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Building A Career In Salesforce

If you are a student looking to build a career in salesforce and salesforce release, then you couldn’t have picked a better time to do so.

Currently, there is a huge scarcity of Salesforce experts in the market and this includes both developers and administrators.

Most companies are making the move towards salesforce and is happening so rapidly that the supply is not being able to keep up. Thus if you want to be part of this lucrative market then you should get started right now.

Here is how you can jumpstart your career as a consultant in Salesforce.

 1.     Create Your Developer Edition

One of the best methods of learning something practical is by using it hands on. it is no different with Salesforce as well. Anybody can create a developer edition and that too for free.

It is fully functioning and can be utilised to learn standard functionality, and also allows for the installation of AppExchange packages. If you are learning salesforce at an advanced level them even APEX code can be installed.

Remember that these free developer editions need to have activity at least once every six months for them not to expire. Also, they are updated with the latest version of salesforce release.

2. Get familiar with the Technicalities

Go to the salesforce website which has all the technical documentation that you will need to start the learning process. There is a lot of content that you need to go through and some of that might not even make sense to you at the beginning. Go to the help section of that website or the salesforce community where you will find a lot of resources to help you out. You can learn about objects, definitions, permissions and so much more.

3. Start at the Beginning

To master something well you will have to start from the basics itself. Go through the online workbook which covers all the basic concepts of salesforce through activity based learning.

Using this workbook, you will be able to create your first application, understand how permissions work, a role, profile and so on. Once you have gone through this interactive workbook you will be able to understand salesforce and some of the technical jargon.

4. Communicate with Other Users

Another great way of picking up a concept is by peer learning.

Every major city will have many salesforce groups which are open to members of the community. These meetings can be joined and attended both free of cost and are fantastic ways for members to share practices, advice, tips and tricks and so on.

Use these groups to network, get to know people, ask questions and present yourself to the community as well. always have business cards with you and talk to the right people. Engaging with the community will surely take you places.

5. Use Social Media

Social media is one of the most powerful tools today. Members of the salesforce community use it all the time to help and connect with other users on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, WordPress and so on.

If you are not an active member of one of these platforms then it is high time you increase your social media presence. You not only gain knowledge but also network with people across borders using social media tools.

These are some of the popular ways in which students can build a strong career in Salesforce. If you are still hungry for more then try the new interactive website launched by salesforce where you can choose exercises on certain topics and master them in a fun way.

About the author

James Ford is a Salesforce administrator and avid blogger in the community. He writes articles reviewing the latest salesforce release. In his free time, James likes to travel to exotic places with his son and wife. 

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3 Steps to NLP Career Success

Jonny was given some career advice from a friend “you would love being a plumber, you get to work alone as there’s no direct boss, the money is good and its practical work and I know how you like to work with your hands.”

The talk was inspiring and motivational and before long the excited Jonny had signed up to an intense plumbing course.

Within a couple of weeks of passing his course, Jonny was lucky enough to secure a position in the company his friend (the one who gave him the advice) worked at. Within a couple of months Jonny came to the frustrating realisation that after several months of a costly training and even though he enjoyed practical work, plumbing was not the occupation for him.

The difference between careers advice and career guidance is career retention. When we guide and coach a client we rarely give careers advice (as part of a careers coaching session we will discuss the potential future of the job market), rather we question, guide and challenge clients to make their own informed decisions.

Guidance tools are used so a client wont just take any job that they will potentially regret in 6-12 month, as the wrong choice can lead to a waste in time and money (the cost of re-training) This doesn’t mean you always have to stick to one career. On average career professionals will job hop between professions at least 3 times over the span of their career. Due to rapid changes in technology and consumer demand, some career sectors and job positions are on the decline, while others are on the increase.

As an experience careers advisor and coach, I will often utilise NLP techniques to support client to make their best choice. NLP offers a range of tools to help the client make a realistic choice that will keep them motivated and excited in their job, this often leads to an increase output in effort which can lead to promotions and career success.

The 3 Step Career Coaching Technique using NLP

Step 1 Eliciting Values

First I want you to write two list. List one will comprise of everything you ideally want in your perfect career, this list can include the distance to work, ideal salary, duties, working indoors or outdoors, variety or routine, you can include the type of manager you excel under and the type of colleagues you would prefer to work with. This is your list and you can record anything you deem important, the list can be as long or short as required. The average is around 8-10 criteria.

The second list will comprise of your career dislikes; the things you don’t want in your ideal job. Past clients have recorded working out of 9-5, working in teams or alone, short term contracts, micromanagement, no company pension, monotonous work, distance to the office. Record anything you would hate in your perfect job.

