Applying for your first job is stress-inducing at the best of times – and the grads of 2021 definitely lived through a more challenging period than most. According to a recent survey by the Institute of Student Employers, more than a quarter of businesses have cut their graduate recruitment this year. That’s one of many reasons why 13.3 per cent of 16- to 24-year-olds are unemployed – almost three times the overall national rate.
The one bright spot is technology roles as, despite the worrying broader trend, job opportunities are actually ramping up.
Many people assume that to work in tech you need to be a trained computer scientist. The truth is, anyone, from anywhere, can learn the skills needed to get through the door, no matter their educational background.
When Jessica Simpson was doing her degree apprenticeship at Barclays, an opportunity to join the bank’s Salesforce CRM team came. “I didn’t think I had the necessary experience,” she says. But after doing some training on Salesforce’s free online learning platform Trailhead, Simpson was ready to go. “Trailhead made me realise that anyone can pursue a career in technology,” she says, “I never thought that I would be developing processes and hosting presentations, but I am and I love it!”
Trailhead offers learning content in Salesforce skills, which are in growing demand as 4.2 million new jobs are expected to come out of the global Salesforce Economy by 2024. But it also covers a wider range of areas, from marketing strategy to data analytics, which is one of the most desirable skillsets you can have at the moment. Whether it’s using Excel, Python or SQL, data analysis will be useful almost everywhere. It sounds daunting, but Trailhead gamifies the learning experience. It’s more than answering questions, you learn interactively and get rewarded with points and badges. So something that sounds complex, like building an Einstein bot, is much easier to digest. And that doesn’t change no matter how far you progress. A more advanced course to make a Cat Rescue App, which uses machine vision to recognise different breeds, takes just an hour and a half to complete.
Evaldas Zaranka wanted to make the transition into the tech world when his cybersecurity job started taking too much of a toll. “My rota was four on four off, including days and nights, on 12-hour shifts,” he says. “I needed to make some changes because I wanted to get back to my social life.” He knew he wanted to work with technology, but nothing like what he was doing before, so he started skilling up with Trailhead.
“In the beginning, it was not easy, because most of the things were new for me, and I had to learn and adapt quickly,” Zaranka says. “But the Trailblazer Community is an excellent place to look for help when you feel stuck.” Trailhead may be online learning, but now that Salesforce’s Trailblazer Community is integrated into the same platform, Zaranka’s virtual classmates from around the world were there to cheer him on and keep him motivated throughout the process. So, despite the initial challenge, he powered through his admin modules and landed a job at Just Eat. “Trailhead helped me to start and level up my knowledge quickly, so I could be competitive in the job market,” he says.
Trailhead provides free access to a Salesforce developer environment, so anyone can get to grips with the real technology, enabling you to build up the real-life experience that employers are looking for. And, since Trailhead is so hands-on, Zaranka also suggests using it to determine whether the career path you’re pursuing is a good fit. “Try a few exercises to understand if this career is for you,” he says. “Create a plan and do it!”
If you’re a recent grad struggling to find a job, Salesforce’s free online learning platform Trailhead has a plethora of free learning pathways that will help enhance your CV. Find out more by visiting Trailhead.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
