The Salesforce job market is an uncertain place at the moment, and this seems to be felt across the board. With old and new professionals alike trying to work out how to make themselves stand out in a highly competitive environment, it can quickly become a daunting, spiraling situation.
You may be surprised to hear that consulting skills could be one of the most important ways to set you apart from the crowd. The data analysis, client liaison, and situational adaptability skills that consultants use day to day to help them stand out. In this post, I’m going to explain how they can help you too.
What Are Consulting Skills?
The umbrella term ‘consulting skills’ can mean a few different things, but it essentially sums up a set of skills required to give advice to businesses. After all, that’s what consultants do – provide guidance and advice to businesses by listening to their wants and needs.
If we break this down further, these kinds of skills include:
- Analytical skills.
- Problem solving skills.
- Communication skills.
- Conceptual and practical thinking.
- Collaboration skills.
- Organizational/time management skills.
These are just a few of the many skills that consultants need to have under their belts in order to do their jobs effectively. These carry them from the first stages of client liaison all the way through to the delivery of the solution(s).
But I’m Not a Consultant…
When you think of a consultant, you might think of someone working for a consultancy firm. They work with clients to meet goals and deliver results. However, the term ‘consultant’ isn’t just associated with just the consultant role – you could also be referring to the administrators, developers, and other players that recommend the optimal way for Salesforce to be enhanced for their organization.
Now, you might be thinking: “Well, I’m not a consultant, I’m a developer!” “I’m not a consultant, I’m a business analyst!” Amazing! But much like many other Salesforce roles, skills are interchangeable between them, and the consultant role is no different!
A consultant’s skills can definitely carry across to roles like the developer, business analyst, architect, and more. For example, developers use problem solving skills every day, and they most likely also utilize collaboration skills too. Business analysts always dabble with analytics, and they probably do a bit of conceptual and/or practical thinking too. Architects need strong communication skills to collaborate with clients to build what they want, and most likely organizational skills too in order to be able to meet project deadlines.
We get that it’s easy to get pulled into the routine of just completing a job to a spec and ticking some boxes. For new applicants, this kind of thinking can also be tricky. You could be thinking: “Well, I have what they’re asking for in the job description, that should be enough right?”
Unfortunately, we’ve learned that it isn’t so clear cut. Employers now have ‘hidden requirements’, and just knowing Salesforce isn’t enough anymore. With more certified professionals entering the ecosystem than ever before, Salesforce professionals need an additional set of skills.
Soft Skills for the Win
So what is this additional skill set that professionals need to have? Well, they’re called soft skills, and we’ve covered some of them already.
You can have all the Salesforce knowledge and even specialized knowledge in the world, but you won’t go very far if you can’t keep to deadlines, get on with others, or don’t know how to analyze data.
If that seems easy enough, then great, you’re already halfway there. The next step is to really think about these skills like a consultant. What does this mean? Well, when you’re working, ask yourself:
- Can I use this opportunity to do some creative problem-solving?
- How can I go above and beyond for my client?
- Am I communicating in a clear and empathetic way?
- Have I gathered enough data to understand what is needed?
- Have I fully understood and analyzed the data that is available to me?
Some of these may be more applicable to you than others, but it is worth seeing where you can demonstrate consulting skills.
For professionals looking to enter the ecosystem, it can be more difficult to know how to demonstrate these skills, but think about what you’ve done in previous roles. Have you been in a client-facing role where you’ve had to deliver solutions? How have you approached that? How have you handled data in the past, and how can you demonstrate to a prospective employer that you know how to deeply analyze?
Knowing how to answer these questions will, alongside technical knowledge, show that you think beyond just the platform requirements and to wider expectations. Also, stick them on your resume – you’ll want to highlight these skills in your application process!
Summary
Consulting skills are essentially just an umbrella term for client-orientated soft skills, but they sure do pack a punch. Demonstrating your ownership of these skills – even if you’re not a consultant – is just one of the ways you can begin to stand out in the competitive job market.
Looking for your first Salesforce role and are keen to get those soft skills on your resume? Check out our full resume guide with free templates here.