30 Salesforce admin interview questions to hire top talent

Are you looking to hire an outstanding Salesforce administrator for your company? 

As companies evolve towards a more streamlined approach, professionals with strong Salesforce skills are increasingly in demand. CRM integrations are all the rage at the moment, and it’s not really surprising, given all the benefits they bring. 

If you’re looking for a way to optimize your business operations, a CRM tool like Salesforce is undoubtedly the way to go. But this also means you’ll need to hire someone who knows their way around the software.

When screening candidates, the best way to identify top talent is through pre-employment assessments. For this, you can use TestGorilla’s Salesforce CRM test in your hiring process to quickly sift through applications and find the most promising ones. 

Afterward, you simply need to invite shortlisted applicants to an interview and use some of the following 30 Salesforce admin interview questions to find and hire the very best talent for your company.

We’ve also provided sample answers to help you evaluate your applicants effortlessly. 

Let’s dive in.

10 beginner Salesforce admin interview questions

In this section, you’ll find 10 basic interview questions to ask Salesforce admin candidates. They cover the fundamentals of the software but are also useful for determining the interviewee’s knowledge of cloud-based computing as a whole.

1. How much do you know about Salesforce?

Salesforce is one of the most popular CRM tools out there, providing solutions for different business functions, such as marketing, sales, customer service, and commerce. 

The software focuses strongly on automation, data analytics, application development, and relationship management and enables businesses to forge stronger relations with their clients and partners. Data can be easily shared between teams and team members can access it from anywhere via a secure cloud-based system to collaborate efficiently.

2. What is CRM software?

CRM stands for “customer relationship management” and describes a software that provides businesses with the means to automate their sales and marketing operations. 

Companies use CRM software to improve outreach, customer acquisition, and customer retention, which, in turn, leads to an increase in sales and revenue.

3. What is cloud-based computing?

Cloud-based computing (or cloud computing) refers to the delivery of on-demand computing power, infrastructure, services, and storage via the internet. 

Cloud computing enables businesses to use online services, systems, servers, and networks to retrieve and process information, run applications, and reduce IT costs. It’s secure and almost entirely remote, which facilitates cooperation between distributed teams.

4. What kind of experience have you had with Salesforce in the past?

It goes without saying that the best candidates will have had previous experience working with Salesforce. Even if they’re applying for a junior admin role where they don’t need to know all the ins and outs of Salesforce, it’s still important that the candidate has prior experience.

5. How has your previous experience with Salesforce prepared you for this role?

Similarly to the previous question, a strong candidate will be able to demonstrate their working knowledge of Salesforce and describe how it has helped them develop their skills to a point that’s suitable for the job they’re applying to. They might mention their previous roles and explain what their responsibilities were in relation to Salesforce.

6. How many different editions does Salesforce have?

Salesforce has five different versions, which differ in size, cost, and features. These are:

• Developer: This allows single developers to integrate Salesforce into other business tools.

• Essentials: The Salesforce Essentials edition is better for smaller businesses who want a quick introduction to CRM tech.

• Professional: This edition includes a greater range of features and is suitable for larger businesses.

• Enterprise: The Salesforce Enterprise edition is a feature-rich package for large firms.

• Unlimited: And finally, Salesforce Unlimited is the most complete Salesforce edition, offering all of the platform’s features and priority support.

7. Do you have any specific certifications or qualifications in Salesforce?

The best candidates will show their expertise and commitment to Salesforce by presenting a form of qualification. Other candidates may not have formal certifications but might have used the online Salesforce Learning Center to supplement their knowledge of the software. The articles and guides on the site are incredibly helpful for Salesforce learners.

8. How often does Salesforce release updates and how do you familiarize yourself with them?

Salesforce releases updates to its software three times a year. These new developments come in winter, spring, and summer every year, meaning developers and Salesforce admins have to constantly refresh their knowledge of the software.

Staying up-to-date with these updates is a crucial part of a Salesforce admin’s job, so candidates should be familiar with their release pattern. What’s more, they should provide an answer that shows their competency in handling and implementing the updates, as well as a willingness to learn and adapt.

9. How has your knowledge of Salesforce grown over the past five years?

A vital aspect of a Salesforce administrator job is to be constantly acquiring new skills and knowledge. New technology is introduced all the time, and existing software continues to evolve, and so too should the candidate’s knowledge. 

This question is designed to see how well an interviewee is adapting to Salesforce as it evolves and how much they have improved their knowledge in recent years.

10. What are the benefits of using Salesforce?

Asking this question will enable you to find out about a candidate’s level of Salesforce knowledge. A good answer will cover a range of functions and features of Salesforce and will go into the individual benefits of each one.

Some of the general benefits of Salesforce include:

• The automation of processes

• Better efficiency and cost-effectiveness

• An increase in revenue 

• More flexibility

• Better customer relationships 

Top candidates should be able to explain these benefits, as well as go into more detail about specific functions.

