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Top 5 tips for writing a Salesforce developer resume

December 23, 2014

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

Hiring Salesforce teams are spending an unbelievable amount of time looking through resumes.

Mix the stratospheric demand with a shrunken supply of talent, and you have yourself a heartbroken, demoralized recruiter. Don’t even get me started on the interview process!

I think you’ll be surprised to the difference a few tweaks will make in your success rates. These are suggestions I give to my peers, and they always seem to find their dream job shortly afterwards =)

1. Use numbers everywhere on your resume

A resume bullet without a number associated with it is like when someone says they want to hang out with you but never schedules an actual time. Or when someone implies they’re sorry but don’t actually say the words. The reader/listener is left wanting something more meaningful!

Most people will write a bullet like this:
- Developed Apex classes, triggers, and Visualforce pages

They should have written it like this:
- Authored 20 Apex classes, 12 triggers, and 15 Visualforce pages

The difference between the two is that the first could mean anywhere from 1 Apex class to 1,000. Recruiters can’t interview everyone, so in many cases they’ll assume the applicant is less experienced. Plus, if the applicant wrote a ton of Apex classes, they’d proudly write the number!

Here's another example:
- Salesforce administrator and developer

A better way to say this:
- Salesforce administrator and developer for 200 users
across 5 different countries

Numbers are also important because company goals are always metric based, so you’ll fit right in!

2. Put your best information at the top

Most people when reading through news articles, for example, will skim the page and read only the first sentence of each paragraph. It’s the same story when people look at resumes.

The first bullet of each section is the most important, so make it count! If it’s a strong bullet, the reader will want to read the next one. If it’s a weak bullet, they’ll probably skip to the next section.

I learned about this technique when I was a professional email spammer. The only purpose of the subject line is to get the reader to open the email. The only purpose of the first sentence is to get the reader to read the next, and so on and so forth!

Just image the first bullet to be equal to meeting your boyfriend/girlfriend’s parents for the first time!

3. Keep your resume under 1 page!

I know you’re tempted to make your resume larger but this is one rule you absolutely must stick to.

How can you write simple, efficient code if you can’t write a simple, effective resume? There’s usually a few key bullets on a resume and the rest is minor fluff. Having a longer resume just makes it harder for people to find your key bullets.

Note: In some non-US cultures it’s common for resumes to be longer. In these cases, make two versions, one for US jobs and one for non-US jobs.

4. Don’t lie!

Make your mom (and teacher) proud!

5. Your online presence is your resume!

The internet can be your greatest friend or biggest weakness!

Recruiters will Google your name to see what comes up. Having no online presence can be just as big a red flag as having a strange one. Especially in the Salesforce community, where most people have asked/answered/upvoted questions/ideas on the official forums.

Google your name and see what comes up!

Next post: Common interview questions for Salesforce developers!

30 Comments
Yeshi
May 8, 2017 @ 12:30 pm

Hi David, Months ago on this site I promised to study and take Dev 401. But when I thought I was ready for Dev 401 , Salesforce changed the certification paths and there is no more Dev 401. I prepared and took Salesforce App Builder exam and passed recently. I am Admin 201 certified (with 4 years work experience) and App Builder certified , I want to apply for Developer job but when I see job descriptions , all seems to need Apex and trigger . I am confused on what kind of jobs to look for Admin or developer ? I am learning Apex and triggers and more to take Platform I exam but in the mean time I need to find job my company is shutting down. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

Reply
    David Liu
    May 8, 2017 @ 10:22 pm

    Hey Yeshi!

    There is a mismatch between certifications and job descriptions =)

    Generally, “Salesforce Developer” jobs require you to know how to code. Salesforce Administrator jobs don’t.

    Unless you know how to write Salesforce triggers well (Platform Dev I-ish level), then you’re most likely on the admin side.

    Keep learning code and you’ll be a dev in no time though =)

    David

    Reply
jesheanth
January 25, 2017 @ 8:10 pm

Hii David … am looking salesforce dev resumes … requesting you to send some samples

Reply
Praveen Kumar Y
January 1, 2017 @ 9:23 pm

Hi David, Can i get a sample resume for Salesforce Admin/Dev ?

Reply
sai charan
October 12, 2016 @ 11:37 pm

please send my any sample resume…

cherry.kcp@gmail.com

thanks in advance

Reply
shya kumar
February 16, 2016 @ 1:32 am

Hi ,I am New to Salesforce i want resume please help me @ shyam.kr1234@gmail.com

Reply
Aamir Khan
October 5, 2015 @ 9:37 pm

Thanks David.

