Jump-Start Your Career in the Salesforce Partner Ecosystem

When I left university I was in the same boat as a lot of students who had recently graduated: I wasn’t sure what I was going to do next or where I wanted to be in two, five, or 10 years time. I certainly didn’t think I’d be working for a cloud technology company, since I wasn’t at all technical. Yet I found myself at Salesforce, the fastest-growing cloud technology company in the world. Six years later, I’m still here. My career path has changed course a number of times as I’ve found roles at Salesforce that suit my strengths and skill set.

It’s easy to think that you have to be super tech savvy to work at Salesforce. In reality, there are many exciting organizations within the Salesforce ecosystem that offer many kinds of roles and can set you on a career path that fits your interests, strengths, and skills. Find out more about the different careers Salesforce has to offer here.

In case you’re wondering, when we talk about the Salesforce ecosystem, we’re referring to:

• Salesforce customers—businesses and organizations that buy Salesforce licenses.
• Salesforce partners—businesses authorized by Salesforce to develop and deliver customized solutions, project implementations, and integration tools.
• Salesforce itself—the global business is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with 63 offices in 28 countries.

The Salesforce ecosystem is six times larger than Salesforce itself and is expected to create 9.3 million new jobs by 2026!

In this blog, we highlight the people and businesses behind future Salesforce ecosystem growth: consulting partners. Salesforce consulting partners help prospects figure out how Salesforce is the right solution for their businesses, implement or integrate Salesforce for those businesses, and then make sure their employees know how to use Salesforce. They drive innovation, adoption, and consumption of Salesforce solutions for most of the businesses who work with us.

Here are some of the roles you can expect to find with a Salesforce consulting partner:

• Business Analyst
• Consultant
• Technical Architect
• Developer
• Marketing Manager
• Sales Executive

Wondering what it’s like to work with a Salesforce consulting partner?

Meet Skyie Green, Junior Consultant at Pracedo, and Henry Maxwell, Salesforce Consultant at Pracedo. Both Skyie and Henry started their Salesforce journeys two years ago. In this interview, they share their thoughts about what it’s like to work with a Salesforce consulting partner.

How did you first learn about the Salesforce ecosystem? Tell us about your journey so far.

Skyie: I first got involved in the Salesforce ecosystem via my apprenticeship program. The program I took involved programming and led to me being hired by Pracedo. The beginning of my journey consisted of familiarizing myself with what Salesforce is and my manager introduced me to Trailhead. I started out as an apprentice and I was able to absorb many different attributes of Salesforce and work on a range of different projects. My favorite project so far was a collaborative pro bono project in Kenya where various people used their skills and knowledge to help create a database for a school in Nairobi. Since Salesforce is at heart a CRM [customer relationship management] platform with many tools, the platform consisted of a database and also served as a way to connect the children with their sponsors directly.

What inspired you to work at Pracedo?

Henry: When I was offered a place at Pracedo, I only had some knowledge of Salesforce at the time, so I was very excited about the opportunity. I liked the fact that Pracedo is a diverse company that reflects the city we operate in, and also the opportunity it gave me to work with a small team of people who all shared the same ambitions and positivity. Plus I got to work in partnership with Salesforce, the largest CRM platform out there.

What has your experience working for a Salesforce partner firm been like?

Skyie: My experience in a Salesforce partner firm has varied a lot in the past two years I've been working at Pracedo. I have worked with a range of different customers from FinTech [financial technology] businesses to global firms that deal with universities. I’ve worked with a range of different third-party apps that can be used alongside Salesforce such as Conga and DocuSign. Overall, working at a Salesforce partner firm has allowed me to grow from apprentice to full-time consultant. My knowledge has grown immensely over time, and that is something that won’t stop as Salesforce continues to expand its functionalities.

Where do you hope to be in five years? What career path are you on?

Skyie: Since I’ve had the privilege of working with many Salesforce tools, I’m getting more interested in the service sector, helping customers provide services externally—business to consumer (B2C). Since Salesforce is used worldwide, I hope that I can use my skills and experience to allow me to travel and work in different countries and continue my learning as more service tools are released and updated.

Henry: I'm going to continue learning and gaining practical experience within the different areas of Salesforce, picking up certifications along the way, but eventually I want to become a lead consultant. I want experience in leading projects for some big clients and will be looking for opportunities to expand my responsibilities within this role to work towards that goal.

What advice would you give to those who are not yet part of the Salesforce ecosystem or community?

Henry: Trailhead is a great way to get started! It gives you the foundations for learning about different areas within Salesforce and it prepares you for any certifications you may want to earn. There are lots of Salesforce webinars available that are led by experts in their respective fields. Salesforce events are a great way to meet new people and find out about other professions within the ecosystem. I also recommend taking the 201 certification for administrators to really stand out when applying for a role—this will help you showcase your knowledge of the platform.

Ready to launch your future career? Start learning on Trailhead, which is the free, gamified Salesforce platform where you can earn résumé-worthy skills that prepare you for a future career in the Salesforce ecosystem. Check out these resources to get started in the Salesforce Ecosystem.