Every Salesforce team complains about the same thing: there are not enough experienced people to hire. Fewer teams ask where experienced Salesforce people come from in the first place. Someone has to hire them when they are new.
The Salesforce Talent Alliance was Salesforce’s answer to that problem. Launched in 2020, it asked partners and customers to commit to hiring new Salesforce professionals, and it connected them with candidates trained through Salesforce-backed programs.
This guide explains what the Salesforce Talent Alliance is, the three commitments members make, where its Career Cohorts training program stands in 2026, and how employers can use it, or programs like it, to build a pipeline of entry-level Salesforce talent.
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What Is the Salesforce Talent Alliance?
The Salesforce Talent Alliance is a Salesforce initiative that connects employers with newly trained Salesforce professionals and asks those employers to commit to hiring them. In its launch announcement, Salesforce described it as a way to bring new talent into a fast-growing ecosystem, with a strong focus on candidates from communities underrepresented in tech.
The alliance started with Salesforce consulting partners. By the time of that announcement, nearly 200 partners from 40 countries had joined. Salesforce customers can also join, through the same membership form.
The idea is simple. The Salesforce ecosystem has plenty of entry-level talent earning certifications through Trailhead and training programs, but many employers will only hire people with prior experience. That leaves new professionals stuck, and it keeps the Salesforce talent gap at the senior end from closing. The Talent Alliance asks employers to break that cycle by reserving part of their hiring for people new to the platform.
The Three Commitments Salesforce Talent Alliance Members Make
Joining the Salesforce Talent Alliance means agreeing to three commitments, as Salesforce set them out at launch:
- Hire net-new Salesforce talent. Members commit to dedicating 20% of annual hiring within their Salesforce practice to professionals who are new to Salesforce.
- Interview program graduates. Members guarantee interviews for certified candidates from Salesforce training programs, such as Salesforce Military, who are in a location that fits the role.
- Hire inclusively. Members commit to removing bias from job descriptions and standardizing interviews around core competencies instead of culture fit.
In return, Salesforce offered members connections to newly certified talent, certification vouchers for continued learning, priority registration for career events, the option to co-brand with the Talent Alliance, and recognition through the Salesforce Partner Program.
The third commitment is good practice for any Salesforce team, whether or not you join. Clear, bias-free job descriptions draw stronger applicant pools, and structured interviews make better hiring decisions. Our guides to writing a Salesforce job description and Salesforce interview questions cover both.
Talent Alliance Career Cohorts and Their Status in 2026
The candidate side of the alliance has centered on Talent Alliance Career Cohorts, often shortened to TACC. The program supported job seekers from underrepresented communities who had attended Salesforce’s free “Get Started with Salesforce” Fundamentals sessions, with mentorship, community, and career readiness sessions as they worked toward a first certification and a first Salesforce role.
Cohorts were often sponsored by Salesforce partners. Salesforce’s Career Cohorts year in review names collaborators including Deloitte, Cognizant, and Nuvolar, with cohorts focused on groups such as talent with disabilities, women in tech, and parents returning to work. The fall 2024 cohorts, covered by Salesforce Ben, ran from September to January at about 10 hours a week, and graduates received automatic interviews with Talent Alliance employers.
As of October 2026, the Career Cohorts sign-up page says applications are closed and offers a waitlist for when cohorts resume. We could not confirm a cohort after fall 2024. The employer membership page is still live, and member firms continue to reference their membership. If you are planning around Career Cohorts, check with Salesforce or your partner account team for the current schedule.
How to Join the Salesforce Talent Alliance
Both Salesforce partners and Salesforce customers can join through the Join the Talent Alliance page. Joining involves three steps:
- Commit to the hiring practices. The form asks you to confirm each inclusive hiring practice: a diverse candidate pool, bias-free job descriptions, standardized competency-based interviews, and active steps to reduce unconscious bias.
- Join the Talent Alliance LinkedIn group. This is where members post Salesforce jobs and search for candidates.
- Review the training organizations. Salesforce publishes a list of workforce development organizations that train new Salesforce talent, which is where many member hires come from.
Before you sign, be honest about the 20% commitment. If your Salesforce team hires five people a year, that means at least one should be new to Salesforce. That works well for companies with a senior admin or architect who can mentor. It is harder for a company whose only Salesforce person is the one being hired. Our guide to structuring your Salesforce team shows when an org has enough senior coverage to bring in someone new.
