For the last 10 years, Paula Asaije worked in customer service as a restaurant manager. Little did she know her career would evolve to managing customer relations through Salesforce. Paula was first introduced to Salesforce in 2017 when she noticed an uptick in her regular customers wearing Salesforce gear when grabbing lunch. It made her curious and she began to ask them about the software.

In 2019, she was introduced to a Salesforce instructor who sparked her interest in learning how to use Salesforce. But before she could get certified, she moved to Canada and placed her goal on hold.

However, Paula wasn’t discouraged from looking for other opportunities to hone her CRM skills and master Salesforce. She found out about Pathstream through a Salesforce Facebook group and was drawn to the flexibility that the Emory Salesforce Administrator Career Certificate offered, such as being 100% online and self-paced. Paula began to research Pathstream certificate programs and found a plethora of positive reviews online, giving her the push she needed to enroll.

As she began to work through the modules, she noticed that any time she had an issue there was support available. For example, Paula felt that Trailhead modules could sometimes be confusing; but when coupled with a real instructor, “everything made so much more sense.”

“If I had questions or got stuck, the instructor was very responsive and helpful. She was also extremely flexible, understanding when I needed more time to complete a project. This was great.” 

Flexibility and understanding were important to Paula because she was working full-time as a General Manager at Panera while learning. The resources Paula had access to through Pathstream stood out to her as a timesaver and a tool to help strengthen her skills.

“The program package gives you many resources and the option to take notes while you learn. When I initially took the Salesforce practice exam, I failed, but after reviewing my notes, I passed on my second try. Don’t forget to take advantage of the resources you have access to.”

As Paula was starting her third course, she started working with the Career Services team and their complimentary 1:1 career guidance. She ramped up her job search after she was fully certified and passed the Salesforce exam. A month after the start of her search, Paula landed her first internship thanks to the career services newsletter.

“I got leads from Pathstream’s newsletters which made the process seamless. Not even a month had gone by and I was interviewing for an internship.” 

After interning and volunteering to build up her experience, Paula landed a role as a Salesforce Production Support Analyst at Coinbase.

Her final advice to prospective students:

“The program covered everything I needed to master Salesforce. The hands-on projects and quizzes, all of it really helps you understand the material and prepares you for a career in Salesforce.”