If you want to work at Salesforce, the cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) company, you need three key attributes; adaptability, curiosity and attention to detail. Salesforce, headquartered in San Francisco, has nearly 20,000 global employees and 30 offices worldwide, and continues to grow. So what else does it take to be a successful engineering candidate? Here’s insight from Rhonda Michalec, VP Technical Recruiting at Salesforce.
What does Salesforce look for in engineering candidates?
Salesforce is a company where developers can do the most innovative work of their careers. The success of our products is dependent upon the quality of our engineering teams. Currently 4 billion transactions a day occur on our Salesforce platform. We look for engineers who want to work on technology at this scale, with a quality mindset, a passion for developing cutting edge technology and collaboratively building products people love.
What makes an engineer’s application stand out?
The ideal candidate is assessed on the following competencies: technical skills, attention to detail, customer focus, collaboration and innovation. Here are ways an applicant can stand out:
- Demonstrating the impact of past work: Our products evolve how customers do business. We look for developers who deliver impact.
- Highlighting collaborative coding projects: Teamwork is central to our culture. Be sure to discuss your specific contribution to the team project and how you accomplished it.
- Seek to understand: Be curious and ask lots of questions.
What’s the interview process like?
The interview process starts with a phone screening interview with the recruiter and hiring manager. Round two is a remote programming exercise to assess the programming, design and problem solving skills. During the final round, the candidate is invited onsite for an in-person interview with the team.
The ideal candidate is customer focused, has a quality mindset, a problem solver and is results orientated. No one area is a decision-making factor, but the combination of the programming exercise, skills, interview success, experience and competencies will decide if someone is an ideal candidate.
Salesforce is ranked one of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For 8 years in a row. How do you achieve that?
We are intentional about culture. The leadership team is committed to creating an environment where people love to work. At Salesforce, I’m fortunate to be part of a team that is as intentional about the kind of culture we want to create as we are about the products we build, sell and service.
How do you ensure the right cultural fit?
First let me tell you about the Salesforce Philanthropy Model — the 1-1-1 model contributes 1% of Salesforce’s equity, employee time and product back into the community. Salesforce employees get seven days of VTO - Volunteer Time Off - to use in the community on the charity of their choice. We are looking for candidates that share our passion for giving back. Culture is the beating heart of our organization, so we define it, hire for fit, immerse new people quickly, and live it inside and outside our company.
What's a common mistake people make in interviews or on their resume and don't know it?
Candidates should know that Engineering at Salesforce is a team sport. Nothing is done in a vacuum or without the help of everyone around you. We encourage our employees to speak up and share their thoughts on problems and opportunities. Finally, engineering candidates should not forget to check their code during interviews. We are looking for engineers who have a quality mindset and are detail oriented because trust is our number one value.
How difficult is it to hire top tech talent in this market?
Top engineering talent is among one of the most sought after in the country, especially in San Francisco. It’s important we have a recruitment strategy that highlights the interesting work, talented people and positive company culture at Salesforce. In addition to focusing on professional engineering recruitment, we also have a team dedicated to hiring top tier university graduates, called FutureForce. FutureForce ensures that college students and recent grads know Salesforce is a place they can make an immediate impact and can grow their careers.
How does Salesforce work to retain tech talent?
At Salesforce we believe in treating our employees just as good as we treat our customers. We’ve found that actively engaged workers focus on customer success and innovation. We prioritize keeping employees motivated and challenged in their work. In our engineering organization, we have a program called Opportunity Open Market (OOM), which are internal job fairs that allow engineers the chance to learn about new opportunities and move around within development teams and work on new projects.
What are some of the most in-demand skills for working at a tech company today?
Technology is evolving so quickly that in a tech company the only thing constant is change. Adaptability, curiosity and attention to detail are important skills for our teams to create high performing products that help our customers solve the problems they face today.
What do you do to promote diversity and inclusion?
We believe diversity and inclusion at all levels is critical to our business. A diverse workforce gives us the unique perspectives we need to build the most innovative products and engage effectively with customers and partners. We have made equality a core value for the company, and we are working to increase equality by focusing our efforts on equal pay, equal advancement, and equal opportunity.
