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How to Become a Salesforce Admin

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Are you wondering why there is a high demand for Salesforce Admin jobs? Do you want to enter a Salesforce career but don’t know where to begin? Over 77,000 Salesforce employees are working globally, and the demand is also very high. Many career paths can be pursued within the Salesforce ecosystem. The way you choose will depend on your skills. This article will examine the details of the Salesforce Admin job and its certifications.

Role of Salesforce Administrators

Have you come across the hashtag #AwesomeAdmins? This is a popular hashtag to refer to Salesforce Admins. Their skills lie in using the Salesforce Suite of CRM management. Salesforce Administrator Certification Exam is the foundation course that introduces the attributes of the software. They learn the platform inside out while preparing for the exam, thus helping the associates to customise the cloud platform.

The role of a Salesforce Admin may vary based on the institution. Yet there are some fundamental roles handled by a Salesforce Admin.

1. User Account Creation and Differentiated Access

The Salesforce Administrator operates all the crucial employee data management of the organisation through the CRM system.

2. Ensuring Data Consistency

Employees of the organisation enter leads and other information. The administrator ensures that a specific standard is maintained.

3. Data Reporting

Their CRM handling expertise can give the required data charts for the organisations to make prime decisions.

4. Checking For Information Duplication

With data being entered from various sources like employees, submission forms, and lists, it lies under the role of the Salesforce Admin to run tools on the data and deduplicate it.

5. Performing Efficient System Updates

By default, Salesforce undergoes a periodic auto-update process. But an efficient Salesforce Administrator will perform the updates in the sandbox to ensure data security.

6. Conduct Tests and Reports

Automated database checks are processed to ensure the safety and health of the information in the system.

7. Organize the Records

Changes are made to counter errors in the system or for better performance. These are archived periodically.

8. Expertise on the Platform

Varied industries use Salesforce; therefore, the Admin should be an expert in the Salesforce system and the specific industry/organisation.

Prerequisites for Certified Salesforce Administrator

It is not required to have any specific skill set to take the Salesforce Admin exam. But to make the learning more accessible and to excel in your job.

  • Salesforce system works on real-time data, and it is required to have logical thinking capability to crack any concerns.
  • Being in a Salesforce job, you will work with a group. You have to be a team player and possess communication skills.
  • Salesforce is a vast platform; hands-on experience is required to use your learnings fully.
  • CRM systems are mostly about data management. You should be acquainted with data handling and data security.

How to Become a Salesforce Admin?

Now that you have learned about the job and decided to take up a career in Salesforce, read about how to start your career path.

Knowing about Salesforce and preparing for the Administrator certification exam using the various resources available is essential. 

1. Know About Salesforce

People with a technical background are likely to have an idea of the essential functions of the Salesforce platform. Forming a fundamental opinion about why businesses use the cloud computing CRM platform is necessary. Make sure you understand the business implications before progressing to the technical sections.

The first place to look for is the official website of Salesforce. Their YouTube Channel has videos that help you get started with the Salesforce system. There are also several articles on the web that will help understand Salesforce, how to become a certified professional etc.

2. Make Use of Trailhead Resources

While reading articles about Salesforce Certification Exams, you might have come across the website Trailhead. It is a Salesforce-owned training resource hub. You can access the exam curriculum, where the study topics are divided into modules. You can also find study trails which are a set of modules.

Trailhead knowledge centre offers both free and paid courses. There are practice papers, quizzes, and hands-on platform exercises to skill up the candidates. The paid study courses might be costly compared to other reputed course providers. Yet, Trailhead can be your first reference point to know about the examination.

3. Online Training Courses

Those with prior CRM platform experience can probably prepare for the exam using the free Trailhead resources. But those new to it will need proper guidance to understand the platform’s components. These are available at prices much less than the official Trailhead training. Candidates can get their doubts cleared and attain hands-on experience.

The quality of the classes varies from one online class to another. Make sure to do proper research before you choose the best Salesforce Certified Admin course.

4. Join Communities

Salesforce Trailblazer Community is a welcoming group where you can go for any assistance. You are free to ask anything related to Salesforce, from career doubts to study guides. There are also localised community groups that arrange group study and other activities. Local groups are usually run by volunteers who take the initiative to create the network and help the aspiring candidates.

With some research, you can find other Salesforce communities on Twitter, Slack, Discord, or other platforms.

5. Apply for the Salesforce Admin Exam

After completing your training modules, you can make your next move and apply for the examination. It usually takes 6-12 months to finish learning the modules.

a. Create a Webassessor Account

The Webassessor is the interface that holds all the information regarding the Salesforce exams. Each user has a unique login Id and contains all the certification data. You can choose your desired certification exam and apply for the same. Make sure to cross-check the details like exam language, code, preferred date, and time.

b. Payment for Exam

Payment for the exam can be made using credit or debit cards. The registration fee for Salesforce Admin Exam is $200. $100 is charged for repeat exam takers.

  1. Facing the Salesforce Admin Exa

The Salesforce Administrator Cert Exam lays the foundation for your Salesforce career path. It is not an easy examination, and you need to be well prepared to get a passing score.

  • The exam consists of 60 MCQ questions. The allotted time is 105 minutes.
  • To pass the exam, you need to get 39 answers correct. That is 65% marks.
  • While applying for the exam, you can choose to take the exam online or at a test centre. Online exams are monitored with a webcam, biometrics, and strict guidelines.
  • Every question is of one mark each. For some questions, there is more than one correct option to choose. But you have to get it all right to get the score.
  • Be prepared to read the questions well before answering, as most are scenario-based.
  • You have less than 2 minutes for a question. Do not ponder over a question for long. Mark it for review and come back later.
  1. Acquiring Salesforce Experience

If you are lucky enough, you might end up with a Salesforce Admin job without experience. But while searching for a job after passing the exam, you can optimally get practical experience to boost your resume.

  1. Superbadges are a valuable addition to your career. You can earn skill-based credentials by solving real-time business problems that apply your skills.
  2. You can Volunteer with Nonprofit organisations, and the certificate will prove beneficial. Reputed organisations can be a source of reference for your job placement.
  3. Real-world sample projects will help you showcase your skills. They can be presented in an interview and impress the interviewer. You can even do the project as a group with your friends.
  4. Finding Salesforce Admin Jobs

You can look for Salesforce jobs soon after passing the Salesforce Administrator Certification Exam.

  1. Do not miss out on the maintenance exams. There are 3 follow-up exams in a year to keep the certification valid. They are easy and of open book pattern. It can be attended without intense preparation. Your working experience as Salesforce Admin will help you answer this 30-minute-long exam.
  2. Maintain a live LinkedIn account and add your certification to your profile. Gain Superbadges and brag about it on your LinkedIn page. Write posts about your projects and take part in discussions.
  3. Salesforce User Group meetings are not seen by many as a job search source. Put on your personality coat and share some knowledge when you can. Make new connections and connect with the leaders. The network will give you your job lead.
  4. Post your resumes to recruiting agencies and have a personal conversation with them. They get their pay when you land a job. So let them search for you with their connections.
  5. Apply online and do not do it vaguely applying on every other job posting. Scrutinise and prepare a custom cover letter for the most favourable posts.

Summing Up

If you are stuck with your qualification and unable to find a job, take the exam and land a career as a Salesforce Admin in 2022. With the highly popularised salary of Salesforce-certified professionals, more people are taking the Salesforce exams. Cloud computing systems are the new norm, and the Salesforce economy is here to stay.