Author: Peggy Schael | Salesforce Trainer | WeLearnSalesforce
Have you been thinking about changing your career, doing something else that you enjoy more? Maybe turning a hobby into a career? But you don’t know how to do it or whether it’s worth it?
Very good questions! You won’t know until you try it out. It’s a risk but without taking any risk you won’t be able to move forward in life and truly discover who you are and what you want to do.
I’ve been asking myself the exact same questions and it took me a long time to find the answer. I’ve written about my own journey before but I wanted to look at it from another angle.
I’ve always wanted to do something different but didn’t quite know what it was. I knew I loved working with people, I knew I didn’t like sitting at my desk all the time. But what does that mean? How does that help me find out which career I should be pursuing instead?
There is no one-fits-all answer. But…if you don’t even start looking around, you will never find the answer.
TAKING THE LEAP OF FAITH TO BECOMING A SALESFORCE INSTRUCTOR
In my case, what happened was, that my partner suggested I try out a career as a Salesforce Trainer. I could work with people and could walk around a classroom all day. So far this sounded like the perfect fit. But, I would also have to present in front of a lot of people. I had never really done any presenting before, maybe back in school, which I remember vaguely I quite enjoyed. But that’s been a very long time ago. So I really had no clue if that’s something I would be able to make a profession of.
I played it through my head, imagined standing up in front of a large classroom, talking to students, showing them something on the computer. It was all there in my head and looked pretty. However, it’s very different to actually doing it in real life.
It took me about half a year to finally take the leap of faith and just go for it. I guess I was desperate enough to get out of my old job that pushed me ahead. I really had no clue if it would work out or not.
I boldly applied for a job as a Salesforce Trainer with a small boutique training provider and did get a job offer. What? Without much prior experience in this area, it must have been something else that was convincing enough to hire me. What I’m saying is, that it’s not always about having years of experience in a certain field, it’s a lot about soft skills, character and attitude.
THE FIRST STEP INTO THE WORLD OF SALESFORCE WAS THE HARDEST
The first step was done. The next step was to get certified by the Salesforce University which is now the Trailhead Academy. This was a requirement in order to be eligible to teach Salesforce’s official courses. The certifications included the technical certification like the Salesforce Administrator as well as the Salesforce Instructor Certification to teach the Salesforce Administration Essentials class.
The technical part wasn’t too hard, but getting the Salesforce Instructor Certification almost turned into me quitting the whole thing. 🤯
So what happened? A real new challenge came my way. Something that forced me to jump into ice-cold water and really stepping far outside my comfort zone. It’s not something I do every day, so I wasn’t quite prepared how to get ready for this Instructor Certification. I had so many questions, like: “How do I become an Instructor?” and “What does it need to be a good instructor?” or “How do you manage a class full of students?”
Do you know what I did? I studied all the course materials and exercises and felt well prepared to take the instructor certification exam. Guess what happened? I FAILED MISERABLY. I wasn’t prepared at all. The Salesforce Master Instructor who led my certification exam session became one of the best mentors I’ve ever met before. He wasn’t shy about telling me what I did wrong. That included telling me straight up that I had no hands-on practice, I didn’t know how to deal with difficult questions asked by students and so on and so forth. I cried! And I never cry, NEVER. But this made me cry, I felt humiliated and I wanted to hide in a dark cave where no one could find me.
Of course, that was not an option. The Master Instructor was very kind and explained exactly which steps I needed to take to prepare and practice and get ready to truly become a great Salesforce Instructor. I did follow his advice and completed every single step he asked me to do. I read tons of Salesforce documentation, practiced the hell out of the system, did some role-plays and practiced even more until I felt like I had turned every stone. I registered for another instructor certification exam session and PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS.
IT’S ALL ABOUT PREPARATION
There we go. It’s all about preparation, well, the right type of preparation of course. I had a few more instructor certifications to complete for different types of classes, and I never failed a single one again. Because I learned so much the first time around, it taught me a lesson for life.
Every single time I’m learning a new skill, not just something Salesforce related, but also things like becoming a Yoga Teacher or learning how to sew my own clothes, I vividly remembered what it takes to learn something properly in order to achieve the results I want to get.
I’ve been taking this approach into my Salesforce Classes to transfer my Salesforce knowledge to my students in a way that makes sense and shares the skills it needs to put the knowledge into perspective. I’ve been teaching for many years successfully, so I guess this learning concept is working. In order to reach even more students, I’ve decided to create my own Salesforce Learning Platform www.welearnsalesforce.com which contains a range of Salesforce Courses for beginners and beyond.
TRUST THE PROCESS!
So what can YOU take away from this? If you want to do something different, be courageous and take the first step. Trust the process of putting in the work and you will achieve your goals.
And if you are interested in learning Salesforce with me, I will give you all my experience and expertise to help you become a successful Salesforce Professional, no matter which Salesforce career path you choose to take.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my personal story and maybe found some inspiration. Let me know in the comments which career path you are currently considering (even if it’s not Salesforce 🤓).
WHAT ELSE…
We make learning simple with our range of well-structured Salesforce Video Tutorials, downloadable Study Workbooks and realistic Practice Exams. Available for Salesforce Administrator, Advanced Administrator, Platform App Builder and more.
All materials are in line with the official Salesforce Certification Exam Outline including regular release updates.