Practice makes perfect and Salesforce exams are notoriously tricky. That’s why we’ve created our practice exam pack to help you prepare, test your knowledge and gain confidence.
Here are some of my top tips to keep in mind when studying for and taking the exam – use them during these practice exams to get comfortable using them so you can stay calm when exam day arrives!
Focus on the big topics
Taking the Salesforce Certified Admin exam is not just about getting certified. Studying for the exam is about learning the skills needed to become an awesome Admin that can provide true value to a business. This means it’s important to study all the topics and hone your skills. That said, be sure to pay special attention to the big topics with the highest weightings as you can expect a lot more questions on these. For example, Configuration and Setup and Object Manager and Lightning App Builder are worth 20% each (40% of the exam combined). Productivity and Collaboration is worth just 7%, so whilst you must take the time to study this topic, you should spend a lot more time on topics with heavier weightings.
Pay attention to the question and read it twice
When taking the exam, pay particular attention to the question, and read it through a few times. For the scenario-based questions there will be clues in the answer that provide hints to the correct answer. Keep an eye out for keywords that would eliminate certain answers.
If you are taking the test onsite, you can use the pencil and paper provided to draw out a data schema, role hierarchy or any other diagram that will help you visualize the answer.
Read every answer twice
You should read every answer carefully and at least twice. It can be easy to skim the answers and accidentally choose the wrong answer because they look similar.
Eliminate the obviously wrong answers
When deciding on the answer, be sure to use the process of elimination to get rid of the answers that are definitely incorrect. Salesforce likes to throw in answers that are made up features or just plain incorrect. They also like to throw in curveballs, such as features that appear to be correct but aren’t best practice.
You can often disqualify these by focussing on standard Salesforce features that accomplish a task. For example, you could build a custom approval process with Process Builder, but why do this when there is the standard Approval Process feature available?
Mark for review
You have a great tool at your disposal, the “Mark for review” feature. On each question, you will have a checkbox that you can mark so you can come back to the question easily later. This is great if you cannot think of an answer right at that moment, or if you are unsure about your answer. We also include this feature in our practice exams!
Look for clues that might help answer earlier questions
As you move through the exam, you might come across questions and answers that help you identify the correct answer to an earlier question!
Try to go through the full exam twice
Keep the momentum going on your first pass through the exam: don’t dawdle over questions you have no idea about and use the “Mark for review” feature heavily, then move on to the next question. This should allow enough time for you to go through the exam a second time.
Stick with your first answer
If in doubt, stick with your initial answer. With the limited time available to you, if you don’t feel anymore confident on your second pass through the exam, then stick with your original answer and move on.
Use all your time
If you follow these tips there’s no chance you won’t use all the time! Give yourself the greatest chance of success by carefully reading each question and answer and going through the exam twice.
Focus your studies using section level scoring
At the end of each full practice exam, we provide section level scoring. Pay attention to the areas you are scoring poorly (or lower than you would like) and focus your studies here.
Ready to get Salesforce certified? Let’s get started.