Is the Salesforce Talent Alliance Worth It for Employers?
| Benefits | Limits |
|---|---|
| Access to newly certified candidates from training programs | New professionals need mentoring and a realistic first role |
| A defined, public commitment that supports your employer brand | The 20% hiring target can be hard for small teams |
| Better hiring practices that improve every search | Career Cohorts, the main candidate source, show closed applications in 2026 |
| Lower cost per hire for entry-level roles | Entry-level hires will not fill senior or architect gaps |
For consulting partners hiring at volume, membership is a strong fit. It adds a steady source of junior talent to grow into consultants, and the commitments match how good partners already hire. For a customer with a two-person Salesforce team, the commitments may be heavier than the benefits.
How to hire entry-level Salesforce talent, with or without the alliance
The principles behind the Talent Alliance work for any employer:
- Recruit from training programs directly. Organizations such as PepUp Tech and SuperMums train new Salesforce professionals, and Salesforce Military trains service members and veterans.
- Show up in the community. Trailblazer Community Groups are where newly certified people go to learn and network.
- Grow talent from inside. Power users and operations analysts who already know your business often make excellent junior admins, as our Salesforce talent acquisition strategy guide explains.
- Set new hires up to succeed. Pair them with a mentor, scope the first role as support work rather than platform ownership, and invest in a structured Salesforce onboarding plan.
How New Salesforce Professionals Can Use the Talent Alliance
If you are trying to land your first Salesforce role, the Talent Alliance can still help, even while Career Cohorts applications are closed:
- Join the waitlist. The Career Cohorts sign-up page lets you register interest for when cohorts resume.
- Attend Get Started with Salesforce. Salesforce describes these Fundamentals sessions as a free series that introduces the tools and resources for launching a Salesforce career, offered in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
- Earn your first certification. Use Trailhead, which is free, and focus on the credential that fits your target role.
- Target member employers. Talent Alliance members have committed to hiring people new to Salesforce, so their job postings are worth extra attention.
Set realistic expectations. The entry level is the most crowded part of the Salesforce market, and certification alone rarely gets an offer. Hands-on work, even volunteer or nonprofit projects, makes a much bigger difference. Our Salesforce skills list shows what employers screen for, and our Salesforce career path guide maps where an entry-level role can lead.
One caution: legitimate Salesforce training programs and recruiters never charge you for a guaranteed job. If someone offers paid placement through the Talent Alliance, treat it as one of the Salesforce recruiter scams covered in our guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Salesforce Talent Alliance?
The Salesforce Talent Alliance is a Salesforce initiative, launched in 2020, that connects partners and customers with newly trained Salesforce professionals. Members commit to hiring new Salesforce talent, interviewing certified graduates of Salesforce training programs, and using inclusive hiring practices.
Is the Salesforce Talent Alliance still active?
The employer membership page is still live, and member companies continue to reference their membership. As of October 2026, the Talent Alliance Career Cohorts sign-up page shows applications as closed, with a waitlist for when cohorts resume. Check with Salesforce for the latest schedule.
What are Talent Alliance Career Cohorts?
Talent Alliance Career Cohorts are a career development program for job seekers from underrepresented communities who attended Salesforce’s Get Started with Salesforce Fundamentals sessions. Participants receive mentorship, community support, and career readiness sessions while working toward a first certification and a first Salesforce role.
What do Salesforce Talent Alliance members commit to?
Members commit to dedicating 20% of annual hiring within their Salesforce practice to professionals new to Salesforce, guaranteeing interviews for certified candidates from Salesforce training programs such as Salesforce Military, and following inclusive hiring practices.
Can Salesforce customers join the Talent Alliance?
Yes. The alliance started with Salesforce consulting partners, but Salesforce customers can join through the same membership form.
Does the Talent Alliance help fill senior Salesforce roles?
No. The Talent Alliance focuses on people new to Salesforce. Senior admin, developer, and architect roles still need experienced candidates, usually found through referrals, a passive pipeline, or a specialist Salesforce recruiter.
Build Both Ends of Your Salesforce Talent Pipeline
The Salesforce Talent Alliance solves one half of the Salesforce talent problem: getting new people into the ecosystem. Its commitments are worth adopting even if you never join, because structured interviews and clear job descriptions make every hire better. The other half, finding the experienced admins, developers, and architects who can mentor those new hires, still takes a different approach.
Hiring experienced Salesforce talent to lead and mentor your team? Talk to our Salesforce recruiters. We find the senior Salesforce professionals who make it possible to bring new talent in and help them grow.
