The 10 Golden Rules of Salesforce Certifications 

Salesforce certifications are often a hot topic within the ecosystem, with differing perspectives on exactly how valuable they are.

But after speaking with several community thought leaders to get their perspectives on whether certs were still relevant, we’ve distilled their collective wisdom into a list of the 10 Golden Rules to consider when thinking about Salesforce certifications. 

1. They Are Good for Beginners

There is some debate around whether there is such a thing as “too many” certifications, with some people seemingly considering it a challenge to collect all 50 certs, regardless of whether they are relevant to their own career path or not. 

But it’s safe to say that for someone just getting started as a Salesforce admin, getting your first administrator qualification could only really be seen as a positive step forward.

For many employers, it’s a requirement for applicants to have this qualification, making it something of a must-have for those looking to get a foot in the door of potential employers. 

2. They’re No Substitute for Experience

While an entry-level Salesforce Administrator looking to break into the job market should certainly aim to have their Admin cert, it’s not necessarily the case that simply piling up additional qualifications on top of this is a good idea; it actually may be detrimental. 

The Administrator cert will prove to some extent that you know what you’re talking about at a basic level. Job applicants are also likely to be judged on what precisely they have built in their careers. 

Salesforce ecosystem influencer and Developer Relations Advisor at Westview 1, Peter Chittum, previously told Salesforce Ben that there are more important things than certifications. 

He said: “A certification wouldn’t do any harm – go ahead and get one, especially if your employer will pay. But in a job shortage, I don’t know if 10 certifications helps you break in. Maybe one, but get busy building something!”

3. More Is Not (Necessarily) Better

As hinted at in rule number 2, having more certifications than a rival Salesforce admin vying for the same position as you might not be a point in your favor and may actually count against you in some circumstances. 

Salesforce Architect and co-founder of Automation Dreamin’, Vicki Moritz-Henry, previously told us that certifications are just part of a greater whole, and different things work for different people. 

She said: “I know people in the ecosystem who have been there for 20 years longer than I have and have zero or one certification, and, as a hiring manager, I would absolutely hire them based on their work experience.”

4. Specificity Is Key

We’ve seen how more is not necessarily better, but perhaps more of the right kind of certification is, in fact, a good thing. 

Salesforce Consultant Evan Ponter told Salesforce Ben previously that the value of certifications depends on each person’s journey. 

He said: “For me, early on, it seemed very important to have certifications in order to get that first job because nobody’s going to hire you for something called Salesforce Administrator if you don’t have the Salesforce Administrator certification.

“But as I’ve progressed in my career since that job, I don’t think anybody’s asked me if I have a certification. 

“I tend to get about one per year, I’m not out trying to maximize my certs, but whenever I get to a point where I feel like I’m comfortable with an area that Salesforce offers certifications in, I already have the hands-on experience, then I sign up for the exam and we’ll go through the study guide on Trailhead, and take the exam.”

5. Think Like a Hiring Manager

If you were looking for someone to fill a Salesforce role at your company, what exactly would you look for? 

With the job market as competitive as it is right now, having the right qualifications may only be enough to get your resume in front of the hiring manager, but no further. 

What they are likely looking for is someone with relevant experience that matches the kind of work the new starter would be handling at their company, not just someone with the right qualification. 

This can be offputting for newcomers to any field, with some lamenting that they cannot get experience because they cannot get a job due to lack of experience, leaving them with a feeling of career paralysis. 

But one of the good things about working in the tech sector is the ability for newbies to prove their dedication and skill by creating something independently. 

Salesforce Solution Architect Jennifer Olson previously told Salesforce Ben about how, before landing her first role, she collaborated with a group of people who were all in a similar situation and decided to come up with a project, emulating something that could happen in the real world. 

The scenario they came up with was: Two people are getting married, and they want to send a QR code instead of having people RSVP in old-fashioned ways like sending a reply in the mail. 

Once the code gets scanned, the system needs to be able to record someone as “attending”, assign them a table, and various other automatic tasks that would be completed. 

