Ian John Caluscusan is a 5x Salesforce certified Product Owner/Salesforce Developer for Focus on Force. As a Full-Stack Developer, he was leading a small team of developers when their company decided to tap into the Salesforce market. Find out which of his five certifications he considers his hardest, which areas of the Platform Developer II certification he thinks learners should most focus on, what a typical working day for a Focus on Force employee is like, and what advice he has for Salesforce beginners!
Interviews
Focused and Certified: Shamli Nikam — From the Hospitality Industry to Salesforce
4x Salesforce certified Focus on Force correspondent Shamli Nikam is based in Boise, Idaho and an Application Analyst for the J.R. Simplot Company. She was working in the hospitality industry when she was tasked to learn the Salesforce platform. Find out what her goals were when first starting, which areas of the Experience Cloud certification she thinks learners should focus on, what a typical working day for her is like, and what advice she has for Salesforce newbies!
Focused and Certified: Angelina Davydova — An Order Management Consultant’s Foray Into The Salesforce Ecosystem
Angelina Davydova is an Order Management Consultant for Emakina in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, whose Salesforce journey started because of her manager asking her to focus on the Salesforce Order Management System. Find out what her goals were when first starting, which areas of the Admin certification she thinks learners should focus on, what her motivation was when first starting, and what advice she has for those planning on joining the Salesforce ecosystem.
Focused and Certified: Luqman Nor Alahyadi — A Dell Software Engineer’s Salesforce Journey
Luqman Nor Alahyadi is a Software Engineer for Dell Technologies. After graduating in 2018 with a degree in Economics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he started his career as a Business Analyst for an American telecommunications company. Today, Luqman is 3X Salesforce certified, and shares with Focus on Force what his goals were when first starting, what his hardest certification to date was, and even gives some useful tips for those preparing for their first Salesforce certification.
Focused and Certified: Vijay Arora — From Shipping & Logistics to Salesforce
Vijay Arora is a Lead Consultant at Capgemini. He had previously spent 15 years in the shipping, transport & logistics industry when he became accidental Admin for his region. Find out what excites him the most about Salesforce, why he says getting certified is absolutely necessary, what a typical working day for him is like, why he always uses Focus on Force for his exam prep, and his advice fresh graduates aspiring for a career in Salesforce.
Focused and Certified: Prof. Arvind Kiwelekar — A University Professor’s Salesforce Journey
Uniquely, Prof. Arvind Wamanrao Kiwelekar integrates Salesforce in his day to day teaching at the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University (DBATU). In fact, he says his main purpose for getting Salesforce certified was so he could teach it to his students — to give them a higher chance of getting a job after completing their university education. Find out what areas on the Platform App Builder certification this Software Engineering professor says learners should focus on, what a day in the life is like for a university professor/Salesforce professional, and what advice he has for those preparing to get Salesforce certified.
Focused and Certified: Zrna Aničić — A Blogger’s Journey To Becoming A Salesforce Admin / Content Editor
Zrna Aničić is a Salesforce Admin / Content Editor for Focus on Force. She had been blogging for many years when she made her entry into the Salesforce ecosystem in 2016. With her I.T. background, find out how she stayed motivated to learn Salesforce’s ‘click not code’ concept, what she says was most challenging aspect of the Salesforce Administrator certification, what a day in the life is like for a Focus on Force employee, and even gives advice for those preparing for the Salesforce Administrator certification.
Focused and Certified: Derek Scott — An Army Vet’s Journey Through 4 Salesforce Certifications
Once a federal agent for US Army, Derek Scott was already working in the construction industry when he was encouraged by a friend to go back to his roots in Computer Programming and to start learning Salesforce. Today, Derek is a 4X Salesforce certified Associate Consultant at Slalom, and shares with us what his goals were of joining the ecosystem, what challenges he faced while studying, why he says he doesn’t know if he could have done it without Focus on Force, and also gives helpful advice for those preparing to get Salesforce certified.
Focused and Certified: Megan Tuano — From Admission Counselor to 5X Certified Associate Consultant
Megan Grace Tuano was working as an Admission counselor at the University of California Berkely for their Masters in Data Science program when a relative suggested to her to start Salesforce. Today, Megan is a content creator and a 5X certified Salesforce Associate Consultant at Slalom, and shares with us what her hardest certification was to date, why communication skills are crucial to her job, and also gives helpful advice for those preparing for their own Salesforce certification exam.
Focused and Certified: Mohd Fahmin Bin Mohamed Puzi — From intern to 9X certified Solution Architect
Mohd Fahmin Bin Mohamed Puzi started out as an intern at Telcowin, a gold consulting partner for Salesforce in Malaysia. 9 certifications later, Fahmin is currently a Salesforce Engineer/Architect for the same company, and tells Focus on Force why he decided to get as many certifications as he did, what a typical working day for him is like, and why Focus on Force was a huge part of all his 9 Salesforce certifications.
Focused and Certified: Swamy C. — An Army Veteran’s New Beginnings
Swamy C. served in the Indian Army for 26 years and retired as a colonel. During the lockdown, he then started his Salesforce certification training journey, and in August of 2021, got his first Salesforce certification at the age of 60 — and this is just the beginning for this freelance Salesforce Consultant!
Focused and Certified: Alex Paul — From Web Developer To 3X Certified Salesforce Team Lead
Alex Paul is a Salesforce Team Lead for Wursta Corporation. He started his career as a web developer for an agency where he helped code WordPress websites — transforming them from a PSD web template, to fully-fledged, dynamic sites. He eventually got promoted to CRM Team Lead, and eventually, Salesforce Team Lead. Today, Alex is 3X Salesforce certified, and shares with Focus on Force what a typical working day for him is like, how having practical experience is as crucial as being certified, and even gives some useful tips for those preparing for a Salesforce certification exam.
Focused and Certified: Alexey Bakshaev — From Junior Java Developer to Lead Salesforce Engineer
Alexey Bakshaev has been working for Deutsche Bank Technology Center in Moscow, Russia for the past 14 years, and has held numerous positions within the company such as Java Developer, Application Developer, Function Analyst, Lead Function Analyst, Software Engineer, Salesforce Engineer and presently, Lead Salesforce Engineer. Today, Alexey manages a team of six Salesforce Engineers, and shares with Focus on Force why he started learning Salesforce, what a typical working day for him is like, and why the Sales Cloud Consultant certification presented some challenges for him.
Focused and Certified: Ionut Sultana — A 5X Certified Salesforce Developer’s Advice For Salesforce Career Aspirants
Ionut Constantin Sultana is a Salesforce Developer for IBM. After completing his degree, Ionut got his start in Salesforce when he was hired as a Salesforce Administrator at his first job.