This week on the Salesforce Admins Podcast, we talk to Saray Rosales, Associate Consultant at Now It Matters, with another great PepUp Tech alumni story. We learn how she first met Salesforce as an end user and now is building her career in the platform.
Join us as we talk about how she got started with PepUp Tech, and what she’s learned as a new Salesforce admin to help herself and help herself and help others.
You should subscribe for the full episode, but here are a few takeaways from our conversation with Saray Rosales.
When she was growing up, Saray really just wanted to help other people: “I wanted to impact people and do something big for others.” In her new role at Now It Matters, she gets to do just that. “Every day is a new day, something challenging and something new and I love it.”
Saray didn’t necessarily know off the bat that Salesforce would be the way to do what she dreamed of, but the company she was working for happened to use the platform, so she encountered it as an end user. “I wanted to learn more about Salesforce, so I went to the World Tour where I met Selena Suarez, the founder of PepUp Tech,” she says. She did the boot camp program and it changed everything: “I fell in love with Salesforce. I fell in love with the company, the inclusion that it represents, and I really look forward to learning more about it.”
So how did Saray end up going to World Tour when she was really just an end user at that point? “We didn’t have an admin at the company back then, so I was feeling like we didn’t know what to do with this amazing tool that we had,” she says. She took the boot camp to learn more about the backend in order to do more with the platform.
“The boot camp was amazing,” Saray says, “I got to meet amazing people that I’m still friends with and very close with. I tell them that they are my Ohana, my family here, my support system, they opened so many doors for me. They actually changed my life for the better.”
As studied more, Saray quickly saw why the admin role was so important to the platform. “I’m learning how you can make things better for your users. How can you make everything more efficient for them and easier for them?” she says. “You see the backend of things, and you analyze all the processes and figure out a way to make things better.” In other words, you help other people do their jobs better.
At Now It Matters, Saray is learning something new every day. “My coworkers are amazing, they’re very patient with me, and they take the time to teach me things because there’s always something you can learn and do better,” she says.
When she started out she was on a two-week trial which was understandably a little nerve-wracking, so she reached out to the PepUp Tech community to ask for advice. “They said, ‘Just take a step back and look at the big picture of things, don’t get overwhelmed,’” she says, “‘look at the small pieces and put it all together.’”
From the start, Saray faced some tough challenges. She needed to solve a problem related to finance, but she had no idea what to do because it wasn’t in her background. However, she realized that she could use it as an opportunity to prove that she can learn quickly and take on new problems, so she took a deep breath and dove in. “I read a lot and reached out to people that I know who could help me,” she says, and it ended up being a big win for her. “There are so many things that you don’t know as a new admin,” she says, “and that’s why you’ve got to take a step back and relax.”
Gillian Bruce: Welcome to the Salesforce Admins podcast, where we talk about product, community, and careers to help you become a more awesome Salesforce admin. I’m Gillian Bruce.
Gillian Bruce: Today, listeners, we have another great PepUp Tech alumni story for you. We are talking to Saray Rosales, who is an Associate Consultant at Now IT Matters. I got the opportunity to meet with Saray and chat with her when I was in New York for the World Tour back in December, and she’s got a great story about how she first met Salesforce as an end user, and has now created her whole career around Salesforce. So, without further ado, please welcome Saray to the podcast.
Gillian Bruce: Saray, welcome to the podcast.
Saray Rosales: Oh wow, thank you, so happy to be here.
Gillian Bruce: I am so happy to be here, we are in New York City getting read for the New York World Tour, which is just around the corner for us. And this is your home base, New York, so thank you for having me in your city, this is cool. I wanted to get you on the podcast because you’ve got a really great story I wanted to share with our listeners.
Gillian Bruce: But before we get into that, I would love to ask you a question. Saray, what did you wanna be when you grew up?
Saray Rosales: Oh, that’s a funny question. I always dreamt to help people, to impact people, to do something big for others and help others.
Gillian Bruce: That’s a pretty big goal as a kid, to wanna do that, that’s great. So now you are working in the Salesforce ecosystem. Tell us about what you’re doing.
Saray Rosales: Right now I’m working for Now IT Matters as an Associate Consultant. So I’m pretty happy in my new role, I’ve been with them one and a half months already, and I love it so far. I love the company culture, I love that I’m learning something new every day, it’s a new day, something challenging, something new. I love it.
