What to expect at your Salesforce Admin Interview

by Amber Joseph May 16, 2022

If you're completely new to tech interviews, this whole process can feel foreign! While each company is different, the interview structure in tech typically follows this pattern:

The Entire Interview Process:

A quick 15min screening call - this is often done by someone in the HR team to screen out people who aren't interested or viable candidates. It will focus mostly on your background and experience.
A technical interview - this is done with one of the technical team. They may give you a take-home project at the end of it to work on.
A second technical interview or project review - this interview is most likely to take place if you've been given a take-home project. Half of the interview is often dedicated to explaining your process and solution, and the other half on giving you new requirements to work with on the spot.
A cultural-fit interview - this is typically hosted by a team manager, company-cultural expert, or even one of the executive team. This is less about the technical questions and more about how you respond in certain team scenarios.
The offer - the last stage is, of course, the offer! Remember, you're still being interviewed here. Nothing is signed until it's signed, so be gracious and polite during this stage, even if you're not entirely sure of taking the offer.

Below, we've summarised some of the key questions you'll be asked across all these interviews and our top tips for preparing for them. Practice is always the key! The best way to practice is to ask a good friend or family member to ask you these questions, and give your best answers to them.

The Story Questions

Example Questions	How to prepare
Tell me a bit about yourself	They're really asking "How did you get to be in this interview, right now?" Summarise your work history, not your life story, and tell it leading up to this particular interview. And practice! This sort of story should be short, concise, and positive.
Why are you interested in a Salesforce career?	This question is a fantastic time to link any previous skills or experience you have to the job you're applying for. Even unrelated jobs such as being a barista or working on a service desk have a long list of great transferrable skills. Make these the centre point of your answer.
What were you doing before you started learning Salesforce?	Similar to the previous question, this is designed to give the interviewer an idea of how your experience could fit into their current team. Again, focus on your transferrable skills and how they brought you to this moment, applying for this job. Bring everything back to Salesforce and the open role at the end of the question.

The Experience Questions

Example Questions	How to prepare
What experience do you have with Salesforce?	If you have paid job experience in Salesforce, great! Talk about that. If you don't, then don't worry; experience doesn't just mean you've done this job before. Experience includes all the times you sought out Salesforce on your own. The late nights and weekends spent learning it, the badges and superbadges you completed, and the projects that you got stuck on. This is all experience, and you should absolutely draw every little bit out of it that you can. Use it to show your passion for Salesforce and a new career.
Do you have an example of a Salesforce project you have worked on?	You should always go into an interview prepared with 2 - 3 examples of projects or challenging scenarios you've had with Salesforce. The best ones are the ones that had a positive measurable impact on other people, but using ones that were just done yourself is also great. This question is rather broad, so it's a good idea to implement to STAR method in structuring your answer. You can find all about the STAR method here.
What do you find most challenging about Salesforce?	To answer this question well, you first need to have had a challenging experience with Salesforce. If you haven't had that yet, go do a Superbadge or try out one of our Real-World projects. Once you've got your challenging Salesforce experience in mind, use it as an example to display a skill you used to overcome it. The skill could be initiative, resourcefulness, teamwork, determination, or experience. Spend most of your time talking about your solution rather than the challenge itself.
Would you say you understand Salesforce?	More often than not, this is a trick question! The safest way to answer this question is to laugh, and say something along the lines of "I'm not sure anyone can fully understand all of Salesforce! But the Salesforce concepts I've covered, I've tried to learn and apply to real projects to the very best of my ability. It's the constant learning that I love the most about Salesforce!"

The Technical Questions

Example Questions	How to prepare
Security based question	One of the more challenging topics in Salesforce is understanding record-level security. It's an easy go-to test of a Salesforce Admin's understanding of Salesforce. You'll likely be asked about Profiles, Permission Sets, and record-level sharing, so make sure you understand those concepts fully!
Flow based question	Flows are a complex tool in Salesforce and growing in popularity. Every Admin should be expected to have some experience with Flow, so being able to explain a complex Flow you've created is important. Making a little list of your favourite and least-favourite features is also a good idea in preparation.
User access question	User Access is a constant part of any Salesforce Admin's day-to-day job, so knowing how to do basic things such as reset passwords, view Login History, and update User profiles is important. You should practice confidently explaining these in a mirror, or to someone who doesn't know Salesforce at all.
Environment question	To test the limit of your Salesforce Admin knowledge, you may be asked about migrating data from a developer org to a production org. Knowing the basics of Change Sets, Apex Migration Tools, and Sandbox Refreshes will make you stand out from less-prepared candidates. Even if you've never used them before, knowing they exist and how they work will give you a huge boost.

The Goal Questions

Example Questions

How to prepare

What are your long-term goals for your Salesforce career?

In this question, the interviewer is looking for a clear way that the company can give back to you. They're trying to assess whether this is a good long-term match between the company, which will be providing you with career growth and support, and you. A great way to answer this question is to explain your goal, then round it off with "...this is why I was so excited to interview with [company name]. I know that I'll be able to achieve my career goals within the next [ x ] years at this company."