- Salesforce recruiting head Ana Recio said that the company “can never have enough Java developers.”
Salesforce is aggressively planning to hire software engineers with Java and artificial intelligence skills. And one of the biggest reasons why Java is especially important to Salesforce is due to its compatibility with Windows and Mac.
Salesforce’s executive vice president of global recruiting Ana Recio told Business Insider that the company “can never have enough Java developers.” And since all of Salesforce’s products are embedded with artificial intelligence, the company is also aggressively looking to hire AI engineers and data scientists.
One of the best ways that Salesforce is finding candidates is by training them. Earlier this year, Salesforce signed the White House Pledge to America’s Workers. This is a pledge to train 500,000 Americans in the skills they need for getting a job at Salesforce using the free online Trailhead learning platform.
Salesforce also runs an outreach program called Futureforce that college interns and new grads with company leaders to work on meaningful projects. The company receives more than 1 million job applications a year. And Recio told Business Insider that about 52% of its technology hires are based on referrals from existing employees.
Recio also pointed out that the best candidates do not necessarily have to be skilled coders but should be strong problem-solvers and be able to look at data trends and come up with actionable insights. Plus the best candidates are expected to ask a series of questions in a way that is collaborative.
In an earlier interview with CNBC, Recio acknowledged that it is a candidate’s market. And she also acknowledged that “corporations that will succeed in the coming years will think about stakeholders, not shareholders.” This is the reason why tech companies have to be competitive when it comes to salary and the ability to offer meaningful work.
