Salesforce Success Community,Trailhead, and LinkedIn: Part 2

Display your Trailhead profile badges within the Salesforce Success Community

Hey Devs,

I wanted to take the time to explain a few things about your Salesforce Success Community profile, your Trailhead profile, your LinkedIn profile and how all of those things can work together.

Pretty much when it comes to these profiles we are talking about the integration of three different things:

1. Your Trailhead profile, which is what houses all of your badges.
2. Your Success Community profile, where you have joined groups and participate via Chatter.
3. Your LinkedIn profile.

First I showed how to link your social profiles to your Success Community profile.

Now I will show how to display your Trailhead profile badges within in the Salesforce Success Community:

1. Log in to the Success Community 
2. Navigate to your Profile
3. Navigate to Work and Experience 
4. Scroll Down to the Certifications and Badges section and click Link Trailhead Account
5. Input the email address for the Trailhead account that you want to connect and click Connect Account
6. Check your Email for a verification code
7. Return to the Work and Experience section, input your verification code, then click Complete Connection
8. Check the Show Salesforce Trailhead Badges on my profile checkbox
9. Click Save Changes

Congratulations! You should be all set. Please see the images below for more help.

Salesforce Success Community,Trailhead, and LinkedIn: Part 1

Link your social profiles to your Salesforce Success Community profile.

Hey Devs,

I wanted to take the time to explain a few things about your Salesforce Success Community profile, your Trailhead profile, your LinkedIn profile and how all of those things can work together.

Pretty much when it comes to these profiles we are talking about the integration of three different things:

1. Your Trailhead profile, which is what houses all of your badges.
2. Your Success Community profile, where you have joined groups and participate via Chatter.
3. Your LinkedIn profile.

First up, how to link your social profiles to your Success Community profile:

1. Log in to the Success Community 
2. Navigate to your Profile
3. Navigate to Work and Experience 
4. Scroll Down to the Social section and input the url for the social networks you want to connect.
5. Click Save Changes

Congratulations! You should be all set. I don't believe there is any verification process for this. Please see the images below for more help.

Salesforce Developer Resources #6

Hey Devs,

Have you heard of Trailhead? Have you used it? Isn’t it fantastic?!?!

I have to admit I had heard of Trailhead months ago, shortly after I went to Dreamforce, but I never really dove in. It seemed like just one more thing that my already overwhelmed introverted brain would have to try to process. But now that my project work has slowed and I’ve resumed studying for certification again, I am really seeing it as a great tool to learn with.

In my opinion Trailhead is very similar to the Force.com workbook for example, or other Salesforce workbooks, except it is visually appealing, offers a badge as a reward after you finish a section, and the organization of topics is in smaller chunks (units) that are more easily digestible. These units are then organized into modules, and then finally put into a trail, so that you can see the larger picture of the information that you are learning in relation to a Salesforce.com topic or role; Administrator, Developer, etc..

Its very clever from a marketing, gamification, e-learning perspective. Salesforce has themed everything up to make you feel like you are “trailblazing” for example, earning badges that look like boy/girl scout badges and with Astro the mascot (and a nameless bear) as your guides of sorts.

To use this as a study tool simply complete the modules, trails, and any related projects that relate to your certification goal. Read through the related resources they list within each unit, and take notes from everything you encounter that is referenced within the certification study guide rubric. Easy peasy!

Till next time...

Happy Birthday AAC!

Hey Devs,

You heard correctly, it's the very first anniversary of AAndersonConsulting, and this time I'm celebrating! I cannot believe that I have been in business for a full year! Technically, I’ve been around since October of 2008 when I had my first project as a web developer. The company ended up hiring me full time for several years, and I didn’t pursue taking on side projects.

Then came May of 2014, when I dove into Salesforce Consulting full time, and here we are today… one year old.

I have learned so much in this first year. Many of my lessons have revolved around personal time management and organization, as I work on different projects with different firms. But I have also learned a lot about project management. I have a brand new goal of becoming a rockstar project manager for Salesforce.com projects.

I don’t know if I will ever take this freelancing fun and turn it into more of a full on small business with employees and incorporation, but it is something to consider for a 5 or 10 year plan item. A lot can happen in five years…

Anyway, here’s to another great year of Salesforce implementation and configuration!

Till next time...

Show Some Love

Hey Devs,

My mom used to be a teacher… depending on what age group you teach you’ll get some awesome gifts of appreciation from time to time. My dad used to be a researcher, often going to monasteries and the like annually to test patients. They would send him away with a box of apple pears and fudge that was made on site!

I’ve always been a bit envious of those who work in professions where they are thanked often, or thanked well, for the work that they do. Everyone likes to be appreciated, whether in the form of a sticky note, kind spoken words, a card, or a gift. I have finally gotten to experience that feeling of unexpected joy for being appreciated, not for going “above and beyond” but simply for carrying out your job.

The guys over at Conga graciously said thanks to us for signing up some clients to use their awesome document creation services. How nice of them!

And these were tasty! I have to seriously consider becoming a Conga Hero… especially if there is chocolate involved.

I look forward to finding some opportunities to say thanks and be extra appreciative of those I work with, and of course, I would be thrilled if my consulting work spurred clients and 3rd parties to give a similar shout out in the future :)

Till next time...

