Women of Qualified: Jennifer

Meet Jennifer Lynn Schneider, Qualified's very own Salesforce Marketing Champion and expert Qualified Solution Architect. Jennifer is beloved in the Trailblazer community. Read on to learn about her journey ⬇️

How did you get so involved in the Trailblazer ecosystem and why are you so passionate about it?

Jennifer: My journey started a long time ago when I first was introduced to Salesforce as an SDR / BDR. I started falling in love with the tool, and was graciously taken under wing by one of my admins because I had a ton of ideas of what to do and how I wanted to do certain things.

My career then grew from running my own BDR team, to a director of marketing, to running business development, and then eventually to an admin on the client side. And that's when I really found the trailblazer community. We had both Salesforce and Pardot, and I knew I needed a community to learn this brand new tool. I dove right in, made some amazing relationships and friendships with the product team, and all different types of user groups. I just fell in love with the community. 

I think my first Dreamforce was back in 2005, and that’s when I got really hooked on the community and all the excitement. Over the years, I’ve invested in those relationships and started doing a lot more speaking. When we had all of our Dreamin’ events, I was traveling quite often. Then, I moved over to the consulting side, where I really kicked things up into gear as far as speaking and participating in user groups. Because I worked for a lot of global companies, I've had the pleasure of being able to meet people all over the world and be a part of their user group experience as well.

What career opportunities have you seen, specifically for women, in the Trailblazer economy?

Jennifer: There's a ton of great groups out there for architects and engineers. A lot of people have asked me about my own experience—it’s really about all the ways that you want to participate and give.

 Not everyone has to be someone who wants to be in the limelight and feel comfortable with speaking opportunities. There's so many ways for folks to really love what they do, whether you're a teacher or a problem solver, or you'd like to lead a group.

I think we need to realize, as women, that we have passion and talent in what we do and just own that piece of what it is. We don't have to do everything. That's the big thing that I commonly hear from my friends. I have to remind myself that it's okay if I don't have all of the answers, but pick what you love. There's a ton of opportunities in architecture, a ton of opportunities and specialization of all these different tools that tap into the Salesforce ecosystem.

 What's one of your biggest learnings in holding a more technical role?

Jennifer: One of the biggest lessons is that I've had to personally be okay with constant change. I'm a very process-driven individual. I love things planned out; I color code things. Everything has a way. As a solution architect like myself, you have to have a fundamental process that works for you. Technology can help adjust your processes and change is inevitable. When ti comes up, you have to step back and reevaluate. Tell yourself that these are the things that I've always done to set myself up for success, and now I'm looking at things through a different lens. 

So how can I alter my process to still be thorough and move forward, but also not resist that change? The older we get, the harder and harder it is to do that because what we made works; we take great pride in what we've created, and how we present ourselves. But I think that is really one of the biggest lessons that I've learned.

Who are some Trailblazing women you admire most?

Jennifer: Oh, this is hard! I have so many that are top of mind because I saw so many at Dreamforce. So I know I'm going to miss a whole bunch. 

I would be remiss to not mention Guilda [Hilaire]. She's our den mother! She's involved with volunteering and sits on boards—and she does a lot for her community, both locally and within Salesforce. I just really admire that.

Jen Kazin, Sarah Camden, Sarah McNamara, Amanda Nielsen. I could just continuously go on and on and on. 

There's just so many really strong, amazing women in the ecosystem holding their hands out, saying, ‘hey, let's do this together’. I know I'm missing a ton of names, so it's really tough. This community is fantastic. And we've got some amazing women leading the way.

Lastly, hit me with a humble brag 😏

Jennifer: I’m proud of myself for my consistency of being apart of this community, and being invited to different speaking events, different blogs, and different podcasts. 

It's fantastic to be relevant in the community, and I think we all experienced a ton of FOMO or imposter syndrome, but being able to consistently play a part, even though that might change, especially while growing in our careers. 

I was definitely worried about moving from a consultant to the product side… that I might lose touch with my Trailblazer community, but that has been totally proven wrong. I'm really proud of that.

Jennifer Lynn Schneider is an amazing Qualified Solution Architect who does Whatever It Takes for her customer's success. Just check out her all-star reviews over on the Salesforce AppExchange!