The career path of a Salesforce candidate can look very different depending on where you want it to go, which I think is the beauty of this platform!
Salesforce Podcast
After launching our own ROD Salesforce podcast (affectionately known as RODcast) last month, I have to confess I’ve been down some podcast rabbit holes; good ones of course! Why? Because there is so much great content out there for whatever tech career path you want to explore, particularly Salesforce.
The Trailblazer’s guide to careers is an excellent resource – it’s full of podcasts with practical guidance from real Salesforce success stories on how they blazed their trail in the Salesforce world.
After listening to a Salesforce podcast, it got me thinking about the path of a Salesforce employee, from starting out as a candidate to your end goal.
My job as a successful Salesforce recruiter means that I get to go on this exciting journey along with the candidates I work with, and witnessing so many of my own success stories from candidates I’ve placed, I want to share with you some of the most crucial points to consider when planning your Salesforce career – so let’s get started.
Before you start making plans to speak to a recruiter and start arranging interviews, you need to clarify some important information about your job search and decide on what it is that you’re hoping to get out of a new role.
So firstly, I want to take a moment to prompt you to think about some of the things that can influence your job search both consciously and unconsciously, and how determining these factors will help your recruiter to understand fully, and source for you, a new role where you will thrive.
Practical Planning
Indulge me for a minute while I get you to think about the end goal of your career. I know this might sound slightly overwhelming, but it can be a really effective way of helping you decide on what you want out of your next role. 
Think about your Salesforce career – what is your ultimate aim?
Working to this presupposition will help you focus on precisely what you want out of your next role.
If you want to be a Salesforce Technical Lead in 15 years, in how many years will you need to be in a Technical Architect role – between five and 10? And so, where will you need to be in five years to achieve this?
With your end career goal in your mind, think about what kind of clients you have worked with, the different projects you will have helped complete, the range of consultancies you have worked for.
Next, you will want to start developing a solid career plan – I won’t go into too much detail here, but you can check out this article we’ve put together on drawing up a career plan which I would suggest using to help you – and then let’s start thinking about your next step – the type of Salesforce organisation that you want to work for.
Your career plan should have enlightened you as to whether your next move will be either in a client-side company or working for a Salesforce consultancy. Once you know this, you can plan your journey into your preferred avenue – being mindful of what information you need to look out for in your interview.
Client Company vs Consultancy?
The differences between going for an internal role in a client-side company versus a consultancy position will not necessarily have a significant impact on the outcome of your career, but it will provide you with two different career experiences.
Working for a client-side company will allow you to focus on your specific role, and while this is an excellent opportunity to become an expert in this field, the drawback here that a consultancy can provide is the lack of variety of working on several projects.
Both client companies and consultancies have their benefits and drawbacks. As a Salesforce recruiter, I can tell you that the most successful careers are built on a mixture of both.
If you’ve made a success of your current Salesforce consultancy project and want to progress onto a bigger one – this is a really exciting time in your career. But – would this fit in with what’s going on in your personal life? Developers who are at family-starting age need to consider the implications of these career decisions on their life as a whole. You might feel ready professionally to take on a much more demanding role, but is it feasible or even realistic?
So, once you’ve figured out the level of the role that you are personally prepared for, and have mapped out the proposed timeline of your career – it’s time to connect with a recruiter.
Working With a Salesforce Recruiter
I’ve been recruiting in Salesforce since 2009; and while I’ve been amazed by the number of recruitment consultancies that have opened in that time, that the Salesforce recruiting space has stayed in its separate bubble.
The Salesforce ecosystem in the UK and Europe is remarkably tight-knit, especially considering the amount of Salesforce consultancies that now exist. This is because, as I frequently mention in my blogs, the demand for very experienced Salesforce experts is outstripped by the amount of talent there is.
Both client-side companies and consultancies often to struggle to fill highly-skilled roles, and so they are increasingly relying on the expertise of Salesforce recruiters. Sometimes, a candidate gets in touch with me, and I know instantly that they are right for an upcoming role that one of my clients is looking for – it really is a solid community – and because of my experience within this community, it makes placing candidates in their perfect roles second nature to me.
Only a Salesforce recruiter like ROD, with our inimitable Salesforce knowledge, can succeed in finding you your next role that is the right ‘fit’.
If you are thinking about progressing your Salesforce career, and want to have a conversation about how we can help – get in touch today.
About Resource On Demand
Resource On Demand is Europe’s first specialist Salesforce Recruitment Company, and founder of RODcast, the Salesforce podcast.
We assist innovative and disruptive organisations to grow their technology teams. Supporting companies to fill Cloud roles that span across Digital Marketing, Marketing Automation, Human Capital Management and the growing Salesforce.com suite of skills.
The team at Resource On Demand have access to an extensive database of key talent, registering over 8000 Cloud professionals each year.
To find out how we can support you call us on 01322 272 532.