My top eight certification test-taking tips!

Preface: this post is part of the Study Guide: How to Earn 15 Salesforce Certifications series.

This post has some of my best certification advice, and the reasoning is simple!

There are plenty of certification study guides, but there are zero test-taking strategy guides! I’m talking about specific strategies you should use while this is counting down:

Time Remaining: 29:08… 29:07… 29:06…

You can immediately increase your score at least 10% using these strategies. Even better, you can ensure you pass the exam next time, if you fail.

Note: each sample question below was taken directly from the sample question pool Salesforce provides in their official exam guides. I didn’t make any of them up to conveniently make any points!

Eliminating two wrong answers gives you a 50% chance of getting the question right. If you had a 50% chance of getting every question you were unsure of right, you’re going to pass the exam!

That’s just how the math works out. You only need a score of 65% to pass, which is seriously low for a multiple choice test. If you can make it a coin flip for as many questions as possible, you’re good!

So – consider it a small victory every time you’re guessing between two answers!

Many times, a single word can change the entire way you answer the question.

This comes especially in handy on questions where you’ve eliminated answers, and the remaining answers look equally correct to you. Just one word can be the hint you need choose the right one.

It becomes extremely tempting to speed read questions when you’re sitting through a two-hour exam. Don’t let this happen to you – every word is important!

If you were a Salesforce employee, would you write a question that made Salesforce look bad?

…NOPE! Not worth getting fired over!

So if you have no idea what the right answer is, choose the answer that makes Salesforce look good!

• Answers that don’t admit Salesforce has missing features (as in the above) should be preferred
• If it’s a question about limits, choose the most generous limit
• When choosing between standard functionality and heavy customization, choose standard!

Sometimes, you’re sure the first answer you read is the right one.

It’s tempting to choose it and move on, but you should never do so!

Often, there are multiple answers that can be interpreted as the right one, however, one answer is more correct than the other. You could miss this if you commit too early.

Also, if you’re trying to move too quickly, you might accidentally skip over important details. In the example above, you might know that a dependent picklist is the correct feature and immediately choose A, not knowing that C is the better dependent picklist answer.

Sometimes you’ll get annoying questions like these and have no idea what the answer is.

To eliminate wrong answers, you might ask yourself:
What’s a “Login” license type? Is it real, or just a fake license type?

If it’s real, you might choose A and C. If not, you might choose A and B.

Lucky for you, you gain knowledge as the test progresses. That’s because a future question might reference “Login” license types, so you later discover that they exist! If you didn’t re-answer this question after going through the full exam, you might have missed it!

Also of course, it’s good to double / triple check your answers.

This checkbox is SO important! Use it to keep of track questions you’re not completely sure of.

…and DO NOT uncheck the box, because those questions contain valuable information. They let you know EXACTLY what you need to study in case you fail. No study guide can tell you that!

Other tips in this post rely on you using this checkbox, so use it and use it generously! If you think there’s even just a 5% chance you’re wrong, check the box!

Remember those questions we weren’t sure about and “marked for later review” via the previous tip?

Use this time to memorize each and every one of those questions!

This is absolutely a fundamental part of the SFDC99 method, because it ensures you pass next time.

I know it sounds tedious, and almost torture-like. But I promise you it’s not as tedious and painful as failing a test multiple times. Endure the pain now so you can taste success sooner!

You better have planned ahead and gone to the restroom before taking the test. If you didn’t, you might use that as an excuse to submit your exam early! NO!

By the way, never assume you’re going to pass. I made that mistake and I have nightmares about it.

Have a paper and pencil nearby ready in advance. Waste no time and just dump everything out.

This is why you need to take the test online. Nothing should get in the way of this. In fact, make sure you don’t have anything scheduled for the next few hours, because you’re going to keep remembering things and need to write them down.

Combine this with your section-level scores, and now you have the perfect study guide for round 2!

Hope you enjoyed these tips!

Next post: Five common certification mistakes, and how to fix them!