In this July employee spotlight, we are excited to highlight one of our talented Salesforce Developers, Ewa Smaga, based in Lublin, Poland. She joined Aquiva Labs at the beginning of 2022 and has been a part of various important projects and is a great addition to our talented team. In this article, you will get to know Ewa’s life at our company, her decision to change her job, and her advice to anyone who would like to follow her impressive career path.
From a Financial Analyst to a successful Salesforce Developer
Finding your passion is a challenging but important step in everyone’s professional development, and Ewa is a great example of how your career can take a turn in a completely different direction. She previously had a successful career as a Financial Analyst, but later on, was introduced to the Salesforce world by her husband. This is when Ewa felt that she should pursue this new exciting career opportunity and find out where it would take her. Fast forward to today, Ewa is an integral part of the Aquiva Labs team and a Salesforce Developer with more than three years of experience.
A day in the life of a Salesforce Developer
As a Salesforce Developer, Ewa is always busy working on exciting projects for Aquiva Labs’ clients. Her workday usually starts with her team’s Scrum ceremony where they discuss what tasks were finished the day before, what are their top priorities for the new day, and share if they have faced any obstacles during their project work.
Later during the day, she attends the Online Coffee Break, where she connects with her colleagues on a more personal and informal level. She finds this to be a great opportunity to get to know the Aquiva Labs team even better and learn more about the other employees’ interests, thoughts, and daily life.
Most of Ewa’s day is spent working on development projects. Delivering a high-quality product is her top priority; therefore, Ewa has created her own go-to plan when she has to take on a new project. First things first, she thinks about the best way to approach her task by brainstorming with her colleagues to find possible solutions. Finally, she moves on to her favorite part of the project – writing the code.
When asked about the most challenging part of her job, Ewa said that for her it is not really the actual project work, but presenting it during a demo session or an Internal Sprint Review session. Her favorite part of the role is seeing how her efforts add value to her team’s work and how she contributes to the final project solution.
Being part of Aquiva Labs
Although Ewa is relatively new at Aquiva Labs and works remotely, she has already felt the friendly and ambitious company culture. She believes that working with smart and highly motivated people creates an encouraging environment for further professional growth and self-development.
“When everyone is focused on quality, they will hold you accountable to the highest standards. I think to most developers it is very satisfying when the code is not only working and doing what it is supposed to do but also written in an elegant way.”
Starting your career as a Salesforce Developer
Becoming a successful Salesforce Developer is a process that involves a lot of hard work, determination, and constant effort to stay up to date with the latest technologies. Ewa is a perfect example of how being passionate and motivated can fully transform your career.
Depending on your background, there are different ways to become a good developer and Ewa has great advice for anyone that wants to start their career as a Salesforce Developer. If you have a background and education in IT, Ewa suggests starting off with an internship or working on commercial or non-commercial projects to develop some practical skills. However, if you are in a similar position that Ewa was three years ago, when she had no clue about the IT world, you need to follow a different approach.
“I would suggest starting with finding a mentor who would guide you. The Salesforce Trailhead platform is a great place to learn and your mentor can help you choose the most useful Modules or Trails to study”, she explained. “Ask a lot of questions and don’t feel guilty about it, don’t be afraid to speak up if you have something to say”, Ewa added.
As you can tell from Ewa’s story, choosing the path to become a Salesforce Developer requires a lot of work but it is also fun and rewarding once you master it. Aquiva Labs is growing and we are looking for passionate developers to join our team and work on exciting projects for our clients. We provide career development support and guidance, access to official Salesforce courses, certifications, and more!
If this sounds interesting and you would like to begin your new career journey with us, check out our open positions and apply today!