12 intermediate Salesforce admin interview questions

In this section, you’ll find 12 intermediate-level Salesforce questions, designed to be used when assessing candidates for more demanding roles. These questions will help you evaluate a candidate’s knowledge of how Salesforce works, as well as its features and applications. 

1. What’s an object in Salesforce?

An object is a dataset or table that lets businesses keep their data organized and sorted depending on the client. Standard objects are provided by Salesforce and follow a set template, whereas custom objects are created by the user.

2. What is a profile in Salesforce and what types of profiles are available?

Profiles control the permissions that users have within Salesforce. With profiles, you can permit or restrict access to records and databases depending on specific criteria or a user. Profiles are also used to manage records within the software.

There are five different types of profiles, which are: 

• Standard user

• Solution manager

• Marketing user

• Read-only

• System administrator

Candidates with previous experience in Salesforce administration will have likely used the system-administrator profile, and so are likely to have a better insight into Salesforce profiles than other users.

3. What’s a sandbox in Salesforce?

A sandbox is a copy of a database that is used to test new features. For instance, if a company wants to implement a new marketing campaign, they can first apply it within a sandbox to see if everything functions as it should and whether the initiative is targeting the correct audience.

Salesforce admins will typically work alongside developers and IT personnel, so asking this question is a great way to find out about their previous experience working with others. Top candidates will have previous history working alongside developers testing out new strategies in sandboxes.

4. What are the various data-access levels in Salesforce and what do they entail?

Candidates for a Salesforce administrator role should be familiar with the names of the four data access levels and their features. These are as follows:

• Object-level security: This is the most basic form of security in Salesforce, and involves setting restrictions on who can and cannot view certain records and databases. Admins control who can edit, create, or view the records.

• Field-level security: At this level, admins can grant users permission to view specific objects and databases, but can still withhold certain fields from their access if required.

• Record-level security: Similarly, admins can allow users access to a certain object, but restrict their ability to view certain records within that object.

• Organization-level security: Here, admins can keep a record of authorized users, restrict access during certain times and within certain locations, and set password limitations.

5. What methods of data storage are available in Salesforce?

There are a number of data-storage methods in Salesforce that can be used to manage files such as documents and images. These include:

• Attachments

• Documents

• Google Drive (including Google Docs, Google Sheets, and more)

• Chatter files

• Libraries

6. What is a field dependency in Salesforce?

Field dependencies are types of filters that users can apply to control what data they see. They can be implemented to control one field’s value in relation to another one’s. The two field dependencies are called the controlling field and the dependent field.

7. How can you freeze or delete a user on Salesforce?

It’s possible to freeze users on Salesforce. As an admin, simply head to Setup, then Administer, Manage Users, Users, and finally click Freeze for the desired user. Deleting users, however, isn’t possible in Salesforce. Freezing them does deactivate their account, though.

This is essential for Salesforce admins to learn, as part and parcel of administration is to manage the coming and going of users. Making sure your Salesforce doesn’t fill up with unused accounts is vital for maintaining the smooth running of a business.

8. What is a role in Salesforce and how does it differ from a profile?

A role is a method of controlling permissions and restrictions to a record. This differs from a profile in that profiles control limitations within the record itself, while a role simply covers initial access to a record.

Skilled Salesforce admin candidates should be able to explain this difference between the two, even though it’s minor. Ask this question to test an interviewee’s subject knowledge.

9. What is Salesforce Lightning?

Salesforce Lightning is a framework within the software that’s designed for new or relatively inexperienced users. For instance, business users who aren’t familiar with programming can use Lightning as a more beginner-friendly way of using Salesforce.

Candidates that are familiar with this method are invaluable if you’re recruiting for a position in a business that isn’t primarily focused on software. A Salesforce admin who can implement Lightning can help coworkers use the software easily.

10. What is Salesforce Workflow?

Workflow within Salesforce is the name given to the business logic that allows users to automate their operations. Workflow enables records to perform tasks like data alteration and outreach automatically, improving sales and generating revenue without a constant manual input from the user.

It’s important that your next Salesforce admin is familiar with this feature, as it’s a crucial tool in implementing the benefits of a CRM software. Top candidates will have previous experience working with automation software and will understand how to utilize Workflow to enhance a company’s operations.

11. Explain what bucket fields are in Salesforce.

Bucketing is a way to sort and organize report data by filtering it into groups. As such, bucket fields are used to combine relevant data together so you can more easily manage and implement new sales strategies.

This is another technical question useful for assessing a candidate’s level of Salesforce knowledge. It’s worth asking about certain technical aspects to better understand their capabilities.

12. What are guest users and what permissions do they have when using Salesforce?

Guest users, as the name suggests, are people using Salesforce without a specific account. These are free accounts which give users access to several core features and permissions without a subscription fee. Guests can create and edit records with publicly available data.

