Over the course of my 9+ years in the recruiting industry, I have been to my fair share of networking events. I have recruited in a variety of industries with a focus on various specialties: Telecommunications, Construction, Information Technology, Healthcare, and most notably, Salesforce.
It’s safe to say that I have also attended my fair share of networking events in each arena, but I can confidently say that none of the networking events have been more helpful or successful than the Salesforce ones.
Networking is never a bad thing; properly networking, which includes attending the right events, is always a good thing.
Salesforce Community Events.
I took the plunge and joined the Salesforce Ohana in July of 2015 by attending my first Salesforce User Group meet-up in Chicago.
At the time, ‘Trailhead’ was the big buzz, as it hadn’t quite hit the scene yet. All we knew was that Salesforce was coming up with creative and fun ways to learn their platform through gamification.
Not knowing anyone, I arrived, grabbed a beverage and some pizza and took a seat by myself towards the back of the room. Within ten minutes, there must have been three or four individuals who had come up to me to introduce themselves.
They were regulars and hadn’t seen my face before.
I was quickly offered a t-shirt and encouraged to join in on the conversation. I left the event feeling a little confused, but definitely excited and curious.
While I am not a user of the Salesforce platform itself, I recruit and work heavily in the space. It was a welcoming experience, and I decided that I needed to make myself known at events going forward.
Over the past 4 years, I have attended over 30 different Salesforce events – User Groups, Developer Meet-ups, World Tours, DX, Connections, Midwest Dreamin’, and have even attended Dreamforce.
We (Talution Group) have sponsored Salesforce User Group holiday parties and helped co-host a Trailhead event with the Milwaukee User Groups.
Connections we 💙 YOU! #CNX19 was a boat-tiful time! You goat us real good with all your fun #puns! #TrailblazerCommunity #samsies @Ryanjpollock @EsraSander #OPPeople #ChicagoOhana #salesforce @OP_Recruiting pic.twitter.com/oGgAcCPAeO
— Talution Group (@Talution) June 18, 2019
Now, when I attend a meet-up, I recognize a solid 75% of faces, and they recognize me. I’m the person going up to first-timers introducing myself and welcoming them to the community.
Attending Salesforce events are important because it gets your name and face out there to the community that you live, work and play in. Because of the service Talution Group provides, individuals literally come up to us at these events and ask us for help (both as a candidate and a client) – they trust us.
I would not be where I am today if I did not attend as many Salesforce events as I have over the years. I strongly encourage you to attend a Salesforce meet-up if you are even remotely curious or interested in taking your career in that direction.
Hope to see you at Midwest Dreamin’ this August!
Kevin Kluge is a Sr. Recruiter, Salesforce Specialist, and Recruiting Team Lead at Objective Paradigm. Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn here.
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