Career

What is Salesforce Military? How Everyone Can Get Involved

By Jonathan Fox

Salesforce Military (formally Vetforce) is a way to support our armed forces, serving, veterans and spouses looking to kickstart a career in Salesforce. The armed forces of our nations never stopped giving to us, therefore Salesforce never stops giving to them.

This initiative is one of a kind for supporting the transition of careers in the military community as well as bringing members multinational armed forces together into their own support network of Military Trailblazers.

What Does Salesforce Military Provide?

The free learning platform we all love and know as Trailhead presents a great springboard for entering into the Salesforce industry. The Salesforce Military program has career-specific paths containing tailored Trailmixes to help support their learning.

Added to these fantastic paths, the program gives these Trailblazers the option of sitting an in-person or virtual Trailhead Academy class before sitting a Salesforce certification for free!

Salesforce Military offers flights, hotels and tickets to some of the most sought after Salesforce events such as TrailheaDX and Dreamforce.

Just one of many ways to say thank you to our service leavers and their spouses (because let’s not forget what their partners do to help support them in their hard-working career).


What is the Salesforce Military Alliance?

Now, many of you may know how devoted and committed these Military Trailblazers and members of the armed forces are but often struggle to make that transition to a civilian career due to their experiences not being recognised as a credible match for a lower tempo job.

HOWEVER, you as an employer (a Salesforce Military ally) can make a difference by supporting our armed forces in joining the Salesforce Military Alliance.

The alliance provides these Military Trailblazers with a guaranteed interview either in person or over the phone so long as they are Salesforce certified. No obligation or cost to either party other than that you as an employer will make contact with the applicant within a week! You give back, helping these extremely dedicated, skilful individuals gain opportunities into the Salesforce ecosystem.

This is not just a one-way street, you gain an individual with such desirable skills, difficult to find skills which on paper may look ‘Military’ but in reality can translate into most, if not every, environment:

  • Project management… tick! Soldiers plan deployments, tactical exercises and co-ordinate people every day. Spouses manage the ‘project’ of moving their family on each deployment.
  • Analytically thinking… tick! Airmen think about all variables and situations before they take part in that sortie, spouses breakdown all situations in order to support their families needs day-to-day.
  • Communication… tick! Seamen need to effectively communicate orders, communicate back to base, explain to superiors the current situation. Spouses need to develop their network, gain situational awareness and communicate to their spouses when sea and land separate them.

 

Summary: My Story

From a personal view, Salesforce Military excelled my learning and has given me so many amazing opportunities since leaving the British Army last year.

I have gained a whole new family (ohana) of likeminded people, travelled the world and met the world through Dreamforce and consumed so much more information and skills to which I did not know existed.

In the UK, there are still very few Military Trailblazers and even fewer Salesforce Military Alliance members. If one year ago, there were more of each, I personally think my own growth within the eco-system could have been smoother. Therefore I wish to pass this message on in the hope you can see the benefits of these two schemes.

Future Trailblazers, check out Salesforce Military Home

Future Alliance employers, see Salesforce Military Alliance

The Author

Jonathan Fox

I am Salesforce Certified with a passion to become a Salesforce Architect. I am also the Trailblazer Community Group Leader (Leeds, UK), Lightning Champion, Trailhead Mentor and Military Trailblazer.

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