Do you want to work for an awesome tech consulting firm, but don’t have much experience in the world of consulting? Silverline Academy was designed just for you!
Silverline Academy is a full-time, three-month program based in Omaha, NE, for both recent graduates and mid-career professionals. Participants of Silverline Academy go through rigorous training to learn development and tooling skills, solution architecture, client and project management, design, and system testing approaches. The curriculum prepares them to become Salesforce-certified consultants, and after the three months, they are assigned a mentor and begin working on client projects.
We spoke with some recent graduates of Silverline Academy to find out what they took away from their training. Keep reading to hear their stories and the ways Silverline Academy prepared them for a career in the Salesforce ecosystem.
Tyler Albers, Developer
How did you learn about Silverline Academy?
My mother has been a Salesforce industry veteran of 6+ years. After I lost my restaurant management job due to the pandemic, I expressed interest in Salesforce, and with my mother as my mentor, I started learning how to navigate the Salesforce Platform. After getting a couple small non-profit projects and multiple certs under my belt, my mother put me in touch with Silverline’s own Jason Litman [Talent Acquisition Senior Manager], and the rest is history.
What was a particularly memorable experience during Silverline Academy?
There were quite a few memorable experiences, mostly revolving around the fun activities set up by Luke Moorhous, Dusty Buell, and Julie Bolkhovitinova. One of those activities happened to be a night out at Top Golf. I’d played a little golf over a decade prior, but I could never hit the ball farther than 20-ish yards, or in a straight line, or even make contact with the ball consistently. After that night, under the mentorship of Kenneth Sheldrick (with tips and pointers from Rachel Helt and Brian Timmons), I was consistently driving the ball straight and true, sometimes even hitting over 180 yards. Of all the hobbies I could have possibly picked up during my time in Omaha, golf was not one of the ones I would have ever expected!
What is something interesting you learned about the Salesforce Platform and/or consulting during Silverline Academy?
When I started the Academy, I already had a little over a year to cut my teeth on the Salesforce Platform. I came in with a fair amount of confidence concerning basic config work, but then decided to switch tracks midway through onboarding to the Developer route. Having not coded in six years (and with almost no formal training), I went from a healthy confidence to being afflicted with impostor syndrome. I’ve since grown past that with the help of my ever-supportive instructors Eric Majchrzak and Natalya Murphy; it is no hyperbole that I learned more about programming in those three months than I did in four years of coding sparingly for college courses.
Julie Bolkhovitinova, Business Analyst, Managed Services
How did you learn about Silverline Academy?
I know Greg Grinberg [Senior Director, Technology Team] through family and friends. I was totally changing careers — I was working at a non-profit for many years — and he said that boot camp would be very good for me to get some time away from the family and learn everything as quickly as possible. I can tell you that works.
What was a particularly memorable experience during Silverline Academy?
I already told everyone that I think the Academy is a brilliant idea, because through the three months you meet many different people at Silverline. You learn discovery along with methodology. I came from a nonprofit where it felt like nobody cared about anything, and I can tell you every person came to the Academy with so much good energy. The help and inspiration from them was really, really amazing. And then they combine very good, very different people who come to the Academy and all of them bring to the plate their own experience. That was very cool.
What is something interesting you learned about the Salesforce platform and/or consulting during Silverline Academy?
Learning the implementation process. Seeing what’s good, what’s bad, and what can be done differently. And that it all depends on the client and what they need. And again, it’s all about energy. I think every new hire should get a little bit of Academy time to meet people like Paula Cervoni and Barb Brandon and get a boost from their energy.
Michael Cornely, Business Analyst, Financial Services
How did you learn about Silverline Academy?
Thankfully, I have an awesome network, and was able to hear about Silverline Academy through Ty Wittman [Banking & Lending Services Lead, Director] who joined shortly before me. Ty and I got a chance to work together at HTLF and have kept in close contact ever since.
What was a particularly memorable experience during Silverline Academy?
Some of the most memorable moments during the Academy were the opportunities our group got to interface with senior management such as Kai Hsiung, Jeff Radtke, Barb Brandon, Paula Cervoni, Gireesh Sonnad, and many more! Silverline exemplifies what it means to have an ‘open door policy’ at all levels!
What is something interesting you learned about the Salesforce platform and/or consulting during Silverline Academy?
During the Academy each member on the BA track was tasked with building their own Recruiting App within Salesforce. Natalya Murphy led us through functional training everyday, which gave us immense exposure to the Salesforce Platform. We are now more comfortable building components in Salesforce, from simple objects to complex flows.
Nadeem Mahran, Business Analyst, Financial Services
How did you learn about Silverline Academy?
I knew about Silverline from my previous role; my mentor recommended that I consider it on my career path, and I heard about Silverline Academy during my initial interview with Jason Litman.
What was a particularly memorable experience during Silverline Academy?
Two main experiences stand out to me:
- I had access to and worked with Greg Grinberg on attaining my Salesforce Security and Privacy Accredited Professional partner credential.
- Getting to teach Salesforce at the Silverline Academy while attending as a member. Again, thanks to Greg Grinberg, this was possible. I learned plenty about content creation and different styles of subject delivery while working as an assistant instructor with Natalya Murphy, a fantastic Salesforce instructor and architect.
What is something interesting you learned about the Salesforce platform and/or consulting during Silverline Academy?
For consulting, your personal brand and work speak for themselves. When expected to be the expert in the room, ask discussion questions with vision and goal in mind to maintain velocity. Collaborating with different team members is an art, not a science.
The Salesforce platform is vast; the more you learn about it, the more you realize how much more you can learn.
Kenneth Sheldrick, Business Analyst, Healthcare and Life Sciences
How did you learn about Silverline Academy?
I initially heard about the Silverline Academy from Jason Litman. I had been referred to Silverline via Mike Butner [Business Analyst, Healthcare and Life Sciences]. I had known Mike for about a year, he and I both went through Salesforce’s summer program, Pathfinder (he was the cIass before me).
I was in a career change and looking for something to stay relevant in today’s digital world. After talking with Jason about my experiences and background, he suggested that the Academy could be a great opportunity to gain entry into the Salesforce ecosystem. After talking with him a bit more, I agreed.
What was a particularly memorable experience during Silverline Academy?
The most memorable experience about the Academy for me was the people and the relationships I formed. Because the last two years have been so different and isolating for me, the in-person experience was a breath of fresh air.
Getting to know not only my fellow Academy members but the Omaha team as well. And having the opportunity to meet special guests like Andrew Blaisdell, Eric Majchrzak, Barb Brandon, Paula Cervoni, and Gireesh Sonnad was absolutely fantastic. Going skydiving with Greg Grinberg, Dusty Buell, Luke Moorhous, and Tristan Martin will be an experience that I never forget.
What is something interesting you learned about the Salesforce platform and/or consulting during Silverline Academy?
The most interesting thing that I learned about consulting during the Academy is just how much “grey area” there is. What I mean by this is that, there are always multiple ways and approaches to handle the same scenarios, and they are all correct. Most situations are not just a black and white type of deal, for most things, the correct answer is: “It depends.”
Learn how Silverline Academy can jumpstart your Salesforce career.
