How to Pass the Salesforce Administrator Exam
Are you studying to become a Salesforce Administrator? Worried about passing your certification exam? Let me help guide you on the key steps for success.
You can also follow along on TikTok.
Get started by learning the System
Before you can crush the exam, you need to learn how to become an Admin and there is no better place to start than Trailhead. Check out the Administrator overview Trailmix to get started. There are also other great resources like Mike Wheeler, which is great if you like to follow along. The Talent Stacker program is great at providing a free Salesforce Challenge and dedicated program to landing you a Salesforce career. On the Salesforce for Everyone podcast, they say it should take you 100–200 hours of study/prep to get certified.
However, we want to talk about how to pass the test…
How to Pass the Test
Learning the material is not the same as studying for a test. As someone whose background is in education (B.S. in Education and M.A. in TESOL), I learned a few things about learning. Anyone who has been to school can tell you that knowing the material and the ability to pass a test on it are not the same.
Practice, Practice, Practice
There is a reason your teachers handed out quizzes, and no it wasn’t just for punishment. Taking a test is a skill. You need to prepare for the test by taking tests. That is where Focus on Force comes in, their $20 practice exams give you the opportunity to prep for the real thing by practicing as if it was the real thing.
Focus on Force gives you the opportunity to check each question to see if it is correct, don’t do that. Trust me, you’ll go down so many rabbit holes that you’ll get lost for an hour only to see you are still on question #3.
Set yourself up in the same place you would take the real test. Block off 60 minutes. Then power through one of the practice exams like it was the real thing.
What if I don’t get a passing score?
Not all questions are created equal, as outlined by the Salesforce Certified Administrator Exam Guide. Each section is weighted differently. What that means is it makes more sense to see which sections you need the most improvement, then rank them based on weight on where you should dedicate your time.
If your two lowest sections were “Configuration and Setup” and “Productivity and Collaboration”, even if you did worse on the latter section you’ll want to focus on “Configuration and Setup”. Why? Well, because there will be more of those questions and it carries more weight on your overall passing score.
This doesn’t mean you should ignore sections with a lower weight, just make sure to prioritize your time and effort where it matters.
When are you ready?
I would recommend taking the Focus on Force practice exams until you can pass them with a score of 75% or higher. True, you only need a 65% to pass the exam but there are a few things to consider — the actual test will likely be harder. The why behind that could be that it just really is harder, even if you take the Salesforce official webassessor exam. Or it could be any other reason:
- Anxiety about passing
- Distractions when you are taking the exam
- One of the test questions they add throws you off
- You start second guessing yourself
Give yourself a little wiggle room, and make sure you feel confident going into the exam. It might take you multiple times to get it right, but with the power of Trailhead and practicing like it is game day each and every time, you are setting yourself up for success.
A final note about exam dumps. Don’t do it. You’re only cheating yourself, and devaluing what it means to be a certified Salesforce Administrator. It takes some time and patience but you can do it.
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