Take your first list and put it in order of importance, so your criteria are number between 1-10. Take the first two criteria and ask which criteria would I preference over the other, do this all the way down your list until you have your likes in order of value.

Take your second list (career dislikes) and ask yourself “If I had a job offer with my top 5 Likes, would I accept it if it had X dislike?” Ask this question for all your dislikes. The answers will show your flexibility or lack of for each of your dislikes. Remember there is no right or wrong answer, as these are your choices and your criteria.

Step 2 Discover Your Strengths, Discover Your Options

I want you to think about your strengths, your natural abilities and your personality preferences. What is it that you are naturally good at? Do you always take the lead? Are you creative? Do you excel in teams? Are you all about the detail? Are you a people’s person, analytical, innovative, humorous, technical? What are you naturally gifted at? What are your passions; Fashion? History? Wine? Computer Games, Art, Space?

Think about past experience when you were at your best, when you had the best of times, think about all the times you excelled. Record on paper the place you were at, who you were with and the role you took in each situation. Complete this task for around 5-10 different situations (at various ages and stages throughout your life)

Next re-read your 10 key experiences and circle all of the commonalities through these past successful events. What connects these experiences, what stands out, why did these particular experiences stand out for you?

Take your strengths and career criteria and start to match these to job profiles. At first you will find sectors that match your needs and strengths, from these you can chunk down and find particular roles in these sectors and companies that meet your criteria (this part takes a little research – the idea here is to cross out job roles you definitely will not undertake and research more the roles you would consider until you come down to 3-4 options)

Once you find 3-4 career options ask yourself:

  • Ask would you retrain for this career?
  • Would you relocate for this position? (Some careers are mainly regionally based)

Once you find the perfect career, the job profile will tell you the entry route, salary and duties. I would also recommend reading job adverts for the desired position as this will give you a real insight to what current employers currently require.

Step 3 Future Pace for Career Motivation

Imagine yourself in the future and everything has gone brilliant – this is you at your best. See your timeline in front of you; see yourself retraining, writing out your CV, applying for positions, winning job offers from job interviews, imagine yourself at work doing really well, see yourself becoming more knowledgeable and see yourself in the future achieving promotions. Remember this is you at your best, set your goals high and imagine being as successful as you want to be.

Now go forward and imagine stepping into each image, and see it from your own eyes; notice what you can see, hear the voices and noises around you, taste the taste and smell the smells, imagine that you are there now. As you imagine living out this positive experience notice how you feel and take these positive feelings to the next image on your timeline.

Once you reach the end of your career timeline, you will see the world from the knowledgeable, highly successful and confident you. Imagine turning around and seeing the you now, the you reading this article. What advice would this older wiser you, give the you now?

Chris Delaney is an experience Life Coach and Career Advisor and the author of The 72 Rules for Influencing the Interview using Psychology, NLP and Hypnotic Persuasion Techniques.

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Future UK Jobs 2014-2020

Future UK Jobs 2014-2020

The UK government has released its latest paper “Careers of the Future”

Background report – Dec 2014” this month predicting the increase and demise of various job sectors.

Overall high skilled jobs are on the increase and low-skill jobs are in decline. See below “source” for the full report.

Below is an extract from the paper.

Managers, directors and senior officials: The corporate managers category has been a significant source of employment growth for many years and this pattern of growth is expected to continue over the coming decade. The other category within this group is other managers and proprietors. This includes the owners and managers of small businesses, especially in the service sector. This category has also experienced steady growth in the past decade. This is expected to continue over the coming decade although the growth is moderated by the restructuring of the distribution and retailing sector, including the shift towards the use of the internet.

Professional occupations: All four of the professional sub-major groups experienced employment growth between 2002 and 2012 and this is projected to continue. The highest rate of growth for 2012-2022 is projected for Health professionals as the health sector begins to recover from slowdown caused by deficit reduction constraints. Science, research engineering and technology professionals and Business, media and public service professionals are also expected to see significant growth. All these professional groups are projected to increase their share of overall employment.