Gillian Bruce: That’s great. So you’re doing consulting, you’re in the Salesforce ecosystem. Tell me about how you first found Salesforce. Did you know that you wanted to do Salesforce when you were in school? Tell me a little bit more about your journey.
Saray Rosales: Okay, so I used to work for a company, and then they had Salesforce, so I wanted to learn more about Salesforce. And I came actually to the World Tour two years ago, and I met Selina Suarez, the founder of PepUp Tech. Since then, I took the boot camp in PepUp Tech, and then I fell in love with Salesforce. I fell in love with the company, the inclusion that the company represents. I’m really looking forward to keep learning more about it.
Gillian Bruce: That’s great. So were you an end user of Salesforce at that previous company?
Saray Rosales: Yes.
Gillian Bruce: And how was your experience using Salesforce as an end user? What did you think about it, how did you use it?
Saray Rosales: That’s why I came to the World Tour, because I wanted to learn more. We didn’t have an admin at the company back then, so I was feeling that we didn’t know what to do with this amazing tool that we had. So I came to the World Tour, and I got the opportunity to take the boot camp because I wanted to learn more about the backend, the admin side of Salesforce.
Gillian Bruce: So you were immediately curious about seeing what else you could do with the technology, and you found the PepUp Tech boot camp. So tell me a little bit about that experience, how was the boot camp experience for you?
Saray Rosales: Oh my god, the boot camp experience was amazing. I got to meet amazing people that I am still friends with and very close with. I tell them that they are my ‘ohana, my family here, my support system. They opened so many doors for me, they actually changed my life for the better.
Gillian Bruce: That’s amazing. So you’ve got this great cohort of people that you’ve been working with, that are kind of like your Salesforce ‘ohana, right, your first Salesforce ‘ohana. But you’re learning Salesforce and the technology and how to do the admin piece of it, what were some of the things about learning how to be a Salesforce admin that were either surprising, or you found challenging? Tell me about that experience.
Saray Rosales: The surprising part, I think that is learning how you can make things better for your users. How can you make everything more efficient for them and easier for them? That’s the best part that I’m finding about the Salesforce admin role, that you see the back end of things and you analyze all the processes and figure out the way to make things better.
Gillian Bruce: Yeah, and like you said, you’ve always been motivated by trying to make an impact for people and make their lives better. So here you go, you’ve found a way to customize their experience and help them do their jobs better, so it makes sense that that excited you. That’s great.
Gillian Bruce: So now you’re at Now IT Matters. How did you transition from your role as an end user to now at this consultancy?
Saray Rosales: That’s a very interesting question. It’s challenging, because I’m learning something new. But that’s the exciting part. Every day I’m learning something new, I am reading a lot, using Trailhead a lot. And my coworkers are amazing, they’re very patient with me, and they take the time to teach me things because there’s always something that you can learn to do better, right?
Gillian Bruce: Absolutely. And you’ve said this a few times, the idea of the Salesforce ‘ohana, the Salesforce community, that spirit of everyone trying to help each other.
Saray Rosales: That’s right.
Gillian Bruce: So for me that’s one of the things that I think makes me feel so special to be a part of this culture, this ecosystem. It’s this crazy world where everyone wants to help each other and lift each other up.
Saray Rosales: Very supportive.
Gillian Bruce: Yeah. So tell me, that impact for you, you’re new in this role, tell me about what it’s like for you to ask questions or lean on your PepUp Tech crew for help or support.
Saray Rosales: I actually had a two-week trial, and I didn’t know what to do during this two-week period, so I reached out to all my mentors at PepUp Tech and asked them, “What can I do, how can I do this, I am feeling overwhelmed, I don’t know where to start.” They all calmed me down and they said, “Just take a step back and look at the big picture of things. Don’t get overwhelmed for everything.” So that’s basically what I did at the beginning.
Gillian Bruce: Yeah, chunk it down, right? Don’t try and boil the ocean.
Saray Rosales: Don’t look at everything, just take a step back and look at small pieces, and then put it all together.
Gillian Bruce: So I’m trying to think, what were some of the things that in that two-week trial, you’re like, “Oh, I’ve gotta prove myself, this is a big challenge.” What were some of the quick wins or things that you were able to do to demonstrate, “Hey, I belong here, this is my job.”