Salesforce admins often need to solve complex issues relating to how a business operates. Sometimes, this requires leveraging guest user accounts as a way of managing a situation in the most cost-effective manner.

8 advanced Salesforce admin interview questions

This final section includes eight Salesforce admin interview questions that are more advanced. They primarily cover highly technical aspects of the software and are useful for testing candidates’ knowledge of the tool.

Use these questions when hiring for a senior role with an added level of responsibilities. This way, you’ll be able to make sure that whoever you hire has the required level of competence to carry out important tasks and complete crucial projects. As such, these questions are helpful to assess this level of competence.

1. What is Salesforce Data Loader?

Salesforce Data Loader is an application that gives users the ability to export or import large amounts of data, typically as CSV files. With this feature, users can also update, edit, or delete records in Salesforce.

2. When would you use Data Loader?

Salesforce Data Loader is an excellent tool for importing and exporting data in bulk. As a result, there are many instances where an administrator might use the tool. 

For instance, you might need to export backups of your data, load a large number of records in one go (with it, this can be up to 5 million), or save multiple mapping files for use at a later time.

Salesforce admins should be comfortable with using Data Loader because many business processes can be simplified with its automation features. As such, asking this question during an interview can show if a candidate has a strong working knowledge of the tool and its benefits.

3. What’s an approval process in Salesforce?

An approval process is used as a method of quality assurance within Salesforce. As the name suggests, it’s undertaken when a user or group of users needs to approve an edit or a creation. With it, the admin can monitor who approves or rejects it. 

There are also more advanced features of an approval process, including restricting edits and applying conditional logic to define who can approve or reject certain things.

4. What is a Rollup summary?

In Salesforce, a Rollup summary is a field that calculates the total value from a range of connected records. There are various functions you can input into a Rollup summary field, which are:

• Count: This calculates the total number of records within a specific parameter

• Sum: This function adds together the entire values of the selected data fields

• Min: The min function shows the lowest value of those selected

• Max: The max function shows the highest value of those selected

Salesforce admins need to be proficient in organizing and sorting data, and Rollup summary fields are a useful tool for doing this. This question is a good way to determine how efficiently a candidate would be able to sort data. 

5. What are the different relationship types available in Salesforce?

Relationships are used to establish the links between objects and records within Salesforce. The different types of relationships that users can create are as follows:

• Self-relationship

• Lookup

• External lookup

• Indirect lookup

• Many-to-many (junction object)

• Master-detail relationship

• Hierarchical relationship

6. What is a tab in Salesforce?

A tab gives a quick overview of certain information so that users can view the data at a glance. Types of tabs include object tabs (standard and custom), web tabs, and visualforce tabs.

7. What is a trigger in Salesforce?

A trigger refers to the actions performed immediately before and after a record is altered in any way, such as edits and inserts. Triggers are composed of Apex code and are categorized into two types: before triggers and after triggers.

This is advanced Salesforce knowledge and candidates who are aware of this function are likely very good at what they do. 

Admins who know all the ins and outs of Salesforce can understand how to best optimize your business operations, so if that’s what you’re looking for, it’s important to find a candidate with outstanding knowledge on the software.

8. What is Apex?

Apex is the programming language in which Salesforce is written. It can be used to perform almost any action your business needs. Salesforce admins don’t necessarily need to have an in-depth knowledge of Apex, because the coding software is mostly used by developers.

What job roles can you use these Salesforce admin interview questions for?

The main focus of this article is to provide interview questions for Salesforce administrators. They work almost exclusively with Salesforce and are the main point of contact for anything related to the software. 

A business may implement the tool company-wide, so a Salesforce administrator has to be knowledgeable and responsible for managing any queries or issues that may arise.

However, these Salesforce admin interview questions can also be used to hire other IT professionals, like software developers. With these questions, you’ll be able to determine how experienced someone is with Salesforce, which could be important if they’ll be working extensively with Salesforce.

At which stage of the hiring process should you use these Salesforce admin interview questions?

It goes without saying that these questions should be used at the interview stage. However, what companies often overlook is the value of screening your candidates with a pre-employment assessment featuring a Salesforce CRM test before interviewing them. 

Skills tests enable you to filter out the less competent candidates, i.e. those who simply don’t have the required skills for the role. This way, you can be sure that the applicants whom you invite to an interview will have strong Salesforce knowledge. 

Use the intermediate or advanced interview questions to allow candidates to further show their aptitude with the software.

Hire the best Salesforce admins with TestGorilla

The role of a Salesforce administrator comes with important responsibilities: They are the main point of contact for any issues that arise with Salesforce, so if your company uses Salesforce extensively, you’ll need an admin to ensure your operations run smoothly.

At TestGorilla, we’re convinced that skills-based hiring is the future of recruitment. CV screening is no longer sufficient to sort the best talent from the