In our most recent #SalesforceQA, we caught up with Khero Witey, Associate Vice President, Salesforce Contract at Third Republic.
Salesforce Republic (SR): To start, could you tell us what inspired you to become a Trailhead Ranger & pursue the Salesforce Admin certification.
Khero Witey (KW): I’m a big believer that knowledge is power. The stronger you know your product, the more value you can offer your customers (candidates & clients). We live and breathe the ecosystem already, working solely within the Salesforce space, so why not go the extra step?
On top of that, the Salesforce ecosystem changes rapidly due to its constant evolution of services and also acquisition strategy. It can at times seem impossible to keep up and I believe Trailhead offers a platform to get to grips with the basic fundamentals of Salesforce as well as providing insight into the different areas of the product.
SR: In your opinion, has your experience as a Salesforce recruiter helped you throughout your journey so far?
KW: Somewhat; it’s provided a very high level of understanding of what for instance the different roles and their responsibilities entail so therefore the language used, makes sense.
SR: Has your knowledge of Salesforce and the hiring landscape influenced your decision to get started with Trailhead and Salesforce certifications?
KW: Absolutely! It’s a growing market which will continue to grow over the next 3-4 years. I believe Salesforce certifications are some of the best ROI certs to have right now in the Tech space. I was lucky enough to go to Dreamforce in San Fran back in 2019 for the first time and the slide that I remember to this day…
“Salesforce and its ecosystem of partners will create 4.2 million new jobs and $1.2 trillion in new business revenues worldwide between 2019 and 2024”.
SR: What advice would you have for other aspiring Admins looking to get started with their career in Salesforce? And what resources do you recommend?
KW: Do it. The more you put in, the more you get out, like most things but especially Salesforce. I 100% think having working experience of the platform helps (something I didn’t have before beginning my trailhead journey). The quicker you can get a couple of projects under your belt and 2-3 certs to your name, the better!
Resources I’d recommend:
Trailhead – it’s going to be your go-to for Salesforce studies. It’s also super fun and highly addictive. It gives you step by step instructions and you can check your challenges at the end to see if you have passed/done the task correctly. Multiple levels to reach before becoming a Trailhead Ranger.
Salesforce Certification Days – useful for a quick refresher before taking the exam, a 5hr presentation, will also receive a discount code which comes in useful for your exam, typically $70 or $100 off.
Focus on Force/Udemy – good content and widely used by many who are on their journey to becoming certified. Pretty accessible and fairly cheap ($20-25) and will definitely be a solid investment.
Official Salesforce Practice Test – $20, highly recommend doing before taking the official exam, it’ll let you know which modules are your strength areas & which areas you can do better. Salesforce Admin exams has a lot of scenario based questions so the practice exam will get you used to format of the test (and demonstrate the importance of process of elimination on the multiple choice questions).
Bootcamps – plenty of them out there, I personally sat through Ryan Scalf’s Weekend Bootcamp (4hrs on a Saturday & 4hrs on a Sunday) which I found very useful and would highly recommend for those that are new to Salesforce.
ProBono
– reach out to some
local NFP’s & volunteer to do 5/10hrs a week with them in exchange for
getting some real life project experience on the resume.
Networking – attend all the
partner networking events, the Salesforce Ohana is like no other ecosystem
& people will, where possible, tag you in hiring posts, share your info
with colleagues, give some advice/offer mentorship etc.
SR: How has Trailhead helped you to build your skillset? Are there any particular badges you would recommend?
KW: Trailhead has given me significant insight into the tasks and responsibilities an Admin has and faces on a day-to-day basis. It’s also enabled me to gain high level overview of the different products within Salesforce that perhaps prior to Trailhead I would hear in passing when discussing client requirements.
SR: Finally, what are your predictions for the future of hiring in Salesforce for 2021 and beyond?
KW: In the SMB Consulting Partner space I’m seeing a rise in demand for “Functional Consultants” that can be client facing, manage projects and do a bit of everything (Admin, BA, PM and SA work).
Developers continue to be in demand – I am seeing more companies favour nearshore/US based resources opposed to offshore for a better experience.
Niche skillsets such as Vlocity will continue to be in demand (partners are building entire practices 50-100+ people).
Health Cloud + Financial Service Cloud experience will continue to be in demand too.
If you’re a Salesforce professional and would like to join Khero in our Q&A series, please get in touch with us today!
