MEET A GRADUATE — Kathy Schwartz
About the Program
William Paterson University School of Continuing Education and Professional Education worked with North Jersey Partners, a coalition of Workforce Development Boards, to offer Camp4’s Salesforce Certified Administrator Program with 21 students enrolled in the second cohort. Those who pass the program receive a certificate of completion from William Paterson University.
We sat down with graduate Kathy Schwartz, Principal Implementation Consultant for Skedulo, to talk with her about her Camp4 experience.
What is your professional background and what was your prior experience with Salesforce?
Most of my career has been in software implementation--ERP and EAM packages. I originally worked for a software company, then moved to The City of New York and implemented maintenance packages, and lastly, moved on to a large, traditional pure consulting company, where I worked for two years before getting laid off. That’s when Camp4 came to my attention. I knew about Salesforce from having been in the IT space for so long, and had some experience with them back in the early days, when working for The City of New York and looking at contact management platforms. We didn’t move forward with them at that time, so Camp4 was actually my first hands-on experience using Salesforce.
What was your journey to finding Camp4?
I was looking for a new job and additional training since getting laid off, and given my experience with software implementation, Camp4 seemed like a natural fit. I knew a couple of platforms around the EAM/ERP space already, so applied to companies that were either pure consulting firms or software companies, but without much luck. It was the beginning of the pandemic, and a lot of companies just didn’t have enough projects lined up.
I found Camp4 through North Jersey Partners, which was offering either the Salesforce program with Camp4 or some other training programs around supply chain management. My background is more in supply chain, but when talking about it with friends, they told me it would be crazy not to go for Salesforce, so I got into Camp4 and started learning Salesforce. It wasn’t necessary for me to learn how to be a consultant from the ground up, since I had already been doing that part of it for a living, so it was just a matter of learning Salesforce.
Once you decided on Salesforce, why did you choose to do the Camp4 program, instead of just doing the Trailheads and training on your own?
I actually didn’t know about the Trailheads before, and once I got into them, I really liked them. The fact that you can get your own Salesforce test account and build whatever you want...Salesforce has built a great tool to encourage people to learn. I probably wouldn’t have done the training consistently on my own. The fact that we had homework, that they wanted to see us present our work, the structure of the class–all of that made me find the time to learn Salesforce. Otherwise, you can always put it off until tomorrow and not be motivated to actually get it done.
What was your day-to-day experience in the Camp4 program, and what were your favorite aspects?
It was the first time I learned an entire platform online, so that was an adjustment. But once they started laying out homework, it was easy for me to pick up and move forward quickly. I was able to do the assignments and present them, and because I was used to being in front of customers, that all came pretty naturally to me.
The way they structured the course was great as well. On Mondays and Wednesdays you had regular classes, and then Fridays were consulting days, where you learned how to implement the software and present your work like a consultant, so it was technical, hands-on, and interactive. Wednesday nights the Advisors came in, and we learned a lot from them. While I didn’t need the consulting practice as much as students without prior experience, it was a really good way to run the class.
I also loved that they trained you and then gave you case studies so that you could actually do them, as well as the fact that they made you present them in class. This way, they knew if you actually understood what you were doing. It wasn’t just about getting through the classes at Camp4 and saying we completed the course. They were really keen on making sure that we would leave the class with actual job skills and job prospects.
Instructors worked extra hours to answer questions, too, and they encouraged us to get into study groups, so I was able to help a few other students who had questions about being consultants. Ultimately, Camp4 really focused on getting us through the material so we could come out our best at the end of the class. They really wanted us to succeed.
Did you take the certification test after the course?
I decided to take the certification in person, and passed the first time through, which made me happy. I’ve been trying to keep up with new Trailheads to make sure I’m still learning relevant things, since it's a continuously growing platform and market.
How did you find the job that you have now?
I was looking on LinkedIn and Indeed, and pivoting towards Salesforce Admin or Salesforce Consultant. I had come from a large consulting firm and was not a fan, so was mainly interviewing with smaller companies. After a few rounds of interviews, I got a job with Skedulo, which is a really employee-focused company. They’re also a startup, which is new for me, and it certainly is different. They’ve been growing like crazy. They hired me because of my background in software implementation, as well as for my Salesforce experience which I got from Camp4. Now I find myself helping coworkers with Salesforce and consulting tasks, which is a great confirmation of my years of experience and newly acquired skills.
How does your current job at Skedulo tie back into what you learned at Camp4, if at all?
My role is as a liaison in any given project. We have Project Managers that get the project rolling, and we have Solutions Architects who customize the product. During the development cycle, my job is to show customers what the development team built, and how to use that for their specific needs. I also train customers on how to set up and use the software, helping them with pre-setup, running them through UAT test scripts, and making sure they're ready to go live.
My first two customers were Salesforce-based, so I was so glad I’d been through the Camp4 training. Being more familiar with Salesforce definitely helped me navigate with greater ease, and without that training, I may not have gotten the job offer to begin with.
What would be your advice for somebody who’s looking to get into the Salesforce space? How should they go about it, and what paths did you find work really well?
I’d definitely say that if you’re looking into Salesforce and you want to get these certifications, and you want to have people who are there to help you, you need to get into a class, and I highly recommend Camp4. None of these classes are cheap, but if you want to get in and learn this stuff, it’s worth it. There are other insights they give you as well, like tips and techniques that they have learned over the years, because it’s what they do for a living. They can definitely help you get through it better than you could just trying to slog through it by yourself.
Also, they’ve got contacts everywhere, and you can get recommendations and referrals because those contacts are inside the Salesforce circle. In addition, they have connections with other consultant groups, so you’ve got those job insights as well.
What’s amazing about Camp4 is that they want to be absolutely sure that you will thrive once you leave, and not every training is like that. They go out of their way to ensure that you understand what you are doing so that you can go out there and be successful in the real world.
Interested in making a career shift yourself, or offering Salesforce training for your team?
