Talent Hub Talk

In today's episode, we speak with London based Salesforce Solution Architect, Priscila Renwick, about her Salesforce journey coming from a law background in Brazil, before joining a start up in London as an E.A. Her Salesforce journey started here, where she looked after the Salesforce org, and this ignited a passion for learning inside Priscila, over the years leading her to become a Business Analyst, before making her way into a Solution Architect position. She talks with us about the resources and support that she has leant on in this journey, such as her local Salesforce community, her mentor, and the Ladies Be Architects movement. She's an example of how attitude can take you far, and as she joins a Consulting firm as a Solution Architect this month, how joining a start up can accelerate your career. She's proof that you don't have to come from a technical background to become a Salesforce Architect.

You can follow Priscila's journey on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/priscila-renwick/

Today we talk with Salesforce Platform Manager, Zabou Nicoul about her career journey in the Salesforce world so far.

Zabou learned to code in Salesforce having come from a non-technical background, and talks us through the roller-coaster journey of persistence and determination which has led her to the point today of being proud of the code she writes.

Zabou gives listeners advice, tips and resets expectations as to how a journey into Salesforce development is likely to unfold, as well as the rewards she feels being able to write Salesforce code affords in the current Salesforce ecosystem, and your own role.

You can follow Zabou on LinkedIn to ask any questions and continue to follow her exciting journey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zabounicoul/

In this episode, we talk with technology leader and Head of Salesforce Platform, Robert Whitaker, who was recently involved in one of the largest Salesforce transformation projects in the Asia Pacific.

We talk to Rob about the assessment and initial investment decision around why Salesforce was chosen, the value that they got from working with a consulting partner, and the key roles that are required on such a big project. He explained to us the challenges that they faced throughout the program of work as well as how they tackled them. We covered best practices, including the most critical points throughout a project, when commencing such a huge piece of work right through to delivery.

We touch on recruitment and ongoing learning, and reflect on how far Rob has come in his knowledge of the Salesforce platform.

Lastly, Rob shares what he loves the most about the Salesforce Ohana and the opportunity that the industry presents for collaboration with other business.

You can connect with Rob on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/robswhitaker/

Did you know that you can send your Salesforce career questions directly to us, and Ben will answer a selection from listeners on the podcast. You can leave us a voice note via the Talent Hub website, or just send Ben a message on LinkedIn and let him know it's for the podcast. Make sure we answer yours next time.

Here are a selection that Ben answers on this week's show:

1) How difficult is it going to be to secure my first Salesforce role?

2) I am a Web Developer and looking to transition into Salesforce. Do I need to go down the Admin path first?

3) Someone said I should go for a Functional Consulting role rather than Admin as I am from a Sales background. Would you also advise this?

4) I am applying for roles but not getting much response. What am I doing wrong?

5) What is the best way for me to get sponsorship for Australia?

6) Is 'not having local experience' really a factor?

7) Do I need to work for a Consulting Partner to be a CTA?

8) Why aren't there more remote roles in Australia?

In this episode, we talk with Employee Experience Director at Simplus, Olga Rankin, and take a deep dive into what the role entails and how she works day-to-day to effectively influence a positive workplace both generally, and specifically, within a Salesforce Partner environment.

We talk to Olga about recruitment - how to hire for attitude as well as skill set, and how to ensure an engaging on and offboarding process. She gives insight into retaining and managing staff through acquisitions and challenging projects, alongside the client site component, elements common within the consulting world, and how to build and maintain a good culture when teams can't always be together in the physical sense.

We also tackle the topic of pay increases, with the particular context of the Salesforce ecosystem, and Olga shares her views, as well as some tips if you're considering your own pay and how to approach asking for a raise.

Lastly, Olga shares what she loves the most about the Salesforce Ohana and the opportunity that the industry presents.

You can connect with Olga on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/olgarankin/

In this episode, we talk with Salesforce Developer, Bhavana Singh at Dreamforce in San Francisco to discuss her career before Salesforce, and her contributions across the globe that have led her to be awarded not only Salesforce MVP status but the Developer Golden Hoodie in 2018.

Bhavana comes from a really interesting background, having worked in the NASA control center before discovering the world of Salesforce, and opening her own business.

We discuss her advice for people looking to transition into Salesforce, and the thriving ecosystem in the USA; the events and Community Groups that are held there and how the WiT are on a mission to increase the number of female CTAs in the ecosystem across the globe.

We enjoyed finding out more about the others who inspire her in the Salesforce Ohana, such as the Ladies Be Architects group, led by Gemma Emmett, Charly Prinsloo and Susannah St-Germain, those in the RAD Women (Radical Apex Developers) group run by Angela Mahoney.

Bhavana talks about the support she draws on from having a study-buddy on her path to CTA and how she's been able to apply her natural flair for teaching in her role as a RAD Women coach.

You can follow Bhavana on Twitter at @singhbhavana8, and find her on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/singhbhavana8/.

In this episode we talk with Salesforce MVP and 13X Salesforce certified Application Architect, Rupesh Bhatia, at Dreamforce in San Francisco to discuss his career before Salesforce, and his contributions across the globe that have led him to be awarded Salesforce MVP status. With TDX India coming up on 19th December 2019 we talk about the event and what attendees can expect.

We discuss his advice for people looking to transition into Salesforce, and the thriving Salesforce ecosystem in India; the events that are held there every year, and how this region has the second-largest Salesforce Developer community outside of the U.S.

We enjoyed finding out more about the others who inspire him in the Salesforce Ohana, and the great work he does in the local market and beyond.

You can follow Rupesh on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rupesh-bhatia/and check out TDX India at https://www.salesforce.com/in/trailheadx