Stepping into icy waters as a Salesforce Trainer

From getting a job as a Salesforce Project Manager without any clue about the Salesforce platform to becoming a full-time Salesforce Trainer that I never wanted to be. Salesforce literally turned my career upside down and I’m loving it. Read more about my career change in the previous article.

As part of my new career as a full-time Salesforce Trainer and Training Consultant, I had to get certified by the one and only Salesforce University (now Trailhead Academy). This was the requirement to be eligible to deliver their official Salesforce courses.

What a ride. Before even daring to sign up for the instructor program, I had to get the Salesforce Administrator Certification first. I re-discovered the materials from the Salesforce Administration Essentials Course (ADM201/ADX201) I had attended about six months back and studied everything pretty much from scratch again. The Trailhead e-learning platform didn’t even exist back then.

I signed up for my very first Salesforce Developer Org so I could practice what I was learning. When I eventually took the exam, the learning materials and hands-on practice totally paid off. I passed at the first attempt. As I know now, most students fail their first attempt. Was I lucky? No. I studied real hard and practiced a lot.

I was proud and ready to sign up for the Salesforce Instructor Program. What did that mean? It’s one thing to know the technical side of the Salesforce platform but it’s another thing to being able to teach others. It was a steep and tough learning curve, however I came out an official Salesforce Certified Instructor. I was now eligible to deliver the official ‘Salesforce Administration Essentials for New Admins’ (ADM201/ADX201) course.

The first class I taught as a Salesforce Certified Instructor was super tough. I had to take everything I practiced from the safety of my co-instructor team into a real-life classroom. So tough so, I considered quitting my job. Right there. Of course, I’m no quitter. As I walked into my second classroom the week after, I felt much more prepared because of what I learned from that first week of teaching and couldn’t actually wait to get started.

Five years fast-forward, I got also certified for the ‘Administration Essentials for Experienced Admins’ (ADM211/ADX211) and the ‘Implementing a Reporting Strategy’ (STR301) courses. These essential instructor certifications allowed me to teach a total of over 50 Salesforce classes. Watch the introductory video on my profile page.

Salesforce Courses serve different purposes for different people. Everyone brings a different skill set, from a different job role and a different learning goal. You might just want to fill some knowledge and skill gaps, like I did in my early Salesforce days, or maybe even prepare for the Salesforce Administrator Certification exam.

Whichever it is for you, it’s all about gaining the right skill set for the career you are looking to build. There are Salesforce courses for everyone. So go get it.

In the next article, I will tell you all about how I am extending access to my Salesforce knowledge with our WeLearnSalesforce Online Video Courses. Making learning Salesforce easier and more accessible.

Do you struggle to find out how to best prepare for a Salesforce Certificate? We created an 8-STEP Guide with everything you need to get ready with confidence for your exam day. Plus we’re throwing in some hot tips and secret recipes.