“I am very grateful to Gen25 for allowing me to follow my passion and develop myself”

In 2021, Gen25 has taken training and development to the next level with the launch of Academy25. In this article, we review the experiences of Salesforce Consultant Alina Smit, who was part of the 1st Academy25 cohort. Read Alina Smit’s interview and find out how the Academy25 kickstarted her Salesforce consultancy career at Gen25. 

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Why have you applied for Academy25?

With a background in Recruitment and a Bachelor's in Vocational Education, I never thought I could pursue a career in IT. Luckily, Gen25 approached me because I’ve shown my interest in IT-related jobs on LinkedIn before. I had various interviews with Consultants and Senior Consultants, who saw the potential and that was the main reason why they hired me. During my bachelor's, I only had a small IT module and this triggered my interest. I am very grateful to Gen25 for allowing me to follow my passion and develop further in this amazing field. 

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What was it like attending the academy?

During my previous job, I didn't feel challenged enough, and I found what I was looking for during this traineeship. At first, I was a little bit worried that I had no IT background and started at zero, but this eventually turned out to be a good thing. What you will learn at the Academy25 gives you a solid foundation, and when I started working together with a coach, I started making big steps. I learned so much on the job, and I will continue to do so!  

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How was the Salesforce Admin exam?

I think that the Salesforce Admin exam was rather easy because of the time that was given to us to study and we were already working with Salesforce for a few months. Additionally, we enjoyed the support of the other trainees by sharing methods and resources. It was an amazing group process. 

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What did you think was the best module?

Services Cloud from Anna because that's where my interest lies. That is why I chose to go that way and indicated that I would like to work with Anna, which is now the case. The lessons of Benjamin and Dawn have also taught me a lot. It's nice that the people who work for Gen25 in the UK are also involved in our learning process.

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How do you think Gen25 is handling your growth process?

During the traineeship, we were all supervised by our coordinator. We had an evaluation meeting with them once a week, where we discussed the feedback that was given from both sides. During every step in the Academy25, there will also be someone who can guide you. First, it’s the coordinator, then your coach and eventually your manager. To conclude, I find it amazing that you’ll get to identify where your interests are, and that Gen25 finds an Industry or solution that suits you best. 

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