And it all began with his independent study and exploration of Salesforce. How did it unfold exactly? Sander Schenk shares his journey.
How it all began
After completing a marketing study in Amsterdam, Sander started as an advisor at the ICT Information Center. During this period, he quickly came into contact with Salesforce, although it wasn't his first encounter: "Several family members of mine work with Salesforce, so they had already introduced me to the system," Sander explains. Alongside his job, he began studying Salesforce through Trailhead and Focus on Force. "The beauty of Salesforce is that you can learn so much on your own," adds Sander. Later, he left his job to dedicate three months solely to obtaining Salesforce certifications. And he succeeded! In a short time, he acquired multiple certifications such as Salesforce Administrator, App Builder, and Sales Cloud. With these certifications under his belt, he embarked on a job search as a Salesforce Consultant.
Starting at Intigris
Intigris quickly crossed Sander's path. "I began as a junior at Intigris three years ago, with practically no practical Salesforce or consultant experience. It was quite nerve-wracking," recalls Sander. He was immediately guided by various colleagues who had the relevant experience. "That helped me immensely in the beginning. I learned a tremendous amount in my first year at Intigris at a rapid pace. But in reality, I'm still learning every day. At Intigris, I work for multiple clients each week, which exposes me to various business processes, Salesforce functionalities, and customers."
Delivery Manager
Recently, Sander advanced to the role of Delivery Manager at Intigris. He was ready for more responsibility within his work and was given the opportunity to fulfill that role. The key difference from being a Salesforce Consultant is being accountable for the success of the entire project. Managing expectations, budget control, planning, and supervising colleagues are part of the tasks. All of this with one ultimate goal: a successful project and a satisfied customer. "The exciting part is that I can now mentor colleagues from the Intigris Salesforce Academy, just as I once started. The roles have reversed compared to three years ago," Sander explains.
Reflecting on the past 3 years
Over the past 3 years, Sander has had numerous learning opportunities at Intigris. He continues to enjoy his work every day. "Working at Intigris is fantastic! The atmosphere and colleagues are the primary reasons why I still work here. Everyone gets along so well, which is not something you find in every company. Additionally, I find it important that I still feel like I'm learning something new every day. I'm far from standing still!" he emphasizes.
The future
"When it comes to my plans for the future, I want to gain experience," Sander responds promptly. "I have just started in my new role as Delivery Manager. In the coming period, I want to further develop myself in that position and successfully complete projects from start to finish, with a satisfied customer as the outcome. However, my ultimate goal is to lead an internal team as a managing consultant. I enjoy sharing my knowledge and experience with colleagues, not only to successfully complete my own projects but also to contribute to the growth of Intigris as a company!"