ORIGINS: The Story of Jhomann Carreon

To give you a background on what I did prior to Salesforce, I am a graphic/product designer for most of 15 years focusing in the manufacturing industry.  I designed, produced and published some visual mediums, e.g., Badges, Medals, Print Banners, Sports Apparel, etc.

My last job was a sports apparel manufacturer. I started in the print room, designing and printing high-performance triathlon & cycling garments for elite athletes.  I gained knowledge in streamlined manufacturing and enhanced the company’s overall production work.  I used Microsoft Excel to manage costings, forecasting, and production scheduling.  From here I learned lots of formulas and macros.  Our company was growing quick and need to change to one source of truth as we were still using Word docs and spreadsheets. In came Salesforce.  I helped gather the requirements for the company to build in Salesforce from the ground up.

I had fresh eyes, and my brain was working overtime. We created an end-to-end seamless solution from quote to design to manufacturing and delivery. I was proud of what I have help achieved in a year but wanted more.  I was the sole Salesforce admin, and the user base was less than 15.  There was not a lot of configuration after implementation.

So I looked for the next big step.  I landed a Tier 3 Salesforce Global System Admin Role for Flight Centre Travel Group. I was amongst peer that administers/manage the Salesforce platform and was able to learn more.  Who knew that a complete career change from a graphic designer that manufactured sportswear would get me into an IT/CRM system admin role for a global company.

Within the first year at Flight Centre Travel Group, I made the top 15% achievers in the entire Flight Centre Travel Group worldwide.  And yes, I am going to Flight Centre’s Global Gathering in Singapore as an award of my achievements. How’s that – first year in and my fellow peers/leaders voted me in to acknowledge my hard work ethics and my love for what I do.

Funny thing is I haven’t really changed the way I approach work. I knew it was hard and I had to match and go beyond by gaining knowledge.  From having no IT or code background, I’m very grateful for the opportunities Salesforce has provided me.

It has now been two years as Salesforce System Admin, and I Love what I do.  A career change is a scaring thing but with hard work, anything is possible, and doors do open.

Follow Johmann on Twitter.