4 Ways to Dive Into Salesforce Freelancing
Last year, Salesforce was ranked as one of the fastest-growing and most in-demand skill sets for both large and small companies. It should come as no surprise that Salesforce roles and projects have continued to boom globally into 2018. The demand for Salesforce skills and freelancers is broad and extends to both functional and technical experts. As a result, Salesforce freelancing has attracted a wide range of professionals- some with only business exposure to the CRM suite, and others with deep technical knowledge rooted in development.
With the Salesforce market booming, diving into Salesforce freelancing can be an advantageous career move for any professional to make. Our Salesforce recruitment team reached out to the Salesforce freelancers in our network and found that there are four common paths to snagging your first Salesforce freelance gig.
1. Land your first project with a consultancy
When speaking to our Salesforce freelance network, we found that many professionals don’t hesitate to dive right in if they have an Informatics or Computer Science-based degree. One of the most common paths to becoming a Salesforce freelancer is getting experience working in a consultancy on multiple Salesforce projects.
Major consultancies often recruit directly from Informatics and Computer Science programs because of the strong technical skills of these graduates. If you come from this background, finding your first Salesforce project can be a smooth transition if you decide to work first with a consultancy. Consultancy work can be a great opportunity to get stuck into a Salesforce project and quickly develop your skillset across the CRM suite.
2. Develop your technical skills
Those who decide not to work directly on Salesforce projects with consultancies starting out, often choose to develop technical skills in other areas before becoming a Salesforce freelancer. Working as a Java or Siebel developer lends a major advantage when it comes to understanding Apex, Salesforce’s coding language. By first gaining experience working as a generalist developer, these prospective Salesforce freelancers build solid foundations in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and SQL.
Developing strong technical skills prior to becoming a Salesforce freelancer enables a smooth transition. Additionally, beginning a career as Salesforce freelance developer can be a good way of building up to working in a technical lead function.
3. Gain key user experience
Of course, not everyone who works as a Salesforce freelancer comes from a technical background. In fact, the Salesforce field is particularly open to those who come from a wide-range of business backgrounds. Another common way of diving into Salesforce freelancing is becoming a Salesforce key user at an organization that is either currently using Salesforce or implementing it.
Salesforce key users gain direct exposure to the system either through their daily work or through contributing to implementation phases on steering committees or project boards. This in-depth knowledge of the business requirements and challenges when it comes to the Salesforce suite proves to be crucial knowledge for prospective Salesforce freelancers.
4. Work for Salesforce directly
Seems like an obvious one- where better to gain Salesforce experience than with Salesforce themselves? (It certainly doesn’t hurt that Salesforce made it to #1 on the FORTUNE Best Companies to Work For List.) Some Salesforce freelancers get their start working for Salesforce directly where they receive top-of-the-line training, setting solid foundations for launching a freelance career after.
Read: Top Trending Salesforce Resources
The Salesforce market is booming and there seems to be no shortage of the demand for Salesforce freelancers. Those considering a career transition into Salesforce freelancing can do very well if they dive right into developing skills in core areas.
Do you already have a background in one or more of these areas? Check out some of our current Salesforce freelance opportunities by clicking below.