Associate professional and technical occupations: Substantial employment growth has been experienced by a number of these sub-major groups in recent years. Employment has grown most rapidly over the previous decade for health and social care associate professionals. The group was affected by cuts in public spending, but this is not expected to slow down the longer term trend. It is now projected to experience the most rapid rate of increase of all sub-major groups between 2012 and 2022. Growth was slowest over the past decade for science, engineering and technology associate professionals and for protective service occupations, both of which saw a net decline over the decade as a whole. The latter are expected to see some further job losses but things are expected to pick up for science, engineering and technology associate professionals as the economy recovers. The largest sub-major group in the associate professional category is Business and public service associate professionals, which includes specfic roles such as Sales accounts and business development managers. This is also projected to be by far the biggest contributor in this major group to future employment growth, contributing almost four times as many jobs as Health and social care associate professionals, the next largest contributor.

Administrative and secretarial occupations: A continuation of the decline in

employment is expected for this group as a whole as ICT displaces many such jobs.

Secretarial and related occupations, which includes secretaries, typists and word

processing operators, are expected to be particularly affected, reflecting their vulnerability to being displaced by advances in computer technology.

Skilled trades occupations: The recession has accelerated the already significant loss of jobs in many skilled trades occupations. Job losses in manufacturing and, post 2008 in construction, have impacted negatively on skilled metal and electrical trades, textile, printing and other skilled trades and construction and building trades. Construction trades are expected to recover over the coming decade, but this is not sufficient to reverse the overall decline for skilled trades. For textiles, printing and other skilled trades the pace of decline accelerates. Over the next decade jobs in construction and building trades are expected to grow more quickly than the average for the economy as a whole.

Caring, leisure and other service occupations: Historical employment growth in these categories is expected to continue over the coming decade. Caring personal service occupations were the most rapidly growing occupational sub-major group between 2002 and 2012. Although they slip into second place in terms of rate of growth over the period 2012-2022, in absolute terms they remain in top place, with an increase of over half a million jobs. A key driver here is the rising demand for services for an ageing population. The majority of these jobs are expected to be taken by women. The rate of growth in leisure, travel and related personal service jobs is expected to be more modest.

Sales and customer service occupations: This group is dominated by occupations

such as sales assistants and check-out operators in retail outlets who fall into the Sales Occupations sub-major group. This category has seen job losses in recent years as the retail and distribution sector restructures itself. Increasing concentration of businesses, competition from the Internet and technological developments such as automated checkout are expected to reduce the need for more traditional sales occupations, meaning that this pattern is expected to continue. In contrast, customer service occupations represent a much smaller but rapidly growing category. The demand for more specialist sales and customer care occupations is expected to continue over the coming decade.

Process, plant and machine operatives: This group includes a variety of occupations, some operating fixed plant in factories while others drive mobile plant and passenger and goods vehicles. Employment declined quite rapidly for the former category (process, plant and machine operators) over the last decade, linked to the loss of jobs in manufacturing. However, there were modest job gains for the transport and mobile machine drivers category. Over the coming decade, further substantial job losses are expected amongst process, plant and machine operators, whilst little change in the numbers of jobs for the transport and mobile machine drivers category is expected.

Elementary occupations: The elementary occupations consist of jobs that require little or no prior training. Employment levels across this group of occupations have been in long-term trend decline for many years, but there are some signs of this changing. The service sector, in particular, is beginning to generate a number of extra jobs in this area. Small job losses are expected for the decade as a whole but with some recovery in the second half of the period.

source 1

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Thinking of the Most Exciting Career? Try the Automobile Industry

If you are planning to join college, this must be a tricky time for you. You obviously have a dream job in mind but have you looked at the outlook of that industry? Well, you need to make a decision and a quick one at that because the current job market is capricious. The automobile industry should be top on your list because it offers myriad opportunities.

Love Cars? This is your Job

The modern society is car-driven and there is no denying this. If you are a car enthusiast, you can capitalize on the global demand for automobiles to chart a successful and exciting career path. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) rates this industry among the top ten largest employers highlighting the latent opportunities.

However, that is not all this industry has to offer a graduate. Take a look at some of the other benefits you will enjoy:

  • Thrill and opportunities: Unlike most popular jobs, a career in the car industry allows you to be at the forefront of evolving auto technologies. Whether as a car restorer or an automotive technician, you get to feel and sample the best in the industry and this is more fulfilling than any paycheck.
  • Versatility: Do you love management but still love cars? Why not opt for a managerial position in an automobile manufacturer such as General Motors or even McLaren. This allows you to work closely with car technicians as they create machines from scratch. In short, there are limitless positions in the industry whatever job you have in mind.
  • Growth opportunities: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that the industry in general will enjoy 17% growth between 2012 and 2020. With more demand for automobiles, the industry needs more experienced personnel than ever and this is where your skills come in handy.

