Salesforce Certified… What Next?
Are you Salesforce Certified or getting close to it? Have you ever wondered what comes next, like how do I turn this credential into a paycheck? We’re going to explain exactly how to land your first Salesforce job in this article and exactly where your certification fits into the puzzle.
We will cover the difference between being a “Certified” & “Qualified” Salesforce professional.
As well as walking you through exactly how to make sure you are truly ready to be in the top 1% of Salesforce Entry Level talent, ensuring that when companies are hiring, you’re getting interviews and offers consistently!
Let’s get started!
Certified vs Qualified
Salesforce Certifications are an important part of showcasing your abilities in the Salesforce ecosystem, however there is a big difference between being “Certified” and being “Qualified” as a Salesforce professional.
A Salesforce certification showcases your commitment to becoming a Salesforce professional and tells employers that you are focused on this career path. However 70% of Salesforce job applicants are certified, so this is a necessary step, but not a differentiating factor when it comes to getting the attention of employers.
Now you might be thinking WAIT WHAT! I thought I was getting a certification so that I can land a job!!! This is still true, if you don’t have a certification you are instantly part of the 30% who are not certified and that’s one of the easiest ways to immediately be disqualified for interviews. So keep your head up, your certification is 100% necessary to landing a job, it’s just not everything you need.
The beautiful thing is that there is a clear path to success, we know exactly what steps are needed to break into Salesforce jobs! Let’s start with your Professional Brand!
Professional Branding
Your brand is how you are seen as a professional in the workforce. You know how companies brand themselves to be the best product, different from the competition, the answer to your problems? That’s what your professional brand does for you! It quickly showcases how you are the top candidate, better than other entry level candidates and the answer to the companies need for a Salesforce pro! Pretty cool right? But it takes some effort!
That brand doesn’t magically happen just because you are certified, you have to build it. The good news is there is only one place you need to build that brand and that’s on LinkedIn. No need to spend time on 3 different platforms, this means you can dial in your strategy. The really nice thing is 90% of candidates are not truly active on LinkedIn, sure they have a profile, but do they post, do they engage, do they network… The answer is no. This means you are now immediately in the top 10% of candidates!
Now how do we bring our Professional Brand to life?!
I was going to write an entire article on this topic alone, but why reinvent the content when someone else has already created exactly what you need? The team over at Talent Stacker created this free LinkedIn Optimization Guide and it seriously shouldn’t be free, but it is and it’s everything, truly everything you need to get noticed on LinkedIn!
Quick Side Note: Are you thinking that Resumes are the most important piece to showing employers what you’re all about. The truth is the majority of hiring managers won’t look at your actual resume for more than 30 seconds. Your LinkedIn profile is where they can see not just your info and experience but a window into how you communicate as a professional, your communication, your interests etc… This gives them a much better idea of whether or not they want to interview you.
Fun Fact: 30% of Entry Level Salesforce jobs are landed through LinkedIn networks and relationships. These jobs are never applied for, there is no job description, someone reaches out to you via private message or a comment on your post and invites you to come interview because they like what they see. This is powerful!
Your certification and branding are going to get you interviews but are you ready to show up to an interview with confidence, with energy, with stories to tell of your greatness? If you think your interview skills need work then you’re right and I’ve got you covered
Turning Interviews into Offers
Landing an interview is an amazing feeling! Getting a job offer feels even better! However most interviews result in the employer saying something like “We’ve decided to move forward with another candidate, thank you for your time”. So we need to make sure you are the candidate they are moving forward with! How can we make that a reality?
Once again this doesn’t happen by chance, it happens due to quality interview preparation. The problem is most people don’t know how to prepare for an interview.
The number one strategy people use to prepare for an interview is to Google the top 10 interview questions for the job title. This is one of the absolute worst ways to prepare, you are essentially crossing your fingers and hoping you get asked one of the questions and on the off chance that you do you sound like a telemarketer reciting a script. So how can we prepare for interviews with impact?
- Prepare your interview space with quality lighting, cameras and backgrounds.
- Tell stories of your experiences as a professional.
- Have a Strength and Weakness list to keep you on track.
- Guide the conversation, don’t give the interviewer full control. Be confident!
- Follow up afterwards with a meaningful message that differentiates you.
- Get in front of them on LinkedIn after the interview so they remember you.
These are some great, some great notes, but I’m betting you want some deep-dive actual actionable guidance. Well you may have guessed it, once again Talent Stacker beat me to the punch! While I was busy creating the best certification study material on the planet they were creating the best career development content! So I’ll pass the torch and point you to their free Interview Readiness Guide! By the way I’m not an affiliate of Talent Stacker, I simply believe they are the absolute most knowledgeable experts when it comes to landing Salesforce jobs. For that reason I love recommending their resources, I’ve seen the lives that they’ve changed first hand.
What's Next?!
Alright so now we know we definitely need more than a certification to land a job, but also that getting certified is absolutely necessary getting noticed as an entry level professional. Let’s take a quick glance and what you should be focused on depending on where you are in the Salesforce journey!
- If you’re still working on getting your 1st Salesforce Certification then stay focused on that for now! Here at Get Force Certified we have the absolute best content and highly recommend starting with the Salesforce Associate Certification then continuing towards your Salesforce Administrator Certification.
- If you are certified or getting close to it then it’s time to really start paying attention to your LinkedIn profile!
- Next you will want to make sure you are ready for interviews, don’t let the last step of the race be your downfall!
If you’re looking for inspiration why not have a look at some amazing stories of individuals who came from non-tech backgrounds and found success in landing Salesforce roles! You can watch their stories here!
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