How to get certified in Salesforce for Beginners
According to a study conducted in Denver, United States, obtaining a Salesforce certification can increase a professional annual salary up to $20,000 compared to a non-certified employee. It gives an idea of the financial surplus value of the certification. During recruitment, it is a way to tip the scales in your favor. Each certification is also another argument in the negotiation of the salary ;-)
In job ads, most companies are looking for profiles with at least one Salesforce certification. There are 27 different certifications and yet little or too much information on the issue. Which certification is required first? How are the events taking place? How to prepare? How to revise? What’s your profile? Here you find all the answers to these most asked queries.
Which certification to begin with?
Are you more functional or technical? It all depends on your profile. To begin, you must pass one of these three certifications: Administrator, Platform Developer I or Platform App Builder
Salesforces Administrator
The Salesforce Administrator has two primary certifications: the Administrator and the Advanced Administrator. The questions will use your ability to respond to issues using standard Salesforce configurations: process automation, user and data access management, interface design, and more.
Salesforce Developer
For more technical Salesforce developer profiles (business master), the Platform Developer I and Platform Developer II certifications are more suitable. They cover the knowledge of APEX code (close to JAVA), development cycles and good programming practices.
If you intend to go for a technical course, it is still advisable to pass the first certification of the administrator. It provides an overview of Salesforce capabilities as standard. It is sometimes useful to know that a few clicks can do the trick.
App Builder
Salesforce has also created a mid-way certification between the administrator and the developer: the Platform App Builder. It’s a way to test your ability to build complex solutions and use Lightning to customize pages, reports, dashboards … It certifies that you can create custom apps in Salesforce.
For logic issues, we advise you to upgrade the Platform App Builder after your administrator certifications and before the developer course, but this is only advice.
Again, nothing is mandatory. You just have to check the prerequisites of each certification and make your way! #BlazeYourTrail
How to prepare for your Salesforce certification
The exam is a multiple choice quiz. You will have 60 questions with a choice of 4 to 5 answers. It will then be necessary to choose the right answer(s). A correctly answered question is equal to one point. If you have a single error on the question, it is counted as 0.
It is possible to take the test online or on-site (at the premises of one of the approved organizations).
Visit the Salesforce site on the certifications page. You will find information on the certification program, standard questions, the duration of the event, the score to be obtained … and the guide! It tells you the topics that will be mentioned in the test and the value of each in the calculation of the score.
As everyone reviews in their own way, here are some training ideas. None are required!
Documentation
The Salesforce documentation is the benchmark in terms of platform functionality and capacity.
The Help section helps to understand the possibilities and limitations of each feature. To find technical documentation, browse the Developer Part instead.
No matter which method you choose, these materials will surely be part of your learning. They guarantee you correct and useful information for your certification, among others.
Trailhead
This is the resource that Jobssie highly recommends!
Trailhead is a free training site from the Salesforce universe. We learn how to create a game environment (Sandbox) and especially, to learn the features through modules. To learn in a more fun way, you can get badges.
These modules must be completed by answering mini quizzes or configuring the environment according to the statement. The cases are taken from the problems encountered in companies.
It’s a mix of theoretical and practical exercises that make learning easier. It may be a bit long though …
Salesforce Community
Many exchanges on community certifications such as the Trailblazer Community, not to mention social networks! However, you should always be careful if there is good info, there are also false statements! #FakeNews
Salesforce Training Programs
Salesforce offers training for each of its certifications. The prices dissuade depending on the quality of the lessons.
Some Salesforce partners such as Stoney Point or K2 Partnering Solutions also offer courses for lower prices…
It’s an investment so always investigate the quality of the courses before signing!
Online Training
They are an effective - and more economical - way to navigate the topics in your review. Udemy offers video lessons on some certifications for twenty euros. Again, it is not enough to watch the 35 hours of video to pass the test. You must rework and deepen the topics. We have tested and approved the lessons of Mike Wheeler and Bobby Butin.
If there is one thing to watch out for, there are free quizzes like Quizlet or Proprofs. These tests are not always up to date. These are not official exam questions. And the worst: many answers are incorrect. However, they are useful for getting used to the format of the questions and for thinking about the possible answers. They are even recommended if you rework each question to be sure of the correct answer ;-)
At Jobssie, we also like to train on Focus on Force. These are quality quizzes regularly updated. They are not free but affordable (about 20€).
Last but not least
Passing a Salesforce certification will cost you $200 for a first try. In case of failure, you can retry the test at half price.
Start perhaps both exciting and scary. Plan your test. It’s a good commitment that will force you to dive into your revisions. There is no point in rushing! Invest a few months in learning before the D-Day.
Then, it will be time to think about once a career. If you do not yet know which course suits you the most, see our job descriptions.
Now you have the keys, so go for it!
