From Interview Practice to One of the Best Decisions of my Life:
I joined Salesforce nineteen years ago at age twenty-four, and as I approach my second decade with the company, I am immensely grateful for my career to date. I’m often asked by friends, co-workers, and interviewees what has kept me here for so long and what I value the most about Salesforce, and my answer is always the same; the people I work with and the opportunities we’re all given at this amazing company - which is having such a positive impact on our customers and the world.
To this day, one of the primary reasons I have stayed is my incredible team, my managers, and my peers. Everyone I have worked with is so talented, hard-working, passionate, nice... The list goes on. For me, it’s important to surround yourself with people who work hard but who you can build a close personal bond with as well. I want to spend time with them because I feel like we actually have a connection, and that’s very important to me.
When I initially interviewed for the company, it was more for interview practice; an actual job offer wasn’t something I had even considered fully! I had no idea back then that Salesforce was going to grow into the $17B company it is today, with over 50k employees in offices all over the world and the number one vendor in its space. I’m not sure if anyone did! Our competition at the time was so far away from where we were.
I had no idea back then that Salesforce was going to grow into the $17B company it is today...I’m not sure if anyone did!
That said however, I did have a good feeling about the direction we were going. The people that had joined Salesforce before me were of such a high calibre that I knew they were there for a reason. I also really connected with the three EMEA founders in my interview for my initial role. I made the move to this company on the back of the profile of the people I met, in confidence that they would ensure the company’s success, but there’s no way I could have ever predicted how great the journey would be.
What Salesforce has taught me:
Because I have grown up with the company, it has been responsible for teaching me so much. There have been so many highs, and a few lows over the years; but all of them have been huge growth opportunities for me and the team. I’ve definitely made my fair share of mistakes, but that’s all part of the journey. A mistake is OK once you learn something from it, and when you are transparent about it. That’s something I have been encouraged to embrace, and something I try to pass on to my own team too. Being brave enough to fail is being brave enough to embrace vulnerability, and that is a very powerful thing.
Salesforce’s stance on wellbeing is something that has really resonated with me, particularly in the last number of years. As I’ve gotten older and life has become more complex, the freedom and encouragement to find a balance between work and family life has become really important for me. It has inspired me to focus on my personal interests outside of work, and it also encouraged me to ask for time off work a few years ago when I took a sabbatical. I think that’s something we do really well here; helping people understand the importance of these things so they can take the time to focus on them. This is particularly importance for us as we grow as a business.
Being brave enough to fail is being brave enough to embrace vulnerability, and that is a very powerful thing.
When I joined, there were just over 100 employees in total; now there are over fifty thousand! I got to grow up as the company did, and as our industry did. I have witnessed the growth of the marketing technology that we use and lead the way with, and it’s been a phenomenal ride! I was a surfer in a flat ocean, and suddenly I was surfing waves far bigger than I could ever have imagined. That same opportunity is here now. New hires will see the same thing happen in the coming years as we continue to grow and a move into spaces we probably haven’t even thought of yet! The future is very promising for Salesforce, and for our people. We’re a very sizeable company, but in many ways we’re only getting started. The predicted growth in the future equates to opportunity for absolutely everyone, and along with it the positive impact we’re making in our communities through our philanthropy model.
