Hire Salesforce developers rapidly and remotely without sacrificing quality

If you're planning to use Salesforce to create apps, consider hiring Salesforce developers. These programmers have a deep understanding of Salesforce technologies. They can use Salesforce Platform, Sales Cloud, and other Salesforce offerings to:

• Design, build, and implement custom web and mobile apps
• Communicate with external and internal stakeholders to understand project requirements
• Test app functionality to spot and fix potential bugs
• Integrate Salesforce with third-party applications

However, hiring the right Salesforce developer is easier said than done. Although many traditional job sites let you reach out to global talent, not every candidate has what it takes to create apps through Salesforce. Moreover, the current talent gap makes attracting and retaining employees much more challenging.

That's why we composed this guide for hiring the best Salesforce developer. Read on, and you'll learn what a Salesforce developer is and how much they make. We'll also cover what Salesforce devs do and how to hire them.

What Is a Salesforce Developer?

As the name suggests, Salesforce developers are professionals who use Salesforce technologies to create and deploy mobile or web apps. They don't have to work for Salesforce — they can work for any company that uses Salesforce tools.

What Is Salesforce?

Salesforce is a customer relationship management (CRM) platform. It provides a suite of cloud-based tools for businesses, including:

• Salesforce Platform: The world's leading Platform as a Service (PaaS) solution, Salesforce Platform offers an intuitive way to create and deploy apps via the cloud. Like other cloud services, Salesforce Platform provides developers the flexibility they need with reliable and scalable software and hardware.
• Sales Cloud: This Software as a Service (SaaS) solution empowers companies to grow by building deeper connections with customers, monitoring and managing their businesses in real-time, and pivoting fast as the market continues to evolve. It provides opportunity management, contact management, sales forecasting, and more.
• Marketing Cloud: Salesforce's Marketing Cloud empowers users to plan more quickly and get to know their customers more intimately. It offers many products for marketers, including:

• An Email Studio for building personalized email campaigns
• A Journey Builder for creating one-to-one customer journals across all departments and channels
• Marketing Cloud Personalization for delivering real-time, one-to-one customer experiences at every touchpoint

• MuleSoft Anypoint Platform: This tool allows users to unlock and integrate data from any system to deliver projects on time. Developers can connect it to any system, whether on-premise or in the cloud.

Salesforce developers don't need to know how to use all of these. In most cases, they only have to be familiar with the platforms their company uses.

How Much Do Salesforce Developers Make?

The Salesforce developer salary can vary depending on the level of skills and expertise the candidates have. The more experience and skills they have, the higher their earnings.

Junior/Entry-Level Salesforce Developer Skills and Salary

Junior or entry-level Salesforce developers have less than three years of experience. Most of them are fresh graduates of universities and boot camps, but some are self-taught.

According to Glassdoor, the average U.S.-based junior or entry-level Salesforce programmer makes $112,932 yearly.

Senior Salesforce Developer Skills and Salary

Senior Salesforce developers have three or more years of experience. Since they have more experience under their belt, they have higher salaries.

According to Talent.com, the average U.S.-based senior Salesforce dev makes $130,000 yearly. The most experienced Salesforce developers can make up to $165,000 per year.

What Does a Salesforce Developer Do?

The duties and responsibilities of a Salesforce developer are similar to those of other developers, but they can vary greatly depending on the company. Most businesses hire Salesforce developers to:

• Analyze users' needs
• Use Salesforce Platform to design, build, test, and deploy apps that meet user needs
• Customize the Salesforce cloud environment
• Create project plans
• Spot and fix bugs in apps
• Improve app functionality
• Integrate Salesforce with third-party applications

What To Look For in a Salesforce Programmer

Now that you know more about Salesforce developers, it's time to consider the hiring process. Here's a list of top Salesforce development skills to look for in resumes, cover letters, and portfolios.

Hard Skills

At a minimum, your dream hire should have the following technical or hard skills:

Salesforce Knowledge

The best Salesforce dev for your team should have deep knowledge of the Salesforce platforms and apps you're using. For example, if you're using Salesforce Platform and Sales Cloud, consider hiring a Salesforce programmer who has hands-on experience working with these tools.

Your hire should also know:

• The limits of Salesforce tools
• How to get the most out of the platforms
• How to integrate Salesforce tools and platforms with third-party applications like Gmail and Power BI

Programming Languages

Besides knowing how to use the relevant Salesforce apps, your hire must have excellent programming skills. They must know:

• Apex: Salesforce's native language for coding, Apex is an object-oriented programming language that lets developers execute the transaction and flow control statements on the Salesforce Platform. Developers can also use Apex to add business logic to system events, including related record updates and button clicks.
• Visualforce: Salesforce's answer to HTML and other markup languages, Visualforce is a framework that lets devs create sophisticated, custom user interfaces (UI) that can be hosted natively through the Lightning platform. Like HTML, the Visualforce framework features a tag-based markup language. It also boasts a suite of server-side standard controllers that make database operations easy to perform.

The best hire should also know at least two of the following:

• Java: Apex has a similar syntax to Java, one of the most widely used app and web development languages. A solid foundation in Java will help potential hires understand and use Apex.
• HTML: Similarly, a firm grasp of HTML can give hires a fuller understanding of Visualforce.
• JavaScript: Not to be confused with Java, JavaScript is a scripting language that lets Salesforce developers animate images and update content. It also allows users to create dynamic content through web or email components that change depending on in-session and user characteristics. Examples include product recommendations on eCommerce sites, which provide a personalized shopping experience by showing customers different products based on browsing behavior and customer attributes.

