Accidental Admin 4: Elevate Your Tech Career (Part 4)
In this final part of the series, we consider the importance of continued ed. This is where you become an elevated professional. You understand what it takes to maintain a system and you formalize that knowledge with certifications. You seek out opportunities to do more with what you have, and showcase that work in new releases and features for your users. Then, you give back to the software community by sharing your knowledge beyond your org.
Get Certified
The best example of this is Salesforce’s Trailhead Academy. A free resource that teaches you everything you need to know about the software. Using this as a base, you can prepare for a certification. The most common one admins start with is the Salesforce Certified Administrator. This is a general back-end admin exam that covers things like permissions, security, and data management. You can study for it in 3–4 months reasonably, with a slew of online resources to help you along the way. The exam is challenging, but if you put in the effort and know the system, you’ll pass just fine.
Read my tips for passing your Salesforce Certified Admin exam.
Not every software has such robust certification programs, however. For example, a manufacturing-focused software uses its own programming language that you’d need to learn in order to make significant customizations, dashboards, and other changes or data manipulations to your system. You dont have time for this, unless you want to launch into an IT programming career.
Ask yourself: What’s the next level from where you are now? Attend the conferences, meet the people, and take advantage of any webinars or training available to you. Make it your job to know what new features are coming your way and how your org can get the most out of them. Sign up to beta-test. There are many ways to continue your training that don’t involve becoming a developer and don’t rely on provided coursework.
Do I Need To Get Certified?
Short Answer: No.
Long Answer: The process of studying and learning for an exam will make you way better at what you do in the system. That’s the most important part.
Even if you dont want to get certified, study. Watch webinars, go through provided training programs — the process of reviewing and testing your knowledge fosters the most valuable skills until they become second nature. Write your own instructions and procedures. Develop projects to help encourage future admins at your company. Learn by doing. Certification could be just something nice to hang on your pinboard.
Yes, it’s perfect for your resume. It holds power and communicates your experience for you. However, if you have project experience in key areas like reporting, data upkeep, security, user permissions, etc., then you can just as easily showcase that on your resume without the shiny credential.
Spend your time wisely. A good piece advice I received is, “Do it if it makes you happy because you enjoy the software, not because you feel you have to.”
Schedule & Prepare For Internal Feature Releases
When you learn about new functionality in the software, I advise against bellowing the news to all your users. That’s right, hold info from them — but for good reason.
When I first started as an admin, I thought I had to share my new discoveries with users immediately to prove myself. This just led to more confusion and my users taking functionality for granted. Instead, it is much more engaging to unveil new features in batches or with more hoopla than just an email.
For example, when we implemented our new CRM, it had a web version that I knew would be helpful to our traveling sales team. Instead of showing them it from the start, we introduced this six months in to launch. That way, the team had a chance to use and understand the CRM system as it related to the ERP — important training. It also made the web version really exciting for them to try out, since it made their work easier when on the road. Sometimes, it’s helpful for users to go through a more “painful” process for a trial period so they better understand the software and how to use it before they start using custom/automated features.
Also, it’s human nature. When you are passive about new features, your users likely won’t be too excited about it — even if it has a big impact on their work. When you make it a big deal — look at these great new features! Then, people are more likely to be interested in what you’re showcasing.
As an admin, this also helps you control your work load. If new features are releasing and you aren’t even familiar with them yet, it makes it very difficult to support your users through the launch.
Of course, new feature launches should be coordinated with your software team. Sometimes it does make sense to implement with the flashy features immediately, but if you can help it, I suggest holding out and making it a splash. You’ll enjoy the excitement, too.
Along with this, when users make requests, don’t deliver ASAP — they’re not your boss! But they are your customer. Give yourself a realistic timeline and share it with them. Then “launch” the new features with a solid framework of documentation and tested functionality — they’ll be happier they can use the new feature seamlessly and the experience will be more positive. Plus, it will keep expectations realistic and give you the needed time to implement well.
Start Or Lead A User Group
If you’re using software like Salesforce, by now you should be a part of a user group. The next step to elevating yourself and your career is to seek out opportunities to lead or present at those meetings. This will help hold you accountable, be recognized for the work you’re doing, and further build your network.
If your software doesn’t have a user group, you should start one. There is so much power in a community of people using the same tool to do business. As the founding member, it’ll be a great way to establish yourself and bring a community together.
Never Settle
Never settle for “good enough” in a CRM system. Always ask for what seems impossible. Make your company’s needs known to the developers, and make the most out of the functionality in your CRM.
If…when…you face questions by management on if the company is getting the most out of the software, or even the dreaded “do we really need this?,” you have the most ammo to prove its value to the company. Speak up for your users, be honest about where your org is, and become an advocate for good, well-managed software to be utilized at your company.
Taking these steps towards certification, building for feature releases, and sharing your knowledge will provide benefits in three areas. Your employer, for one, will reap ROI from your certifications and feature releases. The more you know about the system, the less it will cost the business to maintain and the less time it will take you to resolve problems. Secondly, the more you’re able to empower your users by releasing fixes and updates that make their lives easier or help them make better choices, the smarter they get, too. Finally, these steps certify you as a professional — you’re building groundwork for the rest of your career that’s provable. Congratulations! Keep going.
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The Complete Accidental Admin Series By Courtney Cerniglia:
- Accidental CRM Admins: What To Do When You Don’t Know What To Do (Part 1)
- Accidental CRM Admins: How to Survive Post-Implementation (Part 2)
- Accidental CRM Admins: What to Learn Beyond the Daily Tasks (Part 3)
- Accidental Admin 4: Elevate Your Tech Career (Part 4)
