Top 5 tips for writing a Salesforce developer resume

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!