New Year, New Certs

Pracedo’s winter coffee morning was about preparing to earn new certifications in 2020. A wide array of certification holders were present covering topics such as Pardot, Salesforce Admin, Sales Cloud Consultant and Nonprofit Cloud Consultant. The event focused on sharing our experiences of taking and preparing for exams, with people who are planning to earn certs in the new year.

Safiyyah Gareeboo, Marketing Consultant at Pracedo, started by explaining how making time to study for these certifications can be difficult. She suggested trying to assign some time in your work schedule dedicated to your study. ‘These certifications contribute to your personal development, so it is in your employer’s interest for you to have all the required skills to do your job.’

This was a sentiment that was shared by Ashley Lawrence, a Pracedo consultant, who emphasised the importance of backing up your knowledge with a certification. He encouraged individuals to ‘make an investment in themselves.’

Luca Calabrò, another Pracedo consultant, reassured everyone that they shouldn’t be afraid to try the exam even if they aren’t sure they’ll pass. He explained that taking the exam and not passing can be a really valuable learning experience.

Karen Samkange, the CRM Manager at ETX Capital, gave some advice around taking consultancy based certifications saying ‘when taking the higher level exams, sometimes questions can have multiple right answers. They are always looking for best practice, make sure you are prepared for this before you go into the exam.’

Marketing Apprentice, Will Tennison, added ‘a useful tip is to read the questions carefully. Sometimes the wording can be a little tricky to get your head around or contains a single word which can change the answer to the question. If you have time left go through and check again and again.’

Luca added ‘you need to make time to practice what you’re learning in Salesforce. Translate the theoretical knowledge into practical skills to help cement the knowledge in your head’.

Safiyyah also spoke about where to take the exam, ‘you can choose the venue that works best for you. You could do it at one of the registered exam centres or using a webcam at home. I personally like doing it at a venue because they provide you with some paper to make notes with.’

Make the most of these online resource:
Trailhead
Focus on force 
User group meetings
Mike and Aaron Wheeler’s online course 

We look forward to hearing about your certification success in 2020 using the hashtag #PowerUpWithPracedo!