How to Find a Salesforce Job by Building Your Network

In this blog series we focus on helping you to find a Salesforce job or project.

Finding a Salesforce job or project is rarely just about having the right certification.

Your technical skills matter, but securing consistent work also depends on whether people know who you are, understand the value you offer and trust you enough to hire or recommend you.

I learned this first-hand when I began my own Salesforce journey.

I started by learning Salesforce, building my confidence and looking for opportunities to apply my skills. From there, I launched my freelance career, found my first clients and gradually built a Salesforce consultancy and recruitment firm that has now worked with more than 700 businesses.

That growth did not happen overnight. It came from following a repeatable approach to raising my profile, building relationships, demonstrating credibility and clearly communicating how I could help.

The Four-Part Formula – How to find a Salesforce Job

Over four weeks, I am sharing the formula I have followed to secure new Salesforce work:

1. How to Raise Your Profile
2. How to Build Your Network
3. How to Build Your Reputation
4. How to Sell Yourself

This second article focuses on the next step of raising your profile by networking.

How to Build your Network to Find a Salesforce job

When I was 26, I took a week off work and arranged to meet 40 people. Some meetings were virtual. Some were face-to-face. Some were over coffee. I didn’t have decades of experience or an impressive senior job title.

What I did have was passion, a specialist niche I wanted to pursue and a desire to find out what might be possible, so I talked to people.

I told them what I was planning to do. I asked about their work. I researched what opportunities existed. I listened to their advice. I asked whether they knew of any opportunities and who else they thought I should meet.

Those 40 conversations sowed a lot of seeds and by the end of that process, I had enough confidence in the opportunities I’d uncovered to quit my £27k-a-year job and go out on my own.

In my first year of trading, I generated £60k in income.

That experience taught me something I’ve carried with me ever since:

Your network can change your career, not because networking is simply about asking people for jobs, it’s because meeting people helps you understand what’s possible, and helps other people understand who you are, what you’re passionate about and what you could be capable of and if you’re trying to find your next Salesforce job or project, that can be incredibly powerful.

How to find a Salesforce job through networking

In Part 1 of this series, I talked about how to raise your profile and the importance of being clear about what you want to be known for.

Building your network is the next piece of the puzzle, it’s not enough for lots of people to know your name.

They need to know who you are and what you specialise in.

• What role are you looking for?
• What Salesforce products do you know?
• Which industries interest you?
• What’s your specialist niche?
• What do you want to become known for?

The Salesforce career path can take you in many different directions. You might develop from Salesforce Admin into areas such as Business Analysis, Agile Project Management, Change Management, consultancy or more specialist technical roles.

The clearer you are about your direction, the easier it becomes for your network to help you because ultimately, you want somebody to hear about an opportunity and think:

“Hey, I know someone who would be great for this…” and you want your name to be the one that comes next.

Don’t just look for Salesforce jobs. Look for conversations.

When you’re looking for your next Salesforce role, it can be tempting to spend hours scrolling through job boards and applying for advertised positions. There’s nothing wrong with doing that but I wouldn’t make it your only strategy.

Think about how much time you spend submitting applications for jobs where you’re potentially one CV amongst hundreds.

What would happen if you invested some of that time in talking to people instead?

• Talk to Salesforce Admins doing the job you want.
• Speak to consultants working in the industry you want to enter.
• Meet recruiters who specialise in Salesforce.

Get to know people working with the Salesforce product you want to specialise in.

Ask them:

• What does your job actually involve?
• How did you get there?
• What skills are employers looking for?
• Where are you seeing demand?
• What would you recommend I learn?
• Do you know of any job opportunities available at the moment?
• Do you know anyone looking for someone with my skills or interests?
• Who else do you think I should speak to?

You’re researching what’s possible, but don’t be afraid to be clear that you’re also looking for opportunities.

People can’t help you to find a Salesforce job if they don’t know what you want.

Don’t rule yourself out because you don’t meet every requirement

This is particularly important if you’re trying to land your first Salesforce job or move into a new Salesforce role.

