Zoltan K. Szabo was working in various positions in sales and operations for two decades when he first encountered Salesforce. He is currently 8x Salesforce certified in Service Cloud, Application Architect, Data Architect, Sharing & Visibility Architect, Sales Cloud, Platform Developer 1, Admin, and App Builder. Find out how he got started in Salesforce, what kept him motivated, what he says was his most difficult certification to date, and what his advice is for Salesforce newbies.
According to the National Center for Women & Information Technology, women only make up 25% of the IT workforce in the United States. This makes it difficult for women to feel comfortable and supported in IT spaces, as the culture is oftentimes unwelcoming or even hostile to women. In this interview, Focus on Force’s Vidya Srinarayana shares how she started her journey through 8 Salesforce certifications, why she says getting certified is an equalizer, and why she encourages Salesforce newbies to start with the Salesforce Associate certification!
Shortly after doing this interview with Focus on Force, Cognizant’s Lorenzo Degan added another feather to his cap — the Salesforce Associate Certification. Lorenzo is currently 3X Salesforce certified in Admin 201, Platform App Builder, and Associate. Find out how he got started in Salesforce, what kept him motivated in his Salesforce journey, which areas of the Admin 201 certification exam he says learners should focus on the most, and what his advice is for those who are just starting their Salesforce journey.
4orce Cloud Consulting’s Trevor Lobel is a 4x certified Salesforce Consultant based in Cape Town, South Africa. He was working for a non-profit organization when he discovered Salesforce, saying that it was a combination of three things that drew him: technology, systems, and people. Find out which of his four certifications he considers his hardest, what tips he has for those preparing for the Service Cloud Consultant certification, what a typical working day for him is like, and what advice he has for those aspiring for a career in Salesforce!
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
