Salesforce Administrator Certification Guide – [Part 1/8] – Download Full Guide Here
Author: Peggy Schael | Salesforce Trainer | WeLearnSalesforce
Getting a Salesforce Certification is an exciting quest. Salesforce is not only a very powerful platform but also provides an amazing network of knowledge resources and support.
Sometimes I want to be part of it just for the sake of it because it’s a lot of fun. But we only have so much time at our hands, right? Let’s focus on the nitty-gritty bits to get you on your way.
In this first of my eight-part certification guide, let’s look at the reasoning why a Salesforce Certification is great to have, how to identify which certification path is right for you and how you shine the light on yourself amongst all the competition.
Why should you get a Salesforce Certification?
Salesforce Job Roles are in High Demand
Salesforce is the #1 CRM cloud-based platform and growing extensively. The IDC Salesforce Economy Report from October 2019 is predicting 4.2 million Salesforce related jobs by the end of 2024.
Salesforce Customers require a new IT expertise to integrate the Salesforce platform with their business processes. This means that Salesforce is the #1 most sought-after IT skill that companies and their recruiters are currently looking for.
Prove You Have the Skills
Acquiring a Salesforce Certification gives you a chance to prove that you have the skills. The Salesforce Certification Exams are tough and that’s for a very good reason. With the Salesforce platform being very complex, studying in a structured way is essential to your learning success. Studying for a certification helps you focus on the right learning areas.
Improve Your Productivity
By learning the core functionalities and concepts in a formal environment helps you become proficient. You will learn best practices and business use cases to understand the requirements a lot of companies are dealing with. This knowledge will give you a distinct advantage in the job market.
Increase Your Salary
Earning a Salesforce Certification is hard work. Skilled Salesforce professionals understand how the platform is supposed to work and what best practices look like. You not only improve your own skillset. With your solid Salesforce knowledge you help organizations implement effective processes which in return can save time and money. This is a win-win for both sides and will be acknowledged. Get some more insights on salary trends from the annual Salary Survey by Mason Frank (not affiliated).
Set Your Career Path
Salesforce offers a range of certifications to meet the career path you are looking to pursue. These include a variety of job roles such as Salesforce Administrator, Developer, Business Analyst, Consultant, Product Owner, Project Manager and many more.
Salesforce has built a vast ecosystem around its platform with resources for anyone who is working with the Salesforce platform. It’s therefore important to understand the baseline capabilities of the Salesforce platform, its architecture and infrastructure.
The most essential and therefore most popular certification to have under your belt is the Salesforce Certified Administrator. It conveys the core principles of system setup including user permissions, configuration and customization as well as data security and access.
Our WeLearnSalesforce Certification Guide is based on the Salesforce Administrator Certification. However, the steps I’m describing in this guide, are applicable to any certification path you are attempting to take.
How Do You Stand Out of the Crowd?
There are many others like you also looking for a seat in the Salesforce job market. But don’t be frustrated.
Even if you have zero to little experience with the Salesforce platform, you can still shine the light on yourself.
Recruiters are not only looking for a specific certification or longstanding experience, they are primarily looking for skills such as integrity, creativity, passion and engagement.
Engage in our Facebook and LinkedIn Groups
There are a number of amazing social media platforms to ask questions, get answers and also share your own expertise and experiences. You can benefit from the contributions made by others, and so can others benefit from your contributions. Doesn’t it feel great when you can help someone else with their problem? It also shows your engagement and passion that recruiters are looking for.
Start by joining our dedicated WeLearnSalesforce Facebook Group and LinkedIn Community Group to explore what else is there to lay the path for your Salesforce Career Journey.
Join Trailblazer Community and Salesforce User Groups
Salesforce has built an incredible community of passionate Salesforce professionals that have already created a solid Salesforce career or are on their way there. It’s all about supporting each other.
Check out your local Trailblazer Community Group:
Get involved in global Salesforce Collaboration Groups:
Understand Business Relevance
Learning the technical components of the Salesforce platform is important but only one side of the game. It’s also very important to understand why Salesforce should be implemented and how it can make an existing business process better.
Each company works differently and there are many ways to set up a Salesforce Org. So the most important part of a successful integration of Salesforce is to align it with the business’ very specific daily processes.
Therefore, make yourself familiar with business use cases of different types of companies. Salesforce has a great page on Salesforce Customer Success Stories where you can read about the type of industry, the Salesforce product that was implemented and why the customer chose Salesforce as the solution and how it helped them become more successful.
Bring Business Use Cases Into Context With Salesforce Features
It’s good to know about other customers’ stories, but you still need to put one and one together. Me and my team have created a Salesforce Online Video Learning Platform WeLearnSalesforce for this exact purpose. Our Salesforce Administrator Courses bring both worlds together. We teach you the technical side in combination with relevant business use cases and how they are being set up in Salesforce to make them work.
Building a solid foundation of Salesforce knowledge and skills will be essential to your success in the Salesforce ecosystem.
In the next article, we will look at where you need to get started and what learning contents will be relevant for the Salesforce Administrator Certification Exam.
Salesforce Administrator Certification Guide Download Full Guide Here
