How I cleared my Salesforce Admin exam and why I'm happy I failed first

I have heard before that the Salesforce Administrator exam is a tricky one. To say the least.

I have used Salesforce for years before I started to study for the Admin Certification, so I already had some basic ideas. I can only imagine how scary it might sound for someone who never worked in it…

You have to learn an entire new terminology, new concepts, new logics, actually a whole new way of thinking. All in English, which in my case is not my mother tongue. Even though I consider myself a pretty advanced and confident English speaker, it still required some extra effort to fully understand all the complexities of Salesforce, like the data and security models, just to mention the basics.

Study the basics and try not to get overwhelmed. It’s not easy.

When you are new to the Salesforce space, you are mostly advised to start studying at Salesforce’s own training portal, the Trailhead Academy. This is a fun, gamified learning platform offered by Salesforce for free, where you can find various learning modules organized in trails. You collect points, badges, super-badges (real-life challenges), and achieve ranks as you go through the program. They also provide the so called “playgrounds”, where you can apply your fresh knowledge in practice straight away. The entire experience is pretty impressive and easy to follow.

But it’s a lot of information, easy to get overwhelmed and lose focus. So I appreciated all the guidance I could get.

Fairly early in my Salesforce journey, I have decided to join the Talent Stacker Salesforce Career Development Program. Bradley Rice and his amazing team basically prepare you to successfully enter the Salesforce job market and work space, covering all aspects of this journey. Certification, exam, personal branding on LinkedIn, interview prep, volunteer project, build-along sessions, etc..

As part of their program, they provide tons of videos, guidance and other materials to help you pass the exam. I can only recommend all their services and resources, they were game-changers for me.

But I still had to put the hard work, dedication and precious time into clearing the exam. 🙂

So I completed this Admin Trail on the Trailhead Academy, and all the super-badges (the famous Admin Super Set ) were in my back-pocket in about 2 months time. Intense weeks.

I have even achieved the Ranger status and added that cool hat to my profile!

“Whohooo, wonderful! What a progress! So where can I sign up for the exam?”:-)

“Practice test” phase…

Ok, so I was just casually thinking: “I studied the recommended materials, it’s all in my head, it was not even that hard, now let’s quickly do some practice tests before I sign up for the real one, just as a warm-up.”

Bummer…30%, 45%, maybe around 55% on the best days. Not even close to the minimum 65% to pass…”So what did I miss here exactly?”

Then I went through all the 1000+ Focus on Force test questions, and I still bumped into expressions and concepts I have never even heard of!

Is it maybe not so easy to pass after all…?

At this point I have already invested around 2 months in preparing.

No way I let myself down, I just have to keep going and figuring this out. I’ve got this!

So I did even more studying, google-ing, researching, thinking, focusing, testing. Over and over again.

My Talent Stacker study group peers helped me tremendously to keep me motivated. I think without their support and our weekly meetings it would have been much harder to go through this phase. Every week we discussed some tricky questions, complex scenarios, shared study tips and our experience with interviews and recruiters.

Then I arrived to a point when I felt like I have to give it a try, I cannot wait forever, I will never be 100% ready anyways, so it was time (3 months in)!

I signed up for the exam following the Trailhead guidelines.

Let’s do this! – pre-exam mood

The day has arrived, I chose the online proctored exam. Despite it sounds like it is very convenient to take the exam from your own home, I found myself stressing a lot about the technical setup and preparing my environment (room, desk, computer).

You are being strictly monitored through a webcam during the exam. You are not supposed to move a lot nor look sideways, use a pen and paper, read out half-loud the questions for yourself, or just drink a sip of water. Which I actually understand is necessary. It is a serious exam, we should all be equally measured by what is in our heads, and our heads only :-).

I hit the Start button, the clock started ticking…

I followed the advice of many fellow certified professionals, and went through all the questions first, and marked the ones I was not sure about to go back to later. Well I think I marked like 85 % … Not a good sign?:-)

I repeated this method over and over again. Time passed quickly, I had 10 minutes left, still around 10 questions marked.

I did what I could, I made my “well-considered” choices and in the last minute, I hit Submit.

Then one long minute till the system generated my results. “Pleeeaaassseee tell me I got lucky!!!”

“Ugh…” – post-exam mood

Yes, I failed. To be frank it did not surprise me that much. If my knowledge at that point in time and the confusion in my head had been enough to pass, probably it would have been too easy. Bit it still would have been so nice to pass…

Deep breath! Now what…?

