What Salesforce Certification to get first
In the world of Certifications, some are worth more than others
Key notes
- Some certifications open more doors than others
- Salesforce Administrator or Platform Developer will help land a role
- Other certs will help establish credibility in a niche
Salesforce has over 40 certifications. If you are looking to land your first Salesforce job, then there are probably three recommendations:
- Salesforce Associate Certification
- Salesforce Platform Administrator Certification 1
- Salesforce Platform Developer Certification 1
Salesforce Associate Certification
This is a great introduction to the Salesforce platform, but unfortunately, it carries no weight with recruiters or those making hiring decisions.
That’s because it’s an easy certification. If you have an employer that is willing to pay for unlimited Salesforce Certifications, then this could be worth picking up on your way to Salesforce Administrator, but otherwise, just do the Trailhead and then dive into…
Salesforce Platform Administrator Certification 1
The GOAT.
This was the first Salesforce certification I did, and I passed on my first try…by the skin of my teeth.
The Salesforce Platform Administrator certification is hard, and because it’s hard, employers rate it.
One Salesforce partner I spoke with said it was the bare minimum that someone would need to have to work for them, and its something that you’ll often see being asked for on job ads in Seek or LinkedIn.
For this reason, it’s probably the certification most people do to land their first Salesforce job.
Salesforce Platform Developer 1 Certification
This is an alternative route into a Salesforce career that might be good for people from an IT/ software engineering background.
This isn’t a certificate that I have. I’m not a developer but if you are, this could be another way into your first Salesforce certification.
Other Certificates to consider
There are other certifications that will help you land a Salesforce job, but they come with a few major caveats:
- Marketing Cloud certifications require hands-on experience, and unfortunately, you can’t get that in a Salesforce developer account at the moment.
- Data Cloud is tough, and will be tougher without prior Salesforce experience, as many of the answers relate to where things are in the menu.
- The Salesforce Business Analyst certification is a good choice for BAs, but again is something that is going to be much easiser once you have your Salesforce Administrator certification.