Follow These 4 Simple Steps to Help You Prep Like a #CertifiedPro and Get Exam Ready

Whether you’re an #AwesomeAdmin or an aspiring Architect, earning a Salesforce certification has helped tens of thousands of you crush your career goals by growing your resume, proving your skills, and giving you a competitive edge.

So you want to get Salesforce certified. We don’t blame you!

Over the past decade, we’ve tried to make it as easy as possible for you to ace your exam by creating a suite of (mostly free!) resources to help you prepare.

In fact, there are so many tips, tricks, and tools out there that it can be a little overwhelming. So we’ve compiled these four simple steps to help you prepare like a pro for your Salesforce certification exam.

Step 1: Ready, set… schedule!

According to a recent study, you’re 42% more likely to achieve your goals if you simply write them down.

You can think of exam registration in the same way. When you commit to a date, you’ll be that much more motivated to prioritize your prep work. And scheduling an exam is easy-peasy.

• First, pay a visit to our partners at Kryterion. They help us administer our certification exams.
• Once you’re there, log in or create a new account with a personal email address. This helps us keep in touch with you even if you’ve switched jobs.
• Next, schedule your exam based on your location, date, and time preferences. Carefully consider whether you want to take your exam onsite or online.
• Finally, keep track of your authorization code. You’ll need it to verify your registration on exam day.

Step 2: Examine the exam guide

The exam guide will be your best friend throughout the preparation process. Print it out, bookmark it, put it under your pillow — do whatever you need to keep it close.

It will give you all the nitty-gritty details on your exam including the number of questions, duration, passing score, fees, and delivery options. Plus, it lists recommended study resources (more on those next).

Pay close attention to the outline section of the guide. It breaks down how much weight each topic will be given on the exam. Use this as a study checklist, spending the majority of your time on topics that are weighted the heaviest.

To find your exam guide:

• First, visit the Trailhead Credentials site.
• Next, choose your role and select the Salesforce certification exam you’re prepping for.
• Finally, click “Get the Exam Guide.”

Step 3: Study like it’s 1999!

We have study resources for everyone, no matter your learning style.

For self-led learning, the study guide lists recommended Trailhead content including trails, trailmixes, and superbadges to complete.

• Trails. These are guided learning paths made up of modules and projects that help you cover the most ground in the shortest amount of time.
• Cert prep trailmixes. These are a mashup of trails, modules, projects, and superbadges conveniently organized based on the topics in your exam outline. There could also be a Trailhead Quest included for extra motivation (surprise!).
• Superbadges. These help you take the skills you’ve learned and apply them by solving complex, real-world business problems (while spiffing up your profile with resume-worthy credentials in the process).

For the certified Admin exam, there’s even a Study for the Administrator Certification Exam trail complete with interactive study tools including flash cards, practice exam questions, and downloadable study resources. (Trails for other exams coming soon…)

You’ll also get recommendations on Trailhead Academy courses that you can opt to take virtually or onsite. You’ll get not only a wealth of knowledge dropped by a Salesforce expert but also a book and access to a practice org to test out your new skills.

Step 4: Get a little help from your friends

No one wants to study alone. That’s where our Trailblazer Community comes in. Use it to connect with community members to learn, get inspired, and blaze trails together.

For exam prep, you have a few options:

• Local community groups. Find folks in your hometown and meet up for live study sessions.
• Exam groups. Connect virtually with others studying for the same exam at the same time.
• Training groups. Keep the conversation going after a live or virtual training session.

Happy prepping!

Last but not least, keep an eye out for our Certification Days. These are free 1-day webinars led by Salesforce-certified instructors where you’ll get in-depth information on a specific exam, plus an exam discount!

We can’t promise the road to becoming a #CertifiedPro will be all rainbows and butterflies. But these four steps should make it a little bit easier and a lot more fun.

Ready for the big day? Check out our 5 Top Tips to Help You Keep Calm for a Stress-Free Salesforce Certification Exam Day post.

And be sure to shout out your progress on social so we can help celebrate your certification journey with you.