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As a mobile developer, I’ve been working with salesforce.com for almost a decade. But many of my projects meant integrating other applications to salesforce.com, and not as much native development.
Earlier this year, my team at RunMobile was one of the first to launch an app on the AppExchange using the new Salesforce1 platform. With that accomplishment under our belt, I knew it was time to brush up on the nomenclature and methods required for Salesforce1 and get developer certified.
So I signed up for a Salesforce certification training class, studied (a lot) for the exam – and passed. If you’re interested in becoming certified, here are my five best tips for taking and passing the Salesforce Certified Developer exam:
Whether you’re taking it in person or online, make sure you select a class that says “official Salesforce Developer Certification class.” This means, for the most part, what’s on your certification exam matches what was covered in class. You can find official Salesforce University certification training classes online or in your local area.
Even if you’ve developed applications using similar work before, learning the naming conventions and lesser-used features that Salesforce.com uses are keys to passing the exam later.
This will give you time to study, but still help you retain the information you learned in class. As part of the official class, you’ll receive a voucher for one free exam.
In my experience, about 20 percent of the material in the exam was not covered in the class. In addition to the courseware and study guide, review the training videos, online documentation, practice tests and additional courses your class instructor sends you throughout the class.
Sounds like a no-brainer, right? In your nervousness while taking the exam, you may select the most obvious answer, but the question may not be asking for what’s simplest. Reread the questions, mark questions for later review if they take up too much time and change your answers if necessary.
If you take your exam at a testing center, like I did, prepare to start almost as soon as you arrive. Right after I sat down, the person assigned to monitor my test leaned over and clicked “Start” on my desktop. I saw the clock running onscreen and realized the exam was underway.
Once I had answered all the questions and reviewed the ones I wasn’t as confident about, it was time to click the “Submit Exam” button. After I clicked it, another button appeared that asked “Are you sure you want to submit your exam?” I took a deep breath, and feeling good about my answers, I clicked “Yes.”
A wheel spun onscreen, and the screen went blank with a four-letter word at the top in small type – “Pass.” I have to admit, even with my years of experience, it felt good to be officially recognized as a Certified Salesforce.com Developer.
The exam is a good measure that someone has done actual development and understands the concepts within the Salesforce.com platform, so developing some apps – and completing the exercises – are keys to passing. Good luck!
Ted Chappell is Managing Partner at RunMobile, a Salesforce AppExchange Partner. RunMobile provides enterprise mobile app development and mobility consulting to leading companies.