New Consultancy: Kell Partners

Hey Devs,

I’ve just started with a new consultancy KELL Partners. This is a LinkedIn success story if I’ve ever heard one! I get a good number of inquiry’s from linkedIn, enough so that I’ve come to understand that not all of them will be a good fit. This was especially true when my profile was more general than it is now. It was difficult figuring out what to put in there while switching to being self employed.

I started asking these inquirers about what brought them to my profile, which resulted in me removing some of my skills since I wasn’t looking for that type of work anymore. I’m talking old skills from college courses taken ages ago...

A blogger that I occasionally follow created a helpful post on the importance of tailoring Linked in for your job search. I think he makes some very valid points. As I get to know the salesforce arena better, I’m sure that my profile will continue to become more specific and attract more companies that are a good fit.

Anyway, I’m really looking forward to working with KELL because they are a good fit. They are based in Austin, they are a small company that works with non profits, they are looking for mostly configuration hours, and I’ll get to become familiar with a new set of 3rd party salesforce.com apps which will expand the services I offer to clients.

The only thing I’m not looking forward to is another set of email address/project management and timesheet credentials! Yep...first world Independent Consultant problems :)

At the start of the new year I had a goal to get another client into the mix, and I was very prepared to have a long job hunt. I consider myself truly blessed to have the opportunity to work with KELL Partners. Here’s hoping that this is the start of a beautiful relationship.

Check me out, I’m part of the KELL Partners team.

Till next time...

Volunteer: Paleo FX

Hey Devs,

Well, I’m here in Austin, finally a bit more settled, and I’m looking to get involved in IT, and Health and Fitness related activities. Oddly enough I went to a meetup event somewhat designed to bring the two together, and there I learned of the Paleo f(x) Conference.


I don’t really follow the diet, at least not on purpose, but being gluten intolerant and appreciating protein in the way that I do, it just so happens that many of my meal choices are paleo friendly.

I volunteered to be a “Tribemate” with my primary position being on their web team. The nature of the work is mostly basic content management.

At any rate, I will get free admission to their annual conference in April. I plan on going to any sessions about gluten intolerance, immune health or gastrointestinal health. I doubt they will have any session specifically geared towards IT, but the conference may be a good place to network with those looking to create a web presence for themselves as health enthusiasts/professionals.

I really hope to meet health conscious people to connect with.

I’m excited! Stay tuned for a future post on how it goes.

Till next time :)

Here’s To A Better 2015

Original artwork by Lisa Moy

Hey Devs,

Well it’s that time of the year again, the newest of new time. Time for resolutions and clean slates, for goals and fresh starts. I read this inspiring blog post, 12 Inspirational Quotes To Kick Off The New Year, from the salesforce blog nonetheless, that gave me an energy that I can only describe as a peaceful excitement.

Here are a few of goals for myself as an Independent Contractor:

1. Add a new client. 
2. Find a few volunteer opportunities. 
3. Incorporate healthy working habits into the day. 
4. Keep better books so that tax season isn’t crazy. 
5. Track time put towards networking, business development, and education. 
6. Read books about freelancing best practices.

The list seems simple enough. Stay tuned to see if I accomplish these goals.

Till next time!

Consulting As An Independent Contractor

I look back on my time as an employee semi fondly. I definitely learned alot about myself and about business acumen. But, I am really enjoying working as an Independent Contractor, and here is why:

I get asked to work on projects.
I’m asked if I’m interested. That little thing, the ask, makes a huge difference for me. When you work as an employee for an employer, it is assumed that you will do a specific set of responsibilities, it is just your job, it is your responsibility, and you are rarely thanked.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand responsibility and “my job” but I feel that companies could still do a better job at making an ask, or being more excited about projects that need to be done. The attitude I usually see is one of people feeling as if they are doing grunt work and have no choice but to continue doing grunt work.

Work is project based.
I’ve worked on several implementations, and I’m sure I will work on several more. I’ve done data migration, analyzed and solved process issues, integrated new applications into a system…. and then I’m done. There are no forever ongoing, never ending, maintenance tasks. When the system is implemented, the problem solved or integration in place, I can move on to the next thing. This is great for someone like me who gets bored easily.

Salesforce Developer Resources #5

Hey Devs,

Like most of you, I want to get certified. All of the developer resources I post are a means to that end, and this one is no exception. A colleague of mine told me about this study group called GirlForce. Joining the group seem like a great way to go when it comes to organized collaborative learning. This is especially true if you cannot afford a Salesforce sponsored class.

I recently attended an informational meeting on what the study program is all about. One question I did not ask was if the group was strictly for women only... I believe the first open spots go to women, and the rest are open for anyone. But don’t quote me on that!

There is a significant time commitment to be a part of the group, but it is all in all reasonable and will make you a better member of the salesforce community. You meet weekly as a group and people take turns presenting a designated section of the salesforce.com study guide for whichever certification you are pursuing. You are also expected to contribute to the Salesforce Foundation Community via the Power of Us Hub and the Salesforce Success Community.

The Salesforce Success Community really is a huge draw to using and learning the platform. Check it out, you’ll see what I mean. There are groups available to join by topic which can help you solve problems and issues that you may run into at any point of your salesforce career. In turn you may learn something that could really help someone out and be able to share that as well.

Unfortunately I couldn’t commit to the requirements for this first session starting in 2015 but they have them on a rolling basis so I will be able to join up later. I’m hoping that studying with this group, plus the hours I’ve been spending configuring the platform, will make certification a reality.

Till next time...