

Next post: Top 5 tips for writing a Salesforce developer resume!