Several of my LinkedIn contacts have told me they are in the process of leaving their job, or plan to soon, and start working as a Salesforce.com consultants. I've heard from others who are getting laid off, and want advice on landing another Salesforce.com Administrator position like the one they're leaving.
Here's how I advised them:
(1) Best Job Search Tool -- www.Indeed.com
If you're just looking for a Salesforce.com Administrator job -- not necessarily a consulting job -- use Indeed.com. It's the best job search engine out there, in my experience. Enter your zip code, max driving radius, and "Salesforce.com" as the search keyword, and you're off to the races. If you live in a particularly rural area, you may need to widen that driving radius.
(2) Get Certified
All the industry trade rags are reporting that the value and importance of IT certifications is dropping rapidly. All certification programs are seemingly affected, including application development, programming languages, database, web development, networking, and project management. Despite this, I do believe that Salesforce.com Administrator and/or Developer certification are worth getting. The SaaS industry is comparatively new and the technology is changing rapidly. Certification demonstrates that you're part of its evolution and that your head is in the clouds.
(3) Network, Network, Network
It's not what you know, it's who you know. Social networking is the key to future career options. Visit the Salesforce.com Community website and find a user group in your area. Join, participate, and meet other professionals like you -- some may be hiring. If there isn't a local user group, talk to your Salesforce.com Account Manager about starting one.
While on the Salesforce Community website, check out the message boards. Not just the "Jobs" message board, but all of the message boards. See what other users are talking about and/or struggling with. Can you help them? Do it! Strive to become a "Trusted Contributor" within the community by responding to user questions and issues. You'll earn name recognition and reputation, two powerful assets for career growth.
(4) Updated Your LinkedIn Profile
If its been awhile since you've updated your LinkedIn profile, go clean it up now. While you're there, subscribe to the following LinkedIn User Groups: Salesforce.com, Salesforce Developers / Contractors, Salesforce Consulting Network, and Salesforce Professional Network. Don't just join and lurk ... network, network, network! Participate in the discussions.
(5) Donate Your Expertise
Ask your Salesforce.com Account Manager how you can get involved with the Salesforce.com Foundation. There are a lot of non-profit organizations out there who could use the talents of skilled administrators and developers. You don't even need to be local to the non-profit entity in order to help them. I've done full data migrations, deployment customizations, and custom apps for non-profit organizations scattered all over the country. Afterall, Salesforce is web technology, and we're all on the same internet. Generally, the work is pro-bono, which may be less feasible if you're currently jobless. However, if you can afford to donate a few hours a week, this can be a great way to put your consulting talents to practice. I can tell you from first hand experience, it is incredibly rewarding to donate your services to these organizations.
(6) Learn from the Masters
If you already know a lot about Salesforce.com, but aren't quite sure if you're ready to start your own consulting business, consider learning at the heels of the Masters. Find a consulting organization that is hiring, and submit your resume to join their team. It's not as flexible as working for yourself, but it can be a great way to learn the ropes from mentors and peers. If you follow my previous recommendations, you'll find these Masters out there soon enough -- they blanket the message boards and user groups with offers to help struggling user communities.
Get your head in the clouds, your dream Salesforce.com job is out there!
No comments:
Post a Comment