Crucially, the group decided to not work on one unified project but to come up with their own unique orgs, in which they could showcase themselves, with a thorough understanding of how everything in it works – rather than working on a single org as a team, leading to each person only having limited knowledge.

This would mean that while group members would meet once a week to discuss and solve problems together, each person would have all the requisite knowledge of how the org worked and would be able to answer questions about it in interviews. 

6. Learning vs. Proving Existing Knowledge 

For a complete beginner, certifications can be seen as something to aim towards to keep yourself learning and practicing relevant skills.

Even if you’re using Salesforce at your job every day, it’s unlikely that you’ll be covering every aspect of a certain role. Especially as a newbie, you might be somewhat pigeonholed into doing particular jobs the management is comfortable with you doing. 

Bearing this in mind, learning extra skills that you might not yet be doing in your current role could be just the thing to give your career a boost. 

But for those with a bit more experience, you may find that you have already gathered all the knowledge needed to pass a particular exam, so checking that box could be a handy way to prove that you’re an experienced hand in the field.  

7. Consider Market Demand 

Let’s face it, the job market can be pretty tough right now for some Salesforce professionals. 

While following one’s passions is admirable, it may also be somewhat prudent to consider what is in demand.

More niche certifications that are aligned with specific Salesforce products could be more valuable due to fewer certified professionals to compete with in those areas. 

It’s also worth considering the bogeyman in the room of any career discussion…

8. Consider Risks (And Opportunities) From AI

The gaze of the tech sector is very much fixed on the field of artificial intelligence at the moment, and Salesforce is no exception. 

The cloud giant is putting its agentic AI product Agentforce front and center of the brand, and CEO Marc Benioff has stressed how important he believes the product is for the company’s future. 

Salesforce is no stranger to integrating more AI and automation into its existing products – like Slack, for instance – and new certifications in these areas are emerging, like the recently rebranded Agentforce Specialist certification. 

We at Salesforce Ben have written a lot about the dangers AI could pose to human labor, but it may also be worth noting that this emerging technology could be an opportunity for those who decide to ride the wave of AI rather than resist it. 

Getting up to speed with Agentforce might be just the thing to help you stand out from your competitors. A Salesforce admin who is comfortable working with AI may have a competitive edge in the eyes of a forward-looking company looking to automate as much as possible. 

9. Consider Opportunities From Employers

Some employers may value certifications more than others, and even be willing to pay for employees to do them. 

In such an instance, if you’re willing and able to commit the necessary time to studying for them, this seems very much like an opportunity worth considering. 

Other businesses may not value certifications as much, and if you’re already raking in valuable experience in your chosen field, it may be counter-productive to commit the time, money, and effort working towards something which you don’t necessarily need at this point in your career. 

You might even risk burnout if you’re already a busy professional with a lot to do in a day already. 

10. Personalize Your Certs

It’s worth repeating an important phrase that relates to certifications: More is not better. 

What that essentially means is that the sheer quantity of certifications you have may not be a point in your favor, and combining relevant certifications with relevant experience is likely a far better strategy for advancing your career when compared to a scattergun approach. 

Founder of Salesforce Break and Flow Canvas Academy, Andy Engin Utkan, previously told Salesforce Ben that there has been an “inflation” of certifications, and he’s not sure that even hiring managers know or understand all of them. 

He said: “I think pretty much all the hiring managers think experience trumps certifications. If you have experience, relevant experience, if you can speak to that, show your skills, that’s much better than certifications. If you have certifications on top of that, that’s icing on the cake.” 

Final Thoughts 

We’ve been very daring in trying to summarize so many great points made by Salesforce community veterans into just 10 rules, and we’ll now be even more ambitious in trying to sum up those into a single final paragraph. 

There is no one-size-fits-all approach for everyone in the Salesforce ecosystem, but top voices tend to agree that experience is extremely important and certifications are a helpful way to learn new skills – or prove existing knowledge. But the key thing is to get out there and build something.