Employee: Elizabeth Winkler

Time with salesforce.com: 9 months

#dreamjob: Recruiting Research Analyst

In 140 characters or so, please tell us about your role with salesforce.com.
“By day, I build the next generation of recruiting tools for salesforce.com. By night, I craft and execute our social recruiting strategy.”

 What’s the story behind you landing your #dreamjob?
“One day I saw a very interesting job description pop up on LinkedIn. I sent my resume, expecting it to go into resume ‘Neverland.’ A couple of weeks later, out of the blue, I got a call from someone (who is now my director). I chatted with him for about half an hour, and towards the end of the conversation, he said: ‘I would love for you to talk to the VP of Recruiting, do you have time tomorrow?’ Long story short, by the end of that same week I was flying to San Francisco for interviews. A few days later, I had an offer. Shortly thereafter I packed my life into two suitcases and moved to San Francisco!”

What makes your #dreamjob so, uh, dreamy?
“My #dreamjob is dreamy for so many reasons! For one, I am the type of person who likes to push boundaries and, sometimes, I like to come up with crazy ideas. Salesforce.com not only tolerates this, but encourages and supports it.

“Openness: Open door policies are the norm, and anyone – from intern to director – has access to pretty much anyone in the company. [Need career advice? Schedule a 1-on-1 with the SVP of the area you’d like to work in. They will do everything they can to fit you into their schedule.] Also, Chatter (our internal social network) makes everything very transparent and ensures that everyone gets credit for the work they are doing.

“Flexibility: I responded to this Q&A while working remotely from Austin. I could not be happier that everyone at work is OK with me doing this. This is very ‘salesforce’: As long as you are getting your work done and you communicate with your manager, you have all the flexibility in the world.

“Volunteer Time Off: I can take six paid days off work to volunteer? Anywhere in the world?! Um, yes, please!”

What words of wisdom do you have to offer those within the company (or not) who haven’t yet found their #dreamjob?
“My advice is to talk to people in different areas of the company. If you think that you’d be happier doing X, go find someone who is already in that job. Salesforce.com is very open to letting you shadow peers, so take advantage of that! If you are not in the company, I still suggest finding people in the role that you want to hold and chatting with them about their everyday life at work. It’s the best way to find out whether or not you could see yourself doing that day in and day out.”

What “social” tips do you have for #dreamjob seekers?
“Follow @salesforcejobs! Once you’ve done that, play around in Twitter, make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date, reach out to companies you are interested in via social channels.Be smart about what you do on social: Think of anything you post as something your mom and boss will read in the newspaper. Most importantly, be yourself! One of the best things about social is that you can get your thoughts and personality out: If someone likes what they see, they will hire you. And please, please, please, do not use the word ‘guru’ on any of your social bios!”

Just for fun, what was your #dreamjob as a kid?
“After deciding that I wouldn’t want to be a vet because I pass out at the sight of blood, my #dreamjob at age 7 became ‘Secretary General of the United Nations’ to protect human rights and fight poverty. I am still passionate about making the world a better place, but I am no longer convinced that the U.N. is the best place to do it.”

 Are you in your #dreamjob at salesforce.com and want to share your success story? Find me on Chatter and let’s … chat about it!