Salesforce certification exams – what can you expect?

To be certified or not to be certified? That is the question! I often receive this query from Salesforce newcomers seeking advice on establishing a career in Salesforce. The straightforward response is, “Yes, certainly, you should obtain Salesforce certifications.” The more considered answer is, “It depends.” You’ll frequently come across a common description on many LinkedIn profiles of Salesforce experts – “2x Salesforce Certified,” “5x Salesforce Certified,” “21x Salesforce Certified” – showcasing their number of Salesforce certifications. Should you follow the same path? Yes, you can. Is this the only path? No, it is not. Allow me to elucidate this using an analogy my jiu-jitsu trainer shared with me during my first tournament, when I found myself facing a rather intimidating individual covered in many tattoos, who happened to be my next opponent. My trainer’s words were, “Tattoos do not fight.” This statement holds true universally and can be applied to the Salesforce realm as well. Essentially, having a multitude of certifications doesn’t always equate to genuine proficiency in Salesforce.

Throughout my IT career, I’ve encountered numerous Salesforce professionals possessing “just” one or two certifications who were exceptionally skilled in Salesforce. To put it simply, practical experience always outweighs certifications – always. However, this doesn’t negate the value or importance of holding Salesforce certificates. Allow me to outline some pros and cons concerning obtaining Salesforce certifications.

Pros

There are several benefits associated with obtaining a Salesforce certificate and even attempting to acquire one:

• When preparing for a Salesforce exam, you will need to study to know more about Salesforce
• You will learn about topics and features that you may not have used previously so you will increase your knowledge
• You will get a nice “tattoo” that others will recognize and it will be visible as proof of your knowledge
• It may help you jumpstart your Salesforce career
• If you are a Salesforce beginner, having certs such as Admin and/or App Builder will strongly increase the chance of you getting your first Salesforce job
• More is not always better but sometimes, having the next Salesforce cert will give you hints about which Salesforce career direction to take or not take

Cons

Let’s now see the cons related to exam preparation:

• You will study things you may not even touch/use outside the exam.
• The knowledge you will gather may be forgotten quickly if you do not use it in practice.
• More certs do not mean your career will rocket quicker as experience > certs, and in most recruitment processes, you will be asked about your practical knowledge.
• Specialization is still strongly looked for in the IT world. The market is not searching for individuals who are A-OK in every single Salesforce feature/cloud. The recruiters are searching for experts in particular features or clouds.
• Doing certs for the sake of having certs is wrong. Be sure that the knowledge you will get may be used practically and is in line with your career plan.

Of course, the aforementioned “cons” are not real cons, as having a certificate is almost always better than not having it, but before planning your next Salesforce cert, you need to answer an important question: what do you want to do in your life? And then, just…take the relevant exam.