I’ve heard from candidates who have looked at a job specification that asks for two years’ experience and immediately thought:

I can’t apply for that.

But through networking, they have met the right people, made a great impression and been recommended for the opportunity and they’ve landed the job. You might not tick every box on the job specification, but someone who has spoken to you can understand much more than what’s written on your CV.

• They’ve experienced your enthusiasm.
• They understand your transferable skills.
• They know what you’ve been learning.
• They’ve seen your attitude.

And if somebody they already trust recommends you, that can help open the door to a conversation.

A CV shows your experience on paper. A relationship helps somebody see the person and potential behind it, so don’t automatically rule yourself out. Be confident about what you can offer and make sure your network knows what you’re looking for.

Give people a reason to remember you

When I was 26, I didn’t have loads of expertise, what I did have was passion and a specialist niche.

That’s important. People don’t necessarily need you to be the world’s greatest Salesforce expert before they’re willing to help you, but they do need to understand who you are, what you’re interested in and where you’re trying to go.

Perhaps you want to become a Salesforce Administrator in the non-profit sector.

Maybe you’re an experienced Admin moving towards Business Analysis.

Perhaps you want to specialise in Marketing Cloud, Data Cloud, DevOps or another area.

Whatever it is, own it.

Be intentional about what you want to become known for.

That makes you memorable and memorable people get thought about when opportunities arise.

Be focused and intentional about who you meet

Don’t network for networking’s sake.

Think about four things:

Your desired job role. Your geography. Your industry. Your Salesforce specialism.

Then start looking for people who overlap with one or more of them.

For example, if you want to become a Salesforce Administrator working in the non-profit sector, start finding people already doing that.

If you want to move into Salesforce consulting in the US, find consultants, practice leaders, recruiters and other Salesforce professionals working in that market.

If you want to specialise in a particular Salesforce product, start following and talking to people who are already experts in that space.

You don’t need to send hundreds of random connection requests.

Twenty highly relevant relationships could be far more valuable than 2,000 connections who don’t really know who you are.

“But why would someone agree to meet me?”

This is something people often worry about, particularly when they’re new to the Salesforce ecosystem.

You might think:

I’m new. Why would somebody experienced give up their time to speak to me?

Don’t underestimate people’s willingness to help and think about how you approach them.

Don’t start by demanding a job, but be interested in them.

You could say:

“I’m really interested in developing my Salesforce career and moving towards [area]. I’ve seen that you’ve built a lot of experience in this space. I’d love to hear about your journey and get your perspective on the industry. Would you be open to a virtual coffee sometime?”

Some people won’t reply, and that’s fine, others will.

And one conversation can lead to another.

At the end of a great conversation, ask:

“Is there anyone else you think I should speak to?”

And, if you’re actively looking for work, don’t be afraid to ask:

“Do you know of any opportunities that might be suitable for me?”

That’s not being pushy.

It’s simply being clear about what you’re looking for.

Think of your network as a spider’s web

One person knows another person, that person introduces you to someone else.

They know a hiring manager. and the hiring manager introduces you to somebody running a Salesforce team.

Suddenly, one coffee has created four new connections.

I think of networking like building a spider’s web. You create the first point of contact and then relationships start opening doors to other relationships. This is why I always encourage people to ask for introductions.

Don’t just finish a conversation with “thank you”.

Ask: “Who else do you think I should meet?”

The more people who know you and understand what you want to do, the wider that web becomes.

And eventually somebody in that web may hear: We’re looking for a Salesforce Admin…

And think: “I know exactly who you should talk to.”

Find your Salesforce tribe

You don’t have to build your network completely from scratch.

One of the best things you can do for your Salesforce career is find a tribe or community you can become part of.

• Attend Salesforce trade shows, networking events, or community conferences.
• Join virtual Salesforce networks on LinkedIn, Trailhead or Ohana Slack.
• Connect with people in a specific communities you belong too like Supermums, and look for people on LinkedIn.
• Ask for connections in the community or on Linkedin if you don’t know anyone. “Can anyone introduce me too xxx ?”

