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In part 1 of this ‘How I passed the Admin exam’ series we discussed how to prepare like a boss, but thats only one aspect of how to pass the Admin exam. If you prepared like a boss since my last post, you probably:
- have good idea of what topics will be covered in the exam
- able to describe each objective in exam syllabus
- have an idea of how well you will perform under exam conditions
Thats great!!! With all this knowledge in our hands all we need to worry about now is the execution. This post will share the strategy I used to gain my Admin & Developer I Certifications (…yes I am now Also Platform Developer I certified). Here we will cover two main solutions to improve your chances of success:
- How to manage your time
- How to answer the question
1. Managing your time
When the exam begins the questions will be presented to you similarly to what is depicted below. To manage your time during the exam we will utilize the count down timer and the ‘Mark this item for review’ flag offered by the testing platform.
The ‘Review All’ button will present a summary page where you can quickly navigate back to flagged questions
3 is the magic number …again
We are going to tackle the exam in 3 Rounds
ROUND 1 – ‘Lightning’ Round (pun very much intended lol)
Goal: Ensuring all questions are least answered as insurance in case time runs out.
Time Allocation: 30 mins
Move to next round when Timer hits 01:15:00
As the name suggests, this round is intentionally swift, answering all the questions on first instincts. The remaining rounds provide the opportunity to revisit these questions at least another 2-3 times.
When I was studying on a mobile development course I made the tragic mistake of spending too much time tackling the most challenging coding questions first. I was so engrossed in answering the highest scoring question, that I completely lost track of time and was mortified when the invigilator announced the last 5 mins to submit my answers. At this point I had only answered 5 out of 20 questions. By the grace of weighted scoring, I still achieved an impressive 67% considering the circumstances.
Lesson learnt!
With this rookie mistake in mind, try not to spend too much time on each question for this round. As you answer each question, mentally assess how well you think you answered the question, think about if you did one of the following:
- You picked the answer quickly and confident that the answer is correct.
- You spent a little more time deciding which option to select or you were possibly deciding between 2 answers that stood out to you.
- You have no idea what the answer is but selected the one(s) that makes most sense.
If either of the last two statements were relatable, then its in indication to flag the question for review later. Once all questions have been answered moved onto the next round.
ROUND 2 – Review & Reduce
Goal: Spend more time reviewing the answers you flagged.
Time Allocation: 60 mins
Move to next round when Timer hits 00:15:00
Now that we have provided a level of security by ensuring all questions have been answered, we can spend a longer period of time reviewing the flagged questions. By clicking on the ‘Review All’ button we can see all the questions that were flagged and only revisit those questions. Previously we answered these questions on first instincts but in this round we will answer using the recommended technique in the Answering the questions section below. As you re-answer each question, again assess how well you feel you have answered. You may now find that you are more confident with some of your answers you provided but still find there are a handful you’re just not sure about. That’s fine, it’s all part of the plan.
Click the ‘Review All’ button again and start the next iteration of reviewing only the flagged items and unflagging the answers you start to feel more confident in. Continue repeating this process. The idea is that with each iteration you build more confidence in your answers until you whittle down the flagged questions to 0 or you stop the iterations when it’s time to move onto the final round, which ever is soonest.
ROUND 3 – Final Sweep
Goal: Perform the final checks of the answers you have provided in preparation for submitting the exam.
Time Allocation: 15 mins
In the previous round we only reviewed the flagged questions and now we review all questions once again. By this time we have become so familiar with the questions and answers that it won’t take that long to read through them again.
The down side of this round is that you can fall into the traps of second guessing yourself and be tempted to change an answer. If you’re anything like me you will be asking yourself ‘have I just altered my fate by changing this one answer?’ lol. There is no right or wrong approach to handling second guessing. Go with your gut instinct…it’s usually right.
And now the final action…Submit with confidence! Thankfully, the turn around time for the exam results is fast and so you will be put out of your misery within 10 seconds or so.
2. Answering the questions
An exam failure isn’t always as a result of not knowing the subject well enough, sometimes failing arises from not thoroughly reading the questions and provided answers.
During round 2, read each question twice and then read all of the answers in full, even if you already know and see the answer you are going to select. As I mentioned in part 1 of this series, the exam questions have been designed and written to thoroughly assess your understanding of the concepts that lie behind the technical functions of the platform. For many questions there will be answers provided where more than one answer is true, however the question is in fact testing to see if you can determine which solution is the best for the described scenario. This means asking yourself questions such as, which of the possible solutions are:
- simplest to implement
- easiest to maintain
- scalable and has the least moving parts, etc.
You may need to mentally work through the configuration steps in your mind to come to a conclusion.
Without re-inventing the wheel I have included this You Tube Video created by John Coppedge, who discusses an incredibly useful strategy on how understand the question and how to use the language used in the scenario to guide you to the right answer.
What’s next?
This, my friends marks the end of the 2 Part ‘How I passed the Admin Exam’ series. However, this strategy does not end here and can be applied to any future Salesforce exam. Follow the same formula of:
- Check the Official Exam Guide
- Blaze through the applicable Certification TrailMix
- Use supplementary resources – as I find new resources I will add them the Resources page
- Break down the exam in 3 rounds
- Put your problem solving hat on when answering questions
- and of course lots of hands on practice!
Good Luck!
Did this series help you to prepare like a boss?
Did a similar or alternative strategy work for you?
Are you geared up & ready to tackle your next exam?
Lets pool our knowledge and tell us more about it!
