In April 2013, I attended my first Salesforce event. It felt amazing to be surrounded by so many like-minded people.
I knew then that I wanted to work in the Salesforce world, but I had a problem: I was a Salesforce newbie with no experience or certifications. At that point, I barely knew what Salesforce was.
Today, clients, peers, and recruiters see me as a Salesforce expert. In fact, a recruiter recently told me, “Your Salesforce experience is remarkable,” although I think they were using flattery to poach me.
How did I do it?
I knew where I stood in The Salesforce Expertise Matrix and used that knowledge to develop my Salesforce career strategy.
The Salesforce Expertise Matrix
The Salesforce Expertise Matrix is a framework I created to help explain the four types of Salesforce professionals.
You can use the matrix to better understand where you are in the Salesforce world and how to get where you want to go.
To get started, identify which type of Salesforce professional you are using my Salesforce Expertise Matrix.
- The Expert: You have Salesforce experience and Salesforce certifications.
- The Hustler: You have Salesforce experience but no Salesforce certifications.
- The Scholar: You have Salesforce certifications but no Salesforce experience.
- The Newbie: You have neither Salesforce experience nor Salesforce certifications.
Over the next several weeks, I will expand on each type, providing strategies and tactics you can use to start and grow your Salesforce career.
In the meantime, leave a comment and share your type and some of the challenges you are facing in your Salesforce career right now.
John,
I like you broke it down in the four categories and definitely agree with that.
Currently I consider myself a scholar. I have a couple of certifications but need more experience.
Thanks, Carlos. I would also consider you to be The Scholar given your background. To move toward The Expert, you will need to find ways to get hands-on experience implementing solutions in Salesforce.
I think helping non-profits seems like an easy way to get experience, give to the community and live the Salesforce mantra….
There are so many!
True, but many non-profit organizations have been burned by people who volunteer as “an easy way to get experience.”
From what I understand, many people volunteer at a non-profit just long enough to get a job at a for-profit. Then, they leave the non-profit high and dry in the middle of a project, not finishing what they started.
If you do volunteer to work for a non-profit, ensure you do so responsibly and follow through on your commitments to them. Otherwise, you are likely to make it more difficult for other Trailblazers to follow that path in the future.
This is beautiful and exact classification of Salesforce people.
Like Like Like!!
Thanks for the feedback. I am glad you found it so helpful.
I am impressed with the salesforce matrix. It is crucial to have knowledge plus the certification to stand out in the crowd. The marketing is already filled with salespeople. To become best of them need some extra quality. I think this certificate may change the way people see you when you approach them.
Thank you for sharing the matrix and giving the idea how it works.
Thank you
Thanks for your feedback. I’m glad you enjoyed the post. While experience often beats certifications, the Salesforce ecosystem is getting more competitive by the day.
To get the best jobs, you must have both experience and certifications. The good news is everyone starts at zero. If they built a career on Salesforce, you can do it, too.