{"id":5923,"date":"2023-09-27T20:53:06","date_gmt":"2023-09-27T20:53:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=5923"},"modified":"2023-11-23T16:30:05","modified_gmt":"2023-11-23T16:30:05","slug":"annas-story-from-fleeing-the-war-in-ukraine-to-rebuilding-her-life-and-blazing-her-trail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/eu\/blog\/annas-story-from-fleeing-the-war-in-ukraine-to-rebuilding-her-life-and-blazing-her-trail\/","title":{"rendered":"Anna\u2019s Story: From Fleeing the War in Ukraine to Rebuilding Her Life and Blazing Her Trail"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Anna Tomilova is a motivated Trailblazer from Ukraine who was forced to shut down her business due to the war and move abroad to start a new life, ultimately leading to her Salesforce journey. Her success as a Trailblazer is a testament to her persistence and resilience made possible with Salesforce Workforce Development Partner, NGO,\u00a0Blue Road Academy<\/a>. We invited her to share her journey to Salesforce:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please introduce yourself?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My name is Anna, I am from Ukraine, and since spring 2022, I\u2019ve been living in the Netherlands together with my husband. In the past 2 years, I was managing my own men\u2019s fashion brand. I was creating men\u2019s shirts for everyday use together with my business partner. We were selling those shirts through our website and social media. I am from a non-tech background, but have a spirit of challenging myself, investigating and being up-to-date. When the full-scale war started in Ukraine in 2022, like hundreds of thousands of others, we were forced to move out of the country. I started exploring the different options for getting better knowledge in Salesforce and being able to launch a career in tech. Currently, I work as a Salesforce Consultant at\u00a0Dept<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did you learn about Salesforce?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the time when I was launching my own business, I and my business partner were exploring different platforms we could use to build the website and the whole CRM system. During that period, my husband was already working with Salesforce and he suggested that I look at Salesforce capabilities that could transform our business. Back then it seemed too expensive for us, however, I got interested in what Salesforce was and what could be done with it. With our relocation to The Netherlands, I started exploring different ways to upskill on Salesforce and ultimately pursue a career in tech. My husband\u2019s colleague suggested having a look at the Blue Road Academy programs. However, I wasn\u2019t sure that I would be enrolled, as I had zero technical background or experience. After a few interviews and completing the practical exercise – I got in.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did you find the course?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the period of COVID-19 lockdowns, I discovered offline studies once again. It was a completely different experience for me after almost one whole year of online classes. Lectures and independent studies took quite some time for me those days, as I started with\u00a0Trailhead<\/a>\u00a0trails a bit earlier and had some basic understanding. Finding the best solution for some practical tasks was a bit of a challenge and I\u2019d spend much time on the research.
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How much time did you need to find a job and how did the job hunt go?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I found a job about 2 months after completing the program. For me, it wasn\u2019t difficult as Blue Road Academy introduced me to one of their partner employers and I ended up working for them. <\/p>\n\n\n

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At Blue Road Academy, we are creating a global movement for newcomers to launch their careers in the tech sector. We believe that if we invest in motivated newcomers like Anna, they can thrive after being displaced. We do this through providing our comprehensive training program that is not only about gaining Salesforce skills, but also professional development, mentorship, and making direct connections to leading employers like Dept. With this sustainable model, we believe we can truly move the needle when it comes to newcomers launching their careers in tech.<\/p>\nGASPAR RODRIGUEZ<\/cite><\/blockquote>\nCEO OF BLUE ROAD ACADEMY<\/span>\n