There are many more benefits of working in this industry. For instance, you can educate yourself on automobiles and earn money part-time through blogging. There are always people looking for certified pre-owned cars and they need expert advice, which you can offer from the comfort of your house.

The Crème de la Crème in the Automobile Job Industry

Which is the best job in this vast industry? It all depends on what tickles your fancy. According to U.S News Money, some of the most popular and fulfilling opportunities in the industry include:

  • Auto service technicians: When your car conks, who do you look for? Of course, you will look for a reliable automotive technician in your area. There is no shortage of work for technicians because as cars get older there will be issues that need expert input.
  • Car designing and manufacture: There is a lot of demand for futuristic designs and higher quality cars. If you have a knack for design or manufacturing, this industry has myriad opportunities for you from electronics, graphics, design, and management to mention a few.
  • Car and auto parts sales: This is the best aspect of the industry and it offers you a chance to deal with every part of cars. Sale and installation of new parts offers limitless chances to get a good income and all you need are prerequisite skills.

There is much more in the industry; from racing to car show event management, you just have to identify what you love.

Author Bio

Chris Costner has worked in the automobile industry for 17 years in different positions. Starting as an auto technician, he rose to managerial positions and today concentrates on helping shoppers pick the best certified pre-owned cars.

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Thinking outside the Box: Graphic Design Career in Digital Signage

When you graduate as a graphic designer, the inclination is to apply for jobs in website design companies, game development companies or branch out on your own as a consultant. While these are all good options, there is one market that is so obvious yet so easily ignored.

Look around you

Have you noticed the evolution of outdoor and indoor advertising? Think about your favorite place to eat. Have you seen a change in how they display their menus and advertisements within the establishment? No? Well, you must have seen some interesting modes of advertising along the road in the recent past.

All these are forms of digital signage and it is taking over the world quite literally. The move from static signs to digital ones is a global trend with every region of the world getting in on it. As with most things, Europe and North America are leading but Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Arab world are poised to take the lead in digital signage.

What exactly is it?

Digital signage entails playing back digital content such as advertisements, menus, alerts and all kinds of information through a network of several screens called displays that are remotely controlled. The intention is to increase interaction between a business and its target demographic and is the latest and most preferred method of marketing.

What’s the link to graphic design?

Digital signage is actually a part of modern graphic design. Think of it as a larger and more dynamic version of a website. As a graphic designer for a website, you would be concerned with creating a graphic style that will be both appealing to the client and consistent throughout the entire website.

The same applies to digital signage, only at a larger scale. You will have to work with appropriate colors, fonts and shapes to bring to the fore the brand and the company behind it in a clear and appealing manner to the target audience. Further, you will be required to create a design and content that increases interaction between the company and its clientele with the intention in getting more conversions.

Get in right now

The greatest advantage of having your set of skills right now is that the digital signage market is growing rapidly and is poised to grow even further on a global scale. Everyone is going digital – from the large global corporations to the smaller local businesses. Digital signage is the future and everyone wants to be part of it.

As a result, there is an increased and constant need for the skills of a graphic designer to develop graphics and contents for digital signage. Constant because with digital signage, the content needs to be dynamic to keep the target demographic interested. This means that others may often seek you after to bring to life some new concept for a business’ digital signage.

Stick with the basics

So, as it stands, it is a good thing to be a graphic designer today. Just remember that with digital signage, the same basic design rules apply. You will have a great future as a graphic designer in the digital signage world.

Author Bio:

John Rex is a renowned expert in the world of digital signage. He has helped many companies, big and small, with digital solutions that meet their needs. Also, he knows where to get the best free digital signage.

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Job Interview Questions for a Civil Engineer

Often out of 300 applicants only 6 candidates will be interviewed. In most interviews, but this varies depending on the job sector and employer, you will be asked around 10 questions during a 45-minute interview.

The key to passing job interviews in preparation and practice, this sounds obvious but is often overlooked with the average interviewee spending around only 60 minutes preparing for their job interview.

Job Interview Questions for A Civil Engineer

              • Job Interview Question 1: What is your experience in civil engineering?
            • Job Interview Question 2: Explain Batching, Mixing, Transport and Compacting in regards to concrete processing?
            • Job Interview Question 3: Explain why are steel plates inserted inside bearings in elastomeric bearings?

