In September, salesforce.com hosted its inaugural “Build-Your-Own-Dream-Team” recruiting event. This was no ordinary job fair. Instead of just bringing a stack of their resumes with them, attendees were strongly encouraged to bring a team of people they’d love to work with. The event began with a happy hour where teams were formed, followed by an all-day assessment program where the teams engaged in unique collaborative activities designed to test their skills not only as IT professionals, but to identify their other key strengths as well.

The ultimate grand prize of the event was getting hired as a “Dream Team” for salesforce.com’s newest U.S. location – Portland, Oregon. More than a hundred applicants participated, and one Dream Team received #dreamjob offers. Long story short, it was a hiring experience like no other – and a smash hit!

We like to say that working at salesforce.com is a team sport. To thrive in today’s social and connected world, successful teams need to have social intelligence (a combination of mental, emotional and community intelligence). This innovative new approach to recruiting distinctly reflects salesforce.com’s “Business is Social” culture and will serve as a blueprint for future recruiting events in the area. In fact - mark your calendars - the company will be hosting another happy hour Dec. 10 to start the process all over again. The variety of open positions this time around includes: developers/QE, integration engineers, desktop support, Salesforce administrators, release engineers/developer operations, finance, and collections/accounts receivable. 

Interested? You can register here.

While the groundwork is being laid for the new office space up north, we caught up with a few of the fresh hires who were integral to the success of this new style of hiring. Here’s what they had to say about the events and the dream opportunities that await them:

How did the Portland salesforce.com hiring event differ from others you’ve attended?

“It was the first time I have participated in a group based process and frankly, it was much less intimidating. In spite of the event being all day on a Saturday and really having no idea what to expect, the day went by quickly and was actually fun – beats sitting across the table from eight people peppering you with questions. One of the interesting elements was the way we were divided into different groups throughout the day.” - Keld, Product Manager

 “The Portland salesforce.com hiring event was a first for me. I attended it with a great deal of nervousness and excitement – nervousness because I had no idea what to expect and excitement to be challenging myself and pushing my boundaries. I did attend with a couple of great teammates, and we were able to support each other through the process.” - Larry, MTS, Commerce IT

“The hiring process was different than any other. The all-day event turned out to be a lot of fun; I thought so even before I got the job offer. The team activities (Design Your Office, Solve a Business Problem) seemed really well chosen and challenging.”- Justin, Sr. MTS, Commerce IT

 “The #dreamjob hiring event was unlike any other recruitment event I have ever attended. The whole day was such an immersive, and generally fun, event that it felt much less like a pressured job interview and more of a way to get to know the company and to really express your personality to the company.” - Robbie, MTS

What aspects of salesforce.com culture did you learn from the event?

“It was immediately apparent that salesforce.com as a company had really good energy and a positive and supportive atmosphere. Big companies sometimes struggle with maintaining a healthy culture, especially in an era of rapid growth; the people from salesforce.com seemed genuinely excited about their work and company in an honest and sincere way. It wasn’t forced or pre-scripted.” - Keld, Product Manager

“The aspect of salesforce.com culture that struck me was the camaraderie of the team. The whole salesforce.com team got along really well and made all the guests feel at home.” - Larry, MTS, Commerce IT

“It felt like an energetic startup with the backing and structure of a Fortune 100. The social intelligence activities gave me the impression that this organization is concerned with more than just the bottom line and genuinely cares about their employees.” - Robbie, MTS

What was your reaction to being offered a dream position with salesforce.com?

“It IS a dream position. I’m excited to be working with the company that built the product in which I have been working for the last five years.” - Larry, MTS, Commerce IT

“I think it was mainly a feeling of relief. I wanted the position so much, and I felt like the #dreamjob event went really well, so I would have been incredibly disappointed not to have received an offer. After the reality sank in that I was being offered a position, I just started to get really excited about this amazing opportunity. I must have checked my phone a couple hundred times that morning waiting for the call!” - Robbie, MTS

How did you celebrate?

“The only way fitting – champagne!” - Robbie, MTS