My name is Meena and I am a Salesforce-certified professional. I have heard the quotes “Effort pays off!” and “Nothing is impossible if you try!” many times, but it was only at the age of 41 that I realized that these quotes can be turned into actions.
Let me tell you my story of how I got certified in Salesforce! As a Tamil graduate, I have never imagined my entire life that I would become a technology person.
After three years of pursuing a degree in Tamil – a language spoken by millions of people-, I got a job offer at my doorstep from the school I studied. The age-old problem kicked in when my parents started to look for a suitable groom, and they weren’t in the mood to let me work. I don’t blame them, as it was the prevailing culture and still is to a larger extent. I continued my studies through distance education and secured a Masters and M.Phil before I got married. My thirst for knowledge also led me to a postgraduate course in computers. At that time I didn’t realize it was going to give me a hand later.
After I got married, I looked for a job, but I wasn’t able to secure any role in Tirunelveli because I had no previous experience. Life moved on, and I became a proud mum to 2 kids. I was still thinking about somehow developing a career. I was doing online transactions like booking e-tickets from home and learning a little about the fascinating world of technology.
While life was moving at a good pace, I was still thinking about the next opportunity. Serendipitously, an opportunity knocked on my door in my town of Tirunelveli. Yes, unimaginable, I know!
I was chatting with some of the folks during an event and their words made me want to give it another try.
They said,
“If you want, read about the software in our company and if you are comfortable with pursuing it as a career, you can begin your journey here.”
I was afraid initially, how could I do this? There were thousands of questions and confusion on whether I can survive in a field that is completely unrelated to me. I haven’t worked in the past, and I don’t know a lot about technology. The covid crisis was ongoing at that point, so I wasn’t sure if I can get the momentum through online inductions which I will get with face-to-face interactions.
On reflection, I said to myself why I was not putting trust in myself. I also said I should not miss the opportunity that has come to me this time. Low and behold, I entered the new technology in the hope that I will make a career out of it. If not, at least learn something new.
I started learning online for 3 months, as we were still in the middle of the pandemic and then began to work in the office intermittently for a few more months before I got the offer to join Sweet Potato Tec ( One of the Best Salesforce Specialists in UK ). I was elated and was raring to pursue Salesforce as a career.
I wanted to get proper credentials that are industry recognized in the technology I was learning. Initially, I wanted to get certified as a Salesforce Admin. It might be a simple certificate for most, but for me, it was an important milestone in my life. More importantly, I considered it as the first step toward my career progression.
The journey to getting certified as a Salesforce Admin was definitely very challenging for me. I really loved that journey though. I will write another blog about it, but in short, after some intense preparations where I learned the technology in my native language, Tamil, and then prepared and then prepared for the test in English.
Words don’t describe how I felt after I got certified, that story for another time. Since then, I have solved many customer problems through my skills and am confident I will get more certifications in the next few years.
My story is not unique, but I hope that it will inspire others to go after their dreams. If I can do it, so can you! And if you need help, my consulting company is here to support you every step of the way.