              • Job Interview Question 4: What is the difference between a civil engineer and an engineering technician?
            • Job Interview Question 5: How do you project manage civil engineering jobs?
            • Job Interview Question 6: How to you ensure you meet industry regulations  and health and safety requirements?
            • Job Interview Question 7: What is your approach to drawing up timescales for a project?
              • Job Interview Question 8: Why are steel plates inserted inside bearings in elastomeric bearings?
            • Job Interview Question 9: Give an example of how you applied your problem-solving skills to a design challenge
            • Job Interview Question 10: Do you have any questions for me?

Good interview questions to ask interviewers at the end of the job interview include questions on the company growth or expansion, questions on personal development and training and questions on company values, staff retention and company achievements.

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Becoming an Asset for Your Organization

The greatest of companies were formed by hardworking and dedicated team members. An organization is nothing without its people.

The treatment and the attitude of the employees speak volumes about the culture and ethics of the company.

These things are usually established by the company founders and year and year, the same ethics are passed down to each department and each team member. Once a certain set of rules and regulations are established and the organization has been around for a while, it can be quite difficult to make big changes.

Also, the company code of conduct cannot be implemented on other levels without it being followed religiously at the top.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree; an organization that doesn’t have its policies in place, will probably not do a great job at creating future leaders and great managers.

And great team leaders are not born; they are created. With the right amount of discipline, gratification, motivation, hand holding and discipline, the freshers of today can turn into highly successful department heads at chief executive officers of tomorrow. It is not as easy as simply doing courses in MBA; though a degree or diploma from the right institute can definitely speed up the process.

However, great organizations will not be able to sustain testing times unless they have the full commitment and dedication of their employees.

Young professionals, who only think about how they will benefit from the stint in a particular company, will probably not get too ahead in the race. Take the example of a FMCG giant.

Everyone from the research and development team to the product team to the marketing team to the branding team has to put in loads and loads of hard work for a particular product range to succeed.

It could be coming up with an anti aging cream – it takes understanding everything from the target audience’s point of view – the price point, the packaging, the application, the availability, etc. It cannot be executed by a self-centred brand manager, only concerned with his targets.

Any good company has to function smoothly like a well-oiled machine. It is a proven fact that employees that are looked after, respected and motivated perform better than the ones that are under constant stress of displeasing the superiors. On the other hand, it is also true that companies that have tried to run their operations like a family have failed miserably. The key here is obviously finding the right balance.

Team leaders and managers need to define the processes and deadlines better and the employees need to put in more of an effort in the task instead of simply getting involved at a periphery level.

A lot of new age companies are adopting the horizontal structure and choosing offices without walls and cabins.

While this type of management may suit some employees, in some cases it may just fall flat on its face. There are people who perform best in a group – they love to brainstorm and work till the wee hours with their team members and giant pizza slices.

However, some people may simply detest the idea of sitting with a bunch of people and a white board. They may be great when it comes to interacting with teams, but as far as their work goes, they may prefer to work in solitude.

When it comes to becoming indispensable to an organization, there is no one formula that makes sense across the board. Showing your enthusiasm and commitment may mean different things to different people. But hard work, dignity and the right attitude are common ingredients involved in the making of a successful person.

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Wired Job Interview Questions

Why do employers ask weird interview questions?

For competitive high-salary job roles employers want to ensure that the interviewee hasn’t Googled “common interview question answers” Left field interview questions can’t be predicted and these seemingly random interview question have a key purpose.

Weird interview questions are designed to be deliberately testing and are actually relevant to the job role. Questions such as “name 5 usages for a tin opener apart from opening tins” test the creativity of interviewees.

And common weird interview questions such as “how many golf balls can fit inside a school mini bus?” (This question was asked at a Google interview) test your ability to solve problems mathematically.

Before answering any weird job interview question, first ask yourself two key questions – 1. What does the company do or what will be my duties or required skills? 2. What is the aim of this question? What skill will this question uncover or test?

We have record ten previously asked weird job interview questions to help you prepare for the unexpected.

  • How many times a day does a clock’s hands overlap?
  • How would you get an elephant into a refrigerator?
  • How many cows are there in the UK?

  • If you were a Microsoft Office Programme which one would you be?
  • Will this company succeed? Why or why not?
  • On a scale from one to ten, rate me as an interviewer
  • You need to check that your friend, Bob, has your correct phone number but you cannot ask him directly. You must write the question on a card and give it to Eve who will take the card to Bob and return the answer to you. What must you write on the card, besides the question, to ensure Bob can encode the message so that Eve cannot read your phone number?
  • Design an evacuation plan for London
  • Imagine you have a closet full of shirts. It’s very hard to find a shirt. So what can you do to organise your shirts for easy retrieval?
  • If you was an animal what animal would you be?