In late 2017, I had been unemployed for a little over a year and felt that if I wanted to get employed, I should update my skills to match current requirements.
I felt that my skills before Salesforce Academy were somewhat fragmented: I was an experienced project manager, sales manager and consultant, and had been stuck in the translation business that felt like it was not offering enough challenges anymore. I wanted to find something new and inspiring. Degree-oriented studies were not an option at this point as I already had two university degrees, so I wanted to find something that would allow me to do practical work already during the studies but would also provide me with a diploma or a certificate to prove my new skills.
I vacillated a bit between various recruiting training programmes, and finally ended up applying for Salesforce Academy organized by Saranen, which seemed to meet my requirements perfectly. I was already familiar with Salesforce through my previous job as a sales manager, and I was convinced that there is demand for Salesforce experts. The SF Academy training was also geared towards completing a Salesforce Certified Administrator certificate, so I also got an opportunity to acquire this prestigious certificate. Another thing I liked about this training programme was that there were already several companies interested in those applying for the programme, so I did not have to find a suitable job all by myself. I also appreciated the fact that I immediately become a part of a work community where I was able to put the things I learned during training to practical use and advance my skills.
Salesforce Academy exceeded my expectations in every way. I started my dream job at Avaus and immediately got into Salesforce work together with my new colleagues. The best of all is that at my job, I am also able to utilise my existing strengths and have participated in interesting customer projects both in Finland and abroad. I am very happy at my job and in my work community, especially because we are encouraged to learn new things in every way. I have already earned the Salesforce Sales Cloud Consultant certificate in addition to the Administrator certificate completed during the training programme and am planning other studies as well. My job has also allowed me to advance my other skills, so I feel that the training programme has exceeded my expectations several times over!
The participants in the Salesforce Academy training programme also formed an important community with whom I still communicate regularly: we share Salesforce knowledge, help each other in Salesforce-related matters and, of course, meet each other with regular irregularity. We have a top team consisting of people of different ages that became an important part of the entire training programme, and we have also utilised this network by sharing tips about job openings and by encouraging each other to study more.
If you are interested in Salesforce, I definitely want to encourage you to apply for Salesforce Academy. While learning how to use a new software, you create an excellent network of other SF experts and immediately get to try the things you learned during training in practice. A word of warning, though: there will be a lot to learn. Do not be discouraged, however, as six months is quite enough time to familiarise yourself with the Salesforce features, and what you do not learn through training, you will learn by working. In addition, Salesforce’s own learning environment Trailhead is a great place to learn more. If you apply for the programme, I would recommend starting the Trailhead study modules oriented towards the Administrator certificate already during the application process, as these studies are guaranteed to benefit you during the actual training programme.
Tuija Sihvo
Project Manager | Certified Salesforce Admin & Consultant | Growth Hacker
Avaus Marketing Innovations Oy
