This is an interview with Christopher Hopper, a Salesforce focused recruiter. Chris is the most uniqure recruiter because he assumed his current career track after almost 20 years of CRM consulting; therefore, this makes me think that he can better identify good Salesforce talent and help them land their dream job! In light text are the questions. And right below it are Chris's answers. Are you ready?
Briefly could you tell me about your Salesforce recruiting experience?
Over 3 years of Salesforce recruiting experience now, started out by working with a lot of System Integrators, now primarily working with direct clients on full time and staff augmentation.
I think you must be the only Salesforce Consultant who is now a Salesforce Recruiter. A lot of the Salesforce recruiters I met are fresh college graduates who move on to a different career after 2-3 years. What prompted you to become a recruiter after 20 years of CRM consulting?
Great question. A few things prompted the career change, I was trying to find a way to take my 20 years of direct implementation and hiring manager experience and provide value to others who might need help. I was also starting to get burned out in delivery so was ready to do something different. Fortunately, I had a personal contact who did recruiting and took me under his wing to show me the ropes. From there, I continue to think of ways to help others succeed in their careers.
How would you characterize the job market for Salesforce developers? What is the key trend you notice?
Salesforce Developers definitely have the upper hand in the job market. They can pick and choose where they work, how they want to work, while getting a great salary. I don’t think this trend will slow down anytime soon, although I do think salary accelerations won’t less forever and if the economy takes a nosedive, I.T. departments will need to get creative to keep top talent.
Do you only recruit for Salesforce OR also other technologies? If 2nd, which technology has the highest shortage of specialists?
Primarily Salesforce, but I often get pulled in to other technologies if customers need my help and understands I won’t waste their time. There’s really a shortage in the well-rounded individual that has a great deal of existing technical ability along with soft skills (presentation ability, facilitate/lead a business process/solution discussion, understand requirements and translate them into technical solutions, etc.)
How do you screen candidates?
It depends on what type of role we’re sourcing, but there’s some fundamental screening that we always lean on. Solving problems (who, what, why, how), ask about challenges the candidate overcame, how to they best operate regarding environment and setting, then we often go into best practices and what are some of the gotcha’s regarding technical delivery.
Looking at the Salesforce reddit community many Salesforce professionals, particularly developers, abhor working with recruiters. Why is there such a trust and communication gap?
I’m guessing most Salesforce professionals get their time wasted by recruiters who don’t know how to find the right match between skill set and position. Every recruiter should come into the conversation with humility and honesty if they don’t know what they’re looking for and explain the situation to the candidate.
What is the most common mistake that developers make in their interactions with recruiters?
Well, when it comes to LinkedIn, if the developer decides to reject the outreach, the recruiter doesn’t easily have a way to ask follow up questions (which they should regarding what a good fit would look like for them). So this is more regarding LinkedIn functionality versus anything else. I would also suggest keep an open dialogue for the future.
Are there anyways that recruiters could mislead candidates?
Sure, and this happens way too often. Sometimes recruiters don’t have an active agreement with a company, but want to try and get an agreement in place by using a candidates resume as a pawn. If recruiters decide on this approach, that should all be disclosed up front with the candidate so they know it might not lead to anything.
How do Salesforce recruiters differ? There are so many of them reaching out to Salesforce developers- how can a developer decide which ones are better to work with?
I’d like to think those recruiters that figure out ways to help in more than the “WIIFM – what’s in it for me” mentality helps shows a different side to the recruiting industry. As a Salesforce Developer, I encourage to look at a LI recruiters profile to see what they’re doing, any content, articles, engagement, etc.
How should candidate answer the reason why they are looking for a job?
I think the candidate should be honest from the get-go, the reason is, I want to know what is or isn’t working for you. I don’t care if you were released as long as you have a story to tell. If it’s more money, that’s fine too. It’s not for me to have judgement on your why, but I will need a reason as I might get asked by the hiring manager regarding what happened.
Should a candidate tell you that they have a job offer? If they do tell you do have less interest in working with them?
They should, as that might help get the hiring manager on the recruiter’s end to move faster. I would have no less interest in working with the individual and maybe even more if allows a better opportunity to be presented to them.
How would you describe the perfect candidate?
Problem solver, articulate, giver versus taker mentality, helpful, humble (saying I don’t know is ok)
I heard that best candidates are those that are not seeking jobs. Do you believe that?
Not always, good candidates sometime get the raw end of the deal in their current situation (new management, screwed over in a raise/promotion, change of work/life balance, etc.).
If candidates are actively seeking a job is it OK for them to reveal their enthusiasm or is it better to be reserved?
I personally like enthusiasm but it has to be authentic, it’s more about enthusiasm as a part of your personality versus just looking for a job. If you’re not enthusiastic that’s ok too, as long as it’s your real you.
Are there certain types of candidates that you avoid working with?
Egomaniacs, I guess. Some good candidates don’t need my help and that’s ok, but being rude or egotistical doesn’t really help anyone involved.
If a candidate sees a job posting on LinkedIn & a recruiter is offering the same opportunity- which one should the candidate pursue?
That can be a tough one as it depends. I suggest the recruiter, if the candidate know the recruiter has a direct relationship with the company or hiring manager. The recruiter can often circumvent the process and get the candidate to the top of the stack.
Is there a common advice you give candidates but they don’t listen?
I’m always advocating for candidates to showcase their work, they have to be different in a competitive job market, and showcasing your skills and expertise does that. I would like to see it happen more often. Here are articles where I elaborate on this:
- [Salesforce Career Seekers: Bring Your Work...ADRIAN!!!] (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/salesforce-career-seekers-bring-your-workadrian-christopher-a-hopper)
- [Salesforce Career Seekers - Showcase!] (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/salesforce-career-seekers-showcase-christopher-a-hopper/)
The key ideas I wanted to convey are:
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Create a blog/vlog or a custom Salesforce job tracker app around your career search journey, tracking the companies, the contacts, the job postings, how you applied, your follow up activities, interviews that were lined up, how you prepped for those interviews, and the associated outcomes.
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Read, analyze, build proof of concepts, and provide your opinion on the quarterly Salesforce release notes that you liked/disliked.
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Review the Salesforce Community pages where questions are asked and identify common issues that people are experiencing and use those to build a possible solution around.
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Create an app that solutions a current problem you’re having at your office, your home, etc.
What would you recommend to a candidate who is working with you to land that dream job?
To stay in touch first and foremost, we may have multiple candidates and positions happening concurrently, or maybe none at all, but keeping in touch is how to stay top of mind.
What is a common weakness among Salesforce developers? For example, do you find them lacking communication skills OR are they rude?
Common weakness that I find is explaining why they did something a specific way. If you can’t explain why you took a specific approach, versus you were told or it was handed to you doesn’t really tell me you’re good at solving problems…that’s what I’m often looking for.
Should candidates tell you their current salary?
If they feel comfortable in doing so, it helps make sure we’re on the same page regarding the opportunity at hand. If they’re resistant that’s fine too, I’d just state what the company is looking to pay, it works or it doesn’t. We’re not here to waste each other’s time.