It can feel uncomfortable to reach out and chat to new people. It can be easier to join a commuinty where you have the introductions made for you and there is something in common. One of the reasons people join Supermums, is that they are joining a community and cohort of learners on the Supermum’s Salesforce Training Courses.

Over the last ten years, we’ve established a global network of Alumni across the Salesforce ecosystem who you can connect with through Alumni LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Slack groups, as well as benefit from our network of mentors and events.

There are multiple touchpoints, but one thing connects everyone within Supermums:

People genuinely want to help each other.

There is already a warm connection and a shared social mission that people are passionate about.

We’ve seen first-hand what can happen when those relationships start multiplying.

We’ve had multiple people within the Supermums network land jobs at the same companies in both the UK and USA.

We’ve had Supermums’ mentors recommend people from our community for jobs within their own networks.

People share opportunities.

People make introductions.

People recommend each other.

And that’s the spider’s web in action.

The investment pays for itself, if you make the most of the community and networking within it.

Keep your network warm

Meeting someone once isn’t really building a network. Relationships need nurturing.

Fortunately, that doesn’t mean having coffee with hundreds of people every month.

There are lots of simple ways to stay connected.

• LinkedIn is a fantastic tool for this.
• Post about what you’re learning and working on. Comment on other people’s posts. Tag people you’ve met at events. Congratulate people on their successes.
• Stay connected through WhatsApp or Slack communities.
• Go to networking events.
• Arrange the occasional coffee.
• Send somebody a message when you see something that makes you think of them.
• Share useful information.
• And make introductions yourself.

Don’t just think about what your network can do for you. Think about what you can do for your network.

The strongest professional relationships are built over time.

And don’t disappear from your network the moment you’ve landed a Salesforce job.

The best time to build your network is before you desperately need your network.

Learn from people who network intentionally

Some people are naturally more confident networkers than others. One person who demonstrates intentional networking really well in our community is Lloyd.

He’s an avid networker. He attends lots of events, introduces himself to people and then continues those relationships online, including connecting with and tagging people on LinkedIn.

He’s not been shy about putting himself out there. He’s been intentional.

You don’t have to network exactly like Lloyd, perhaps you prefer one-to-one coffees, maybe you feel more comfortable starting relationships on LinkedIn or perhaps you love the buzz of attending big Salesforce events.

There isn’t one correct way to network. Find the approach that works for you and then do it consistently.

Try the 40-conversation networking challenge

You don’t necessarily have to take a whole week off work like I did.

But imagine what might happen if, instead of sending another 40 cold job applications, you had 40 conversations.

Give yourself a month or two if you need to. Start with people you already know and expand outwards.

You are sowing seeds.

Some will grow quickly.

Some might produce an introduction.

Some might give you information that completely changes your career direction.

And some might turn into an opportunity six months or even two years later.

Could networking be more effective than another cold job application?

I’d encourage you to do both. Apply for Salesforce jobs that excite you, but don’t underestimate the return you could get from investing some of your job-search time in building relationships.

When you apply cold for an advertised role, you’re potentially one CV amongst hundreds. When somebody inside that organisation says:

“I know someone you should speak to…” that’s a very different introduction.

The more people who know you, understand what you’re capable of and buy into where you’re going, the greater the chance they’ll think of you when the right opportunity appears.

That’s why networking isn’t a distraction from finding your next Salesforce job.

Networking is part of finding your next Salesforce job.

Your Salesforce networking action plan

So here’s my challenge to you.

This week, identify five people you’d genuinely like to know and let me know how you get on.

Next steps to find a Salesforce job

Next week, I will explore the second part of the formula: how to build your reputation so people trust and endorse you.

Join the Supermums Boost your Salesforce Career Bulletin to receive the full four-part series, practical Salesforce career advice and details of new Salesforce job and project opportunities.