Get your FREE 30-day trial.
Please complete all fields.
At my age, I had no intention of changing jobs. I had worked at Engage Technologies for more than 19 years. And for 15 of those years, I was the assistant to our CEO, Bill. I loved my job. I enjoyed what I did. Every day was different. But, suddenly, that all changed...
About a year and a half ago (and completely out of the blue), our CEO — the man I had worked closely with day in and day out for all those years — passed away. We were all completely shell-shocked. He wasn't ill, and we certainly weren't expecting it. It was a very emotional time for all of us at the company and, of course, a much worse time for his family.
The three months after Bill's passing went by in a blur. I had grown very close to his wife over the years, having helped to plan family trips and do all the things an assistant does. So, I volunteered to help her with everything that needed to be taken care of. It was simply terrible.
But business must go on, and so we hired a new CEO. However, he already had an assistant of 18 years and, naturally, she came with him. It just made the most sense. But what did this mean for me? Maybe it was time for me to do something new. But I honestly hadn't thought about what was next.
One day, as I was covering the phones downstairs, a district manager who I've worked with for 15 years said, “I think you'd be great for this CRM position we have open.” I had seen the notice go out that they were interviewing but I knew nothing about Salesforce. I hadn't even heard of it! I didn't think any more about it but he was persistent saying, “No, Becky, I think you really should give it a go.”
I started thinking to myself, “I don't really have a place here right now. I do a lot of different things but my main job is gone. Should I go for this? Maybe I should just apply...” So I did. Even though I didn't have some of the technical experience they were looking for, I had plenty of other skills to bring to the table. My understanding of the business and my institutional knowledge was key and such a strong plus, that I got the job.
It wasn't exactly time to celebrate just yet, though. These were people who cared about me and put their trust in me. But at the end of the day, it's still business and this was an important role. It was stressful. I knew I really needed to focus on learning all these new skills. At first, I would tell my kids, “I don't know what I've gotten myself into!” It was definitely a new challenge but I wanted to prove I could do it.
I jumped right in and started studying. I studied at home. I studied at work. But at the same time, I also needed to train the new assistant and get her settled in. I passed the majority of tasks over and kept some for myself. But overall, I had moved on to my new role. I was excited. But I had a lot of learning to do. Our Vice President of Sales decided that I should take one of the Trailhead Academy in-person courses and signed me up for the Administration Essentials for New Admins class.
My teacher was fantastic. I was learning loads. But I did notice that other people were asking thoughtful questions and I wasn't. I was so green I didn't even know what to ask about! Turns out the class details recommended that students use Salesforce for at least six months before starting the course.
In came Trailhead to my rescue! I started earning badges right away to get some of the basics down. I found the Salesforce User Basics, Lightning Experience for Sales, and the CRM for Lightning Experience modules especially helpful. It worked, and I started to feel more comfortable with the material as the class went on. I even started asking my own questions by the end of it.
After I finished the class, I felt I should take the Administrator exam. I needed to prove to my new coworkers what I had learned and that I really did deserve this job. I knew deep down that I wouldn't pass. I hadn't passed any of the practice exams but thought I'd give it a go anyway, as taking the exam would show me the areas I needed to work on (thank goodness for section-level feedback!).
Unsurprisingly, I wasn't successful on my first attempt. But I went home, studied some more, got back on Trailhead, and tried again a few months later. Much more confident the second time around, I became Administrator certified!
I continue to learn on Trailhead today. We actually have our own helpdesk but I've not needed to go to them for more than a month now! I troubleshoot on my own and learn as I go. It's something I'm very proud of.
I go through all the modules across different clouds to deepen my skills. I also check out new topics I feel will benefit us as a company. Right now, our Vice President of Sales is very excited about Einstein Analytics. We're currently working through Einstein trails, and I've made some great dashboards based on what I've learned (check out the Get Smart with Salesforce Einstein trail). The team is enthusiastic about implementing it, and I've been able to keep up the pace thanks to Trailhead.
I'm not only becoming more immersed in the tool but also in the community. I recently went downtown to Minneapolis for the Salesforce Trailhead Live event. It was so affirming to hear all the talks and meet other members of the Salesforce Ohana — people who do what I do. There's so much encouragement and support in the Trailblazer Community. I love being a part of it.
When things change unexpectedly, sometimes you just need to roll with it. I loved my old job, but working with Salesforce is exciting in a different way. Every day is still new. Lots of requests constantly come in, and it's this type of variety I like — it keeps my work interesting.
I truly enjoy working with Salesforce now, but it took some time for me to develop this love. (I think it's important to share that little-known fact.) It's not necessarily going to be love at first sight for everyone, but that doesn't mean you should walk away.
If you get thrown into the Salesforce deep end, you may feel a little stressed and uncomfortable at first, but you just have to push through the discomfort. And there are many valuable tools, like Trailhead (check out the Get started with Trailhead trailmix) and Trailhead Academy in-person classes, to make your learning journey run smoothly.
Now that I've learned more about everything I can do with Salesforce, I can see how powerful the platform is. I'm now valuable at work where they need me again. And that's an incredible feeling.