Business Acumen

Your Salesforce hire should also have sharp business acumen and a solid understanding of marketing and sales. They should know how to:

• Create apps that appeal to the target audience
• Implement Salesforce cloud features to streamline your business process
• Configure and maintain cloud tools for automating business processes and driving sales
• Align and re-align app creation goals with customer preferences as needed

Soft Skills

Besides hard skills, your hire should also have the following soft skills to fit the team and your company culture:

Teamwork Skills

Like most other hires, your ideal Salesforce developer should be a team player. They need to know how to:

• Talk and listen to others
• Take and give constructive criticism in stride
• See problems from others' perspectives
• Find multiple solutions to problems
• Mentor junior developers as needed
• Promote collaboration between different departments

Your hire should also be empathetic and be willing to understand colleagues' perspectives and opinions. Otherwise, they'll clash with teammates on many issues.

Problem-Solving Skills

Salesforce developers also need well-honed problem-solving skills. As they typically oversee every stage of the software development lifecycle (SDLC), they need to know how to:

• Spot and solve problems as they appear
• Evaluate solutions by considering potential costs, possible barriers to successful implementation, and resources
• Conduct research to evaluate the truthfulness of unverified claims
• Identify and eliminate biases when making decisions
• Implement action plans

Patience

Last but not least, Salesforce developers need to be patient. They should be able to do the following for long periods without getting frustrated:

• Explain high-level Salesforce concepts to non-technical staff and stakeholders
• Root out potential errors and bugs in code
• Identify areas for improvement

How To Hire a Salesforce Developer

Once you've created a list of the top Salesforce development skills, you can start searching for Salesforce devs for your team. Here's how:

1. Pick the Best Platform to Hire Salesforce Developers

First, you need to choose a suitable platform for hiring Salesforce developers. Most startups hire through job sites like Indeed and LinkedIn, as they have powerful tools for kickstarting the hiring process, such as advanced search filters and employer branding tools.

However, most of these platforms require you to vet and test applicants manually. Depending on your talent pipeline, this could take weeks or even months and cost you valuable effort and money. If you need a quicker and more affordable solution to hiring Salesforce developers, you may want to opt for an alternative.

Talent marketplaces offer the convenience you don't get with traditional job boards and networking sites. Unlike job sites, talent platforms already have pre-vetted professionals from different industries, including Salesforce. Some talent marketplaces will also help you with complex human resources (HR) challenges, such as immigration and compliance.

2. Write a Compelling Job Ad

If you decide to hire through job sites or other options that require manual testing and vetting, you'll have a lot of work on your hands. First and foremost, you'll need to create a comprehensive and compelling Salesforce developer job description to attract top-notch talent.

Here's a sample Salesforce development job ad to help you save time on the process:

Remote Senior Salesforce Developer — Revelo

Revelo is looking to hire a remote Senior Salesforce Developer. This role is open to candidates in the following time zones:

• Eastern Standard Time (EST)
• Central Standard Time (CST)
• Mountain Standard Time (MST)
• Pacific Standard Time (PST)

About Us:

Revelo is a talent marketplace that connects the best Latin American tech talent with US companies, helping them scale their teams quickly and effortlessly. Join our team as a Salesforce Developer and aid us in supporting businesses to overcome the emerging talent gap.

Duties:

• Build, test, implement, deploy, and maintain functionalities and apps in the Salesforce Platform
• Participate in an Agile (Kanban) software development framework
• Spot and resolve potential project roadblocks
• Collaborate with UI designers, product owners, and other developers to gather customer requirements and define specifications
• Mentor junior developers as needed
• Participate in code reviews

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• Strong understanding of Salesforce Platform, with the ability to create custom apps, views, workflows, and other content
• Proven experience working in an Agile environment
• Solid knowledge of system integration, software architecture, and the SDLC
• Experience with code repositories
• Fluent in Apex, Visualforce, Java, and HTML
• In-depth knowledge of Salesforce Platform's abilities and limitations
• Experience with dashboards and reports
• Sharp business acumen
• Excellent teamwork and problem-solving skills
• Proven ability to create and implement new designs and processes

Compensation and Benefits:

• Competitive salary of $120,000 to $130,000 depending on experience
• Four weeks of vacation
• Wellness program
• Parental leave
• Dental and medical insurance

Working Schedule:

• 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST
• Monday to Friday

3. Ask the Right Interview Questions

Once you post your job description, you can expect to receive many applications from interested candidates. Look at each applicant's cover letter, resume, and portfolio. Then, make a list of candidates to interview.

Here are some questions you can ask to learn more about what each applicant can bring to the table:

• What drew you to Salesforce development?
• Which Salesforce platforms and tools have you used so far?
• What do you like the most about Salesforce tools? How do they compare with other CRM platforms?
• What kind of apps have you built with Salesforce Platform?
• How do you test apps in the Salesforce Platform?
• What interests you the most about sales and marketing? What drew you to this field?
• Do you like coding in Visualforce or Apex?
• What was the proudest moment in your career, and why?
• Tell us about the biggest mistake in your career. What kind of constructive criticism did you receive?
• How would you explain a highly-technical Salesforce topic to a colleague with no technical background?
• How would you promote collaboration between different departments?
• How do you give constructive criticism?