Saray Rosales: I remember that I had one assignment that was very challenging, it was something related to finance. I had no idea about finance because it’s not my background, right? So I was like, “Oh, I gotta prove that I can do challenging stuff, and I can learn something new and I can take it to the next step.” So I remember I was going away, and during that time I was like, “I gotta get this done before I go away.”
Saray Rosales: So I read a lot, I reached out to people that I know might help me to know more information about it, and I finished the task before I left. And I think that got me to demonstrate that I really belong here, I can prove myself, I can do things here.
Gillian Bruce: Yeah, and I like how you say you didn’t already know about this kinda finance question, maybe not something that you already knew, but you were able to lean on your network and do your own research, and figure it out. I think a lot of people, especially new in an admin role, kinda feel this, “Oh my gosh, I don’t know everything, I have to know everything, maybe I’m not qualified.” And so the fact that you immediately knew, “I may not know the answer, but I know how to go find it.”
Saray Rosales: That’s right, and that’s the thing that gets you overwhelmed at the beginning. Because you feel like you gotta know things, and there are so many things that you don’t know as a new admin. That’s how I felt at the beginning, but that’s why you gotta take a step back and then realize that every day you gotta learn something new. And then you will get to the point that you will know a lot, but still you have more things to learn.
Gillian Bruce: Absolutely. So another thing that I’ve heard, especially from other PepUp Tech alumni, is the idea that you’re still learning, but you also like to share what you’ve learned, and that’s helped them get more experience and feel more confident in what they know. How are you plugging back into … Are you giving back in that way too? “Oh, I learned this thing, let me share it with you.” So tell me a little bit about that, are there specific instances that you’ve helped somebody else?
Saray Rosales: I remember that I volunteered for the boot camps, Saturday boot camps, and my first day that I volunteered for I got so excited that I can actually teach other people what I know. I remember I volunteered with Sasha, one of my PepUp Tech friends, and we were so excited and so eager to teach other people. And I have a few friends that took the boot camp, and I set up meetings during the week with them, so I can go over and I can explain things to them that they don’t know.
Gillian Bruce: That’s awesome.
Saray Rosales: It feels nice to give back.
Gillian Bruce: Absolutely, and like you said, it helps build your confidence a little bit. “Oh, I do have something I can teach, I have knowledge that other people get something from.”
Saray Rosales: “Oh, I remember how to do this.”
Gillian Bruce: So Saray, since you’re kind of new in your career and you’re in this, you’re building, what are some pieces of advice you might have for people who are also new in their Salesforce career that have helped you build what you’ve got?
Saray Rosales: I will say be humble, and ask questions. Be willing to learn from other people, and be willing to ask them for feedback, how are you doing, how can you be better. And show people that you are willing to … You maybe don’t know right now the answer, but you’re willing to work and you’re willing to learn it.
Gillian Bruce: That’s a great piece of advice. And you just told us how that’s worked really well for you so far, so that’s great. So what’s next for you? You’re at Now IT Matters, you’ve really taken on this Salesforce career path, what’s next for you?
Saray Rosales: I wanna become a consultant, right now I have the position as an Associate Consultant, but I wanna become a consultant. I wanna get certified as my admin certification first, and then I wanna get some marketing certification, maybe marketing cloud. That’s what I wanna do for next year.
Gillian Bruce: That’s excellent, I’m looking forward to hearing back from you and seeing you brag about your awesome certifications.
Saray Rosales: Thank you.
Gillian Bruce: That’s great. Well, before I totally let you go, I do wanna ask you a lightning round question, by popular demand, I get in trouble on the podcast if I don’t ask a lightning round question. So it’s the first thing to come to mind, there’s no right or wrong answer.
Gillian Bruce: Since we’re in New York City, I’ve been asking New York themed lightning round questions. Saray, your question is what is one thing you recommend someone to do when they visit New York City?
Saray Rosales: Oh, go to Times Square.
Gillian Bruce: Times Square, there we go.
Saray Rosales: Go to Times Square.
Gillian Bruce: All the huge billboards and the screens and everything.
Saray Rosales: And take the subway at least one time.
Gillian Bruce: Great tip, I love the subway, it makes San Francisco subways look so sad. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to share with us, I so look forward to hearing back from you when you’ve got your next steps going. And I’m excited for what’s in front of you career-wise.
