Make Sure You Know Their Qualifications!

If you are looking for a Salesforce consultant or developer, I always recommend that you look first at your Salesforce User Group, which gives you the chance to learn about who is in your area either in person or online. (Nonprofit User Groups are linked here.)

No matter how you go about finding help, you should always verify that they actually have the certifications they claim.  Salesforce now offers an online database of certified professionals.  With  someone's first and last name or email address, you can find a list of their certifications and see if their claims are true. Be warned, spelling counts!  For the most accurate information on an individual, just ask them to send you a link to their verification page in case their name or email address may be entered in a slightly different fashion than you have for that individual.

Not all consultants are alike, verify their certifications before hiring.

For example, you can view my certifications by clicking here, or click the photo of me on the right side of the page.  Yet if you were to search for me using the more traditional spelling of my first name, "Bonnie", you would not find me at all.  Similarly, you might know him as "Mike Gerholdt", but you won't find him listed unless you search for him by his formal name, "Michael".

Verification makes finding the appropriate individual for a job even easier, but for the best accuracy, just ask for the certification.salesforce.com link.  Since the data is maintained by Salesforce, you can trust that it is up to date.

My Road To Dreamforce -- Certification Splurge!

Leading up to Dreamforce this year, I decided to finally get certified.  After about 9 years with Salesforce, it was about time.  I knew I could sign up for a discounted certification exam during Dreamforce, but I decided that I needed to stop putting it off.

Once I signed up for the first Administrator Certification, I asked around to find out which of the certifications might be attainable in the few weeks remaining before Dreamforce.  All of them, other than Advanced Developer and Technical Architect!  Considering training requirements, self-study, review, prerequisites, etc., I was really only hoping to hear which one other certification I could or should try for in a short time, but the answer I got was more general, indicating which of the tests could be scheduled and completed within a few weeks time.  Any of them could be attainable, but all of them?

Nine years of procrastination is long enough.  I have worked with a variety of companies solving specific business problems with Salesforce customizations over those years.  So I decided to try to rise to the challenge and go for five certifications in five weeks.  Okay, really it is more like five certifications in nine years and five weeks.  When I look at it that way, it seems so much more manageable.   

Why Not Make It Six?

 

The, um, facilities at the Salesforce Training facility.

With each new certification, I received more support from other Salesforce administrators, consultants and developers.  Their feedback encouraged me to keep working toward my goal of five before Dreamforce.  I even looked into the Advanced Developer certification, which would have made number six, but that process takes months.  After passing a multiple choice test like the other five certifications require, successful applicants are invited to take a programming assignment and essay test at least two months later.  The programming assignment is only offered every few months, and the November test was already full.  That one was definitely unattainable in my self-imposed five week time frame. 

Salesforce Instructor certification is for people already teaching, and the Salesforce Technical Architect certification process is even more rigorous than Advanced Developer.  So the fifth would have to be the last, for now.  

Salesforce Training

 

Coincidentally, I received my fifth certification right around the time that Salesforce held an open house for its new training facilities in San Francisco.  The place is beautiful and made for a great venue for me to celebrate my certifications among an enthusiastic crowd!  I’ve taken Salesforce training in the past and recommend you look into their offerings in-person or online through Premium Support.

And now that I am finished with the five certifications recommended to me, I have my release exams to look forward to.  And I've promised to bring cookies for my local Salesforce Nonprofit User Group if I ever wind up getting that sixth certification!