In Gordon Lee‘s great Dreamforce presentation yesterday, he described how he helped a barista land her 1st Salesforce position, and the challenges she ran into which may be similar to what you’re facing.

In the slides below, he highlighted:

The Trust Gap – Employers are unsure and may not be confident you can do the job.

The Mind of a Hiring Manager – While Trailhead is nice, that’s not how requirements are presented (it’s typically a lot messier). 

Also, they want to hire someone who understands that Salesforce is only the underlying technology, and the people is where the focus should transition to.

Transferable Skills – Barista example: customer service, detail oriented, error free, works well under pressure.

Experience App Examples – Personal Budget, Vacation Logistics/Travel Itinerary, Interests/Hobbies, Revenue/Expenses for side projects.

While you may have heard some of this before, continue to work on these types of ideas to hopefully make further progress.