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How can someone know what he or she is capable of if they never have the opportunity to test themselves?

This is the foundation of BizAcademy and why it is so important to our students and their career goals. Last year I was a Solution Buddy with BizAcademy and helped a team put together a Salesforce presentation to a group of stakeholders. My team showed tremendous growth in both confidence and skill sets during the program, delivering a well thought out and exciting demonstration of what Salesforce can do for a business. Many of us would happily avoid public speaking, especially if we were told that we had to include a technical demo—and present within 1 week! Not a chance. But the BizAcademy students jumped on this challenge and delivered amazing results. And this is what makes BizAcademy great; students have the opportunity to say, “give me a chance to prove myself” and show us wonderful potential.

This year I have come back as a mentor to work with one student and support them through their journey as they learn their own strengths. Many students come to the program ready to be challenged but they are nervous and need a bit of confidence. Fortunately, BizAcademy does not force anyone in to a specific role, but lets the students find their best fit. Some students find they are natural leaders and drive their team across the finish line. Other students know that they are more hands-on and can deliver a great technical demo. Still others find that they are skilled at honing concepts in to concrete plan and solution. The BizAcademy program gives students the chance to build their skills and hone their unique talents, but the real benefit is the career paths that are available afterwards. I have the pleasure of working with two BizAcademy graduates here at Salesforce who have taken up full time and internship jobs.

Our customers have also embraced the program, participating in the Lizard Panel and Dragon Den as well as offering internships at their own organizations. The enthusiasm for the program doesn’t stop within Salesforce as our customers are building their own BizAcademy programs to extend this opportunity to more students. I am extremely excited to work with my mentee this year and I have already heard about the amazing things she has accomplished in her life so far. My role is not just to help her succeed in the program but to help her find out what she wants in her career, and the confidence to pursue those goals. As with last year, I’ll wait nervously with my fellow mentors and solution buddies to find out which team delivered the best presentation. Then we all get to celebrate and, I’m not afraid to admit, tear up at how proud we are of their accomplishments.

BizAcademy runs from 10-14 August 2015

Interested in taking on an intern? Please contact davinder.mann@salesforce.com