Saray Rosales: Thank you so much for having me.
Gillian Bruce: Huge thanks to Saray for taking the time to chat with me in New York. If you couldn’t tell, there’s a little bit of background noise, we were actually huddled in a lobby of a hotel by some conference rooms, because I just wanted to capture her story so badly that I wanted to take whatever time I could to do that.
Gillian Bruce: I absolutely loved her passion and her energy that came across. She really has always wanted to find a way to help others, ever since she was a young person growing up. And now she’s found a way to do that with Salesforce. Meeting Salesforce as an end user and then figuring out that it was a tool that she could use to help people and make their lives easier, finding PepUp Tech as a way to enable her to learn how to do that, and now as a consultant at Now IT Matters, being on that path to really help lots and lots of people be empowered and improve how they do their jobs and what they do with the power of a platform.
Gillian Bruce: I also really liked how she mentioned that her ‘ohana is key to helping her learn and get going. She only had a two-week trial in her role at Now IT Matters as an Associate Consultant, and she was not afraid to ask for help, to lean on her community of PepUp Tech alumni and the Salesforce community to help her figure out any questions that she couldn’t answer.
Gillian Bruce: One of my favorite things that she said is, “Every day you’re gonna learn something new, and someday you’ll know a lot. But you have to go through the process of learning something every single day to get there.”
Gillian Bruce: So, definitely remember her advice of be humble and ask questions, be willing to learn and ask for feedback. Showing people that you’re willing to learn and you’re willing to work to learn is really key for you being successful and for you growing into your career in the Salesforce ecosystem.
Gillian Bruce: So great words of wisdom and great inspiration from Saray, I so appreciate her taking the time to chat with us. If you wanna learn a little bit more about some of the things we chatted about, I have some resources for you.
Gillian Bruce: First of all, you can always go check out the amazing program of PepUp Tech, I have the link in the show notes. They have amazing boot camps and other ways that you can also volunteer and give back. Just like Saray mentioned, she loves the ability to volunteer and teach others, it helps her build confidence in her skills. Great opportunity for all of you listening to the podcast to help out in some way.
Gillian Bruce: There’s also some good resources on Trailhead. If you are early in your Salesforce career, there is a great trail mix called Build Your Admin Career on Salesforce. It is an amazing collection of skills that you need, both technical and non-technical, to help you build your admin career.
Gillian Bruce: There’s also a resource on Trailhead new in the last few months, we’ve been able to combine a lot of great resources on trailhead.com, and there’s a whole webpage about discovering Salesforce career paths. So if you are interested in maybe taking on a consulting role, like Saray has taken, you can learn more about what that career path looks like right there on that page. Again, those links are in the show notes.
Gillian Bruce: As always, remember to please share this podcast with your friends, your family, your coworkers, your colleagues, your neighbors, anybody you think might find some value in discovering the Salesforce ecosystem or building up their awesome admin skills. By subscribing to the podcast, it makes sure you get the latest and greatest episodes delivered directly to your platform or device of choice the moment they are released every Thursday.
Gillian Bruce: And if you want more great content on how to be an awesome admin, check out admin.salesforce.com where you’ll find blogs, webinars, events, and yes, even more podcasts. You can find us on Twitter @SalesforceAdmns, no “i”. Our guest today, Saray, is also on Twitter, she is @SarayKRosales. And you can find myself @gilliankbruce.
Gillian Bruce: Thank you so much for listening to this episode, and we’ll catch you next time in the cloud.
Today on the Salesforce Admins Podcast, we talk to Lisa Tulchin, Senior Curriculum Developer at Salesforce. Join us as we chat about user learning styles and how to use them to create better training sessions. You should subscribe for the full episode, but here are a few takeaways from our conversation with Lisa Tulchin. Choose […]
Today on the Salesforce Admins Podcast, we talk to Ella Marks, Senior Marketing Manager at Salesforce. Join us as we chat about the keys to creating an effective presentation, how to prep, and how to create a strong ending. You should subscribe for the full episode, but here are a few takeaways from our conversation […]
Today on the Salesforce Admins Podcast, we talk to Warren Walters, Salesforce MVP and host of the Salesforce Mentor YouTube channel and website. Join us as we chat about what admins and devs can learn from each other and why everyone can learn to code. You should subscribe for the full episode, but here are […]