Reply
zaki ulla khan
September 18, 2015 @ 10:32 am

Hi david…

pls go through my Resume, and plz lemme know if any updation is required……

Reply
    David Liu
    September 20, 2015 @ 12:26 am

    I get a TON of resumes in the mail – I should really start a business reviewing them =) Sorry!

    Reply
      Anonymous
      December 11, 2015 @ 8:16 am

      Here I am scouring web and communities looking for just that. Someone I can pay to help me build my SFDC resume….?

      Reply
        David Liu
        December 12, 2015 @ 10:30 am

        I should start this as a side business =)

        Don’t know of any out there yet!

        Reply
          Anonymous
          December 13, 2015 @ 4:27 pm

          just get a profile listed on upwork.com I just hired someone there to do this for me for $150. Would have much preferred to pay someone with some SFDC acumen ;-) BTW,, since you offered, would you give me one page resume a look over? I’ll slide you a little appreciation. ;-)

          Reply
            David Liu
            December 13, 2015 @ 8:10 pm

            Tell you what Anon, send me your before and after upwork resume and I’ll tell you where I think it could be improved.

            Curious to see what changes that service provides!

            Reply
              Virginia
              December 13, 2015 @ 8:13 pm

              Please advise way I can send privately. :) or reach out to me at gmail | justcreeky

              Reply
      Harshal Patil
      July 15, 2016 @ 3:24 am

      Hi David, I am new to Salesforce . I want resume so please forward me sample resume. to patilharshal162@gmail.com

      Thanks in advance

      Reply
mintu
August 8, 2015 @ 10:39 pm

good post dear

Reply
Sudha
June 23, 2015 @ 7:45 am

David Can I post my resume?

Reply
Karthick
March 5, 2015 @ 6:47 pm

Hi david,

I am new to salesforce and I want to know how to prepare it for one page.
Can you give me the sample resume with one as you mentioned.
Could you please share your mail id ..

Thanks in advance
Karthick

Reply
    David Liu
    March 7, 2015 @ 12:50 am

    Hhhmmm too paranoid to share my resume and can’t share someone else’s =) I need to create a fake one!

    How about you post your resume here and I’ll critique it? =)

    David

    Reply
      Karthick
      March 8, 2015 @ 5:16 am

      Hi David,
      Could you please check my resume on below link

      http://www.slideshare.net/karthickraja545/karthickcv-45570331

      Reply
Pritam Shekhawat
January 9, 2015 @ 1:36 am

hello David ,
Thanks for your such a nice post. i want to know how i can make my resume in one page?? if you want to check my resume then you can check my resume on my Likendin profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/pritamshekhawat

Reply
    David Liu
    January 12, 2015 @ 6:22 pm

    Take out every bullet that doesn’t have a number associated with it and start from there =)

    Reply
Recruiting LikeaBoss (@RecruitingLAB)
December 29, 2014 @ 11:34 am

In case anyone is active. I am looking for an Apex/Force.com developer for Sungevity in Oakland. Message me if interested. kokoronkwo@sungevity.com

Reply
    David Liu
    December 29, 2014 @ 12:48 pm

    Good luck on your search and I’d love to know if you hired someone from this site!

    Reply
parvez
December 28, 2014 @ 9:02 pm

Hi David, Can I add my certification logo`s in my Resume?

Reply
    David Liu
    December 29, 2014 @ 12:51 pm

    You sure can – especially if you’re applying to smaller companies! Just remember to keep it under 1 page.

    Larger companies run your resume through a computer first, so you want to avoid anything that might cause errors.

    Reply
Brett Barlow
December 26, 2014 @ 9:18 am

I couldn’t agree more with the first point here. It’s so difficult for anyone to know how good someone is without seeing these metrics.

When I decide to interview someone, one of the first things I do on that call is ask questions to get these numbers!

Reply
Vyom
December 24, 2014 @ 7:39 am

I hope by Googling your name perhaps. you mean looking at “Internet portfolio”. Not everyone’s name is as unique are yours Liu :P
Cool tips there.

Reply
sfdc.saddam@gmail.com
December 24, 2014 @ 2:35 am

Thank you David! Very useful tips…

What am I suppose to mention in 1 page resume? Here is what I’ve mentioned in my resume-professional summary, skills, education, experience…You should put your 1 page resume as an example.

Reply
    David Liu
    December 24, 2014 @ 2:55 pm

    If you post your resume here I can help improve it =)

    You can take out the summary part of your resume to shorten it!

    Reply

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