SalesForce.com

[ChimpMaster]

Try not to second guess - they know why they want you.

Go to the interview to find out.

Thanks all, really appreciate what you're saying but can't see specifically why they want me . My LinkedIn profile is very detailed so perhaps you're right - seeing as that's where they contacted me from.

It will throw my life plans out of the window though. I was planning to cane it until this contract ended - probably until next July/Aug - and then take some months off to travel, spend time with family/friends, do some good deeds, and just relax... smell the roses and the like you know. I've been slogging for 8/9 years and am in a position where I could almost never work again (depends on how greedy the 3 kids are when they grow up!), so I wanted a bit of time off.

But SalesForce sounds exciting, and you guys are getting me even more excited about this prospect

I don't know what they will pay, but I don't really want to be a consultant again, living away from home.

I also have a problem with giving up this final lucrative contract role which would put a lot of money into my bank account over the next 12 months.

Arghhhh what to do!

[Zippy]

What you do is go to the first interview and see what it's all about. Then, if you fancy, go to the second interview. This may take a month so you've got an extra £10k in the bank.

Suppose they then offer you the job. Maybe you couldn't start for 3 months or they don't need you for a while? More money in the bank. Or you might not want the job.

Just go with the flow and keep your options open. Good luck

[captainham]

What you do is go to the first interview and see what it's all about. Then, if you fancy, go to the second interview. This may take a month so you've got an extra £10k in the bank.

Suppose they then offer you the job. Maybe you couldn't start for 3 months or they don't need you for a while? More money in the bank. Or you might not want the job.

Just go with the flow and keep your options open. Good luck

Sage advice indeed. Nothing to lose in going for it, if you don't like it then you can be happy with your remaining options (you're back where you started if nothing else), if you do like it and get offered, then, well....ok it will take some thinking to decide what to do but it's still a nice situation to be in, no?

[FiveTimes]

What you do is go to the first interview and see what it's all about. Then, if you fancy, go to the second interview. This may take a month so you've got an extra £10k in the bank.

Suppose they then offer you the job. Maybe you couldn't start for 3 months or they don't need you for a while? More money in the bank. Or you might not want the job.

Just go with the flow and keep your options open. Good luck

WZS

[cojak]

What you do is go to the first interview and see what it's all about. Then, if you fancy, go to the second interview. This may take a month so you've got an extra £10k in the bank.

Suppose they then offer you the job. Maybe you couldn't start for 3 months or they don't need you for a while? More money in the bank. Or you might not want the job.

Just go with the flow and keep your options open. Good luck

WZS

[MarillionFan]

Thanks all, really appreciate what you're saying but can't see specifically why they want me . My LinkedIn profile is very detailed so perhaps you're right - seeing as that's where they contacted me from.

It will throw my life plans out of the window though. I was planning to cane it until this contract ended - probably until next July/Aug - and then take some months off to travel, spend time with family/friends, do some good deeds, and just relax... smell the roses and the like you know. I've been slogging for 8/9 years and am in a position where I could almost never work again (depends on how greedy the 3 kids are when they grow up!), so I wanted a bit of time off.

But SalesForce sounds exciting, and you guys are getting me even more excited about this prospect

I don't know what they will pay, but I don't really want to be a consultant again, living away from home.

I also have a problem with giving up this final lucrative contract role which would put a lot of money into my bank account over the next 12 months.

Arghhhh what to do!

Don't knock it. I know Salesforce quite well, they're the darling of the SAAS world. The product is a cloud based Siebel, just much much better. Good clever motivated people will be your colleagues.
Had massive growth in the last ten years and the company I am at is growing at the same rate they were when they started. It's on my SFA skills I've been offered a fulltime job certainly not my technical. Go to the interview could be a fantastic opportunity.

[Ticktock]

One thing to know about Salesforce (or SFDC as they're also known) - they're all about social engineering, data-mining, etc. Allow this to colour your thinking and answers in the interview.

The purpose of their CRM is to allow business to gather as much information as possible on their customers, to enable them to more effectivelly market to them and sell to them. For example, SFDC now allows you to add Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and [bloody thing I can't remember - aggregates your "social media importance"] accounts to your customer profile records, at both individual and company level.
All emails, phone calls or meetings with customers can be logged against profiles, along with potential sales (whether won, lost or in process).

It's all about giving a company as full a picture as possible about their current, past and potential clients.

[ChimpMaster]

What you do is go to the first interview and see what it's all about. Then, if you fancy, go to the second interview. This may take a month so you've got an extra £10k in the bank.

Suppose they then offer you the job. Maybe you couldn't start for 3 months or they don't need you for a while? More money in the bank. Or you might not want the job.

Just go with the flow and keep your options open. Good luck

Yes, this is the route to take - thanks - it'll help me keep my options open for a while longer. My current contract runs to Feb, though there will be another 6 months after this as far as I can see.

Don't knock it. I know Salesforce quite well, they're the darling of the SAAS world. The product is a cloud based Siebel, just much much better. Good clever motivated people will be your colleagues.
Had massive growth in the last ten years and the company I am at is growing at the same rate they were when they started. It's on my SFA skills I've been offered a fulltime job certainly not my technical. Go to the interview could be a fantastic opportunity.

That's good to know. Yep I'm still wondering what they see in me. Not Java for sure! But just like you say, it might not just be my technical. I'll go see what the fuss is all about.

One thing to know about Salesforce (or SFDC as they're also known) - they're all about social engineering, data-mining, etc. Allow this to colour your thinking and answers in the interview.

The purpose of their CRM is to allow business to gather as much information as possible on their customers, to enable them to more effectivelly market to them and sell to them. For example, SFDC now allows you to add Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and [bloody thing I can't remember - aggregates your "social media importance"] accounts to your customer profile records, at both individual and company level.
All emails, phone calls or meetings with customers can be logged against profiles, along with potential sales (whether won, lost or in process).

It's all about giving a company as full a picture as possible about their current, past and potential clients.

Thanks Tick, that makes it sound more interesting. I am all about the data, that's what my career has been about, so perhaps that is what they see in my profile.

I've emailed the inhouse recruiter back. To be clear though, there is no interview offered yet, but the wording was "Please can I ask you to email me on [email protected] so we can set up a time to discuss your current situation and this opportunity in more detail."

Early days but if it gets to the crunch I'll have to decide whether to give up my current rate of £800/day for the next year... that's the difficult choice I face

[cojak]

No doubt £800pd for the next year is a lot of dosh. But it's short-term compared to the next 5-10 years. Is your current skill-set carry you through this period for that kind of rate?

[ChimpMaster]

No doubt £800pd for the next year is a lot of dosh. But it's short-term compared to the next 5-10 years. Is your current skill-set carry you through this period for that kind of rate?

Indeed it's a lot of money. Normal rate would probably be £500 to £550, I guess, but certainly the market is drying up very fast for this product so I need to eventually move onto another skillset. My plan was to take the £800 for as long as I could, then invest the bulk of it and then just chill and worry about my next move after a break. It might still be that way if I don't get the SalesForce role!

I think you've all got me more excited about this opportunity than I otherwise might have been

Oh and their UK office in Staines is about 5 minutes drive from me