Salesforce Certified Associate Exam: Certification Preparation, Tips & Areas of Focus

Are you considering taking the Salesforce Certified Associate exam? Do you want to know if it’s the right fit for you? I passed this exam yesterday so I can give you an insider’s perspective on what to expect.
Who Should Take It?
As we discussed in last month’s look at the AI Associate exam ( • Salesforce Certified A... ), Salesforce’s Associate exam series is the easiest of Salesforce’s certification offerings. They are entry-level certs aimed at those new to the ecosystem, who have 0 to 6 months of experience working with Salesforce. The Salesforce Associate exam is a good survey of the fundamentals of Salesforce. This knowledge provides a solid foundation before jumping into more challenging certifications like the Salesforce Administrator. I see it as the power user certification. Those in sales, operations, IT support, and business leaders working with Salesforce can benefit from having a deeper view of what is possible in Salesforce. I wouldn’t recommend this exam for Salesforce professionals who have been in the industry for a year or more, or those who have already tackled more substantial certifications like the Admin cert. Some Salesforce professionals have questioned the value of the Associate certification, calling it worthless and little more than a money grab by Salesforce. I’d counter that people are at different stages in their Salesforce journey. If this cert helps that entry-level group grow and become more comfortable and confident in the platform, that is a win. With that said, no one should see this cert as opening doors if you’re trying to get a job as a Salesforce professional.
What to Expect?
The Associate exam has 40 questions, and you have 100 minutes to complete it. Each question has three answers with only one correct answer. The exam costs $75 USD and comes with free retake options. A passing grade is 62% and there is no maintenance required after you pass the exam. The content breaks down as 32% of the exam is focused on the Salesforce Ecosystem, 28% on Navigation, 25% on the Data Model, and the remaining 15% on Reports and Dashboards.
My Perspective and Study Approach
This was an easy exam. I scored 90% and it took me thirteen minutes to complete. I made a similar statement about the AI Associate exam, but the key difference between the two is the breadth of content the Associate exam covers. My study approach was to start with a practice test to gauge my readiness. I uncovered a great resource from Salesforce Ben that provides three free Associate practice exams with detailed answer explanations -- courses.salesf.... I scored over 80% on that initial practice test so I spent my time the day before the exam completing the rest of the practice exams and fortifying my weaknesses. I feel this is a solid approach for more seasoned professionals, but if you’re just starting your Salesforce journey, I’d commit the time to working through the Associate Trailmix.
Areas of Focus
As I mentioned, the breadth of this exam is considerable, so I’ll attempt to narrow it for you around concepts I saw represented in the exam.
• Understand what multi-tenancy is and how this concept comes into play in Salesforce
• Learn the difference between the playground, sandbox, and production environments
• Get to know the different roles in Salesforce like a business analyst, marketer, and user experience designer. I saw three questions asking me to identify the purpose behind certain roles.
• Explore what you can manage under Personal and Company Information within Setup
• Research the benefits of using the Kanban list view
• Understand how wildcards can make it easier to conduct searches in Salesforce
• Identify the criteria for creating a unique username
• Understand the difference between deactivating and deleting a user in Salesforce
• Look at bucket columns, and when we’d use them in Salesforce reporting
• Recognize how role hierarchy impacts record access in Salesforce
• Verse yourself on master-detail relationships including what happens to detail records when we delete the master
• Checkout Trailhead, Trailhead Academy, and Trailblazer Community Groups to understand the role each play in supporting Salesforce professionals
• Get acquainted with updating locale data, and how this is accomplished at the company and individual level
• Figure out how to ensure you are looking at the latest data on your dashboards
• Delve into Permission Sets, and how you can refine permissions
Adequate focus and preparation can make the Associate exam your first Salesforce certification and set you up well for many more to come.
If your team could use a trusted partner to help you navigate challenges in Salesforce, please reach out to us at Improving.com. We have a team of seasoned professionals who would love to discuss how we can help.
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