After I stopped feeling sorry for myself and cleared my head (it took a few days), I made a new plan, a new strategy. Studied again. But studied differently.

I took notes of all the questions I found difficult and remembered more or less from the exam. I specifically researched those, and figured out the right answer for myself.
I reorganized my study notes into sections making more sense to me. Went through them again and again, line by line, studied them.
I started watching Youtube videos by Letterkenny Salesforce Sessions. The way he teaches, cleared up many concepts in my head, and put most of the puzzle pieces into place. I started to have plenty of AHA moments at this point.
I watched multiple tutorials on how to approach and crack the complex test questions (Letterkenny again).
I returned to the Focus-on-Force practice questions, and I also added to the list Salesforce’s own practice tests, with over 300 questions (remember, after each 30 question just refresh the page, and a new set will be available).
I watched Talent Stacker Build-Along videos by Alex Warneke to be able to put my theoratical knowledge into practice, and to have visuals of the various user interfaces fresh in my memory. (Sorry this is for Talent Stacker Members only. Wait, you can actually become one… Figure out here how).

Next attempt, different approach

So after another 6 weeks, I jumped again.

This time I booked my exam in a testing center, not online at home.

I was also advised that I am eligible for extra 30 minutes exam time, as I am not a native English speaker. I applied by raising a ticket through Trailhead, and I was granted this extra time by Salesforce.

For me the whole testing process at the testing center was much more relaxed, no stress about the circumstances, they made sure the setup is fine, I did not have to worry about technology, internet speed, camera and mic set up. If you can, I would recommend to choose this option.

I could also use a pen and paper, which made a huge difference for me. I’m a more visual type, and I like taking notes, just writing/drawing things down for myself, it helped me make more sense of the questions.

Those were not easier this time either. But I was more familiar with topics they covered and the way the questions were constructed.

Read, understand, analyze, then eliminate the completely wrong answers, choose the right answer. This was my strategy.

And it worked! I passed. With unexpectedly good results. I was overjoyed, of course!!!

So why am I happy I passed for the second time only?

Here are my reasons:

I was simply not ready when I tried it for the first time. But I managed to turn this failure into a resource, that I leveraged to prepare myself for a successful second attempt.
I needed those extra weeks to really internalize the study materials and understand the concepts that I will be working with in the next phase of my career.
I was more familiar with what to expect on the exam itself, so I did not “fear the unknown” anymore, I could focus more of energy on the questions themselves.
Mentally the first failed attempt made me stronger, and practically it made me change my study strategy, that led to success eventually.

As a result, today I am definitely a more confident Salesforce professional then I was in May, and I believe I benefited from the failure, big time.

I understand it all MUCH better, and I am MUCH more comfortable with working in it.

So do not worry at all, if you don’t pass for the first time. We are all different. Many people don’t pass this exam for the first attempt.

You might need more time, just like me and it’s ok.

It will happen. Because you want to make it happen.

Practical tips to pass

Below are my key tips not only to clear your exam (for the first time or not), but more importantly to become a confident and well-prepared admin, ready to concur the job market and build a life you want for yourself with the help of Salesforce!

Register for Trailhead and study the Prepare for your Salesforce Administrator Credential trail.
Take detailed study notes (if you are this type of learner). You will come back to them a lot.
Watch the relevant Letterkenny videos (4-5 hours) or other similar ones, once you finish a bigger topic/section on Trailhead. It will help you put the study material into context.
Watch the ‘Who sees what’ video series by Salesforce on Youtube. Great overview of all security topics.
Do practice tests. Focus on Force or Salesforce’s own test, it is also great.
Do not study the questions themselves, understand them, and study the concepts behind them.
Check out the Talent Stacker Career Development Program. They will not only help you with prepping for the exam, but will also guide you through entire process of entering the Salesforce ecosystem. You can start by signing up for the 5 Day Challenge for free.
One of their best resources for preparing for the exam are the Admin Build-Along videos by Alex Warneke, where you build an entire org from scratch.
Book your exam well in advance. It will help you stay on track. For me a testing center worked better, but you can also choose the online version from home. Whichever feels more comfortable to you.
Request extra time on Trailhead, if you are not a native English speaker. Do this first, and once granted, sign up for your exam.
Take note of the tricky questions right after the exam, if you fail for the first time, and study those topics specifically.
Keep your motivation up! Listen to podcasts (e.g. Salesforce for Everyone, Admin Podcast), testimonials, success stories, watch videos, read good articles, engage with people in the same boat.
Don’t forget. This is just the first, but for sure challenging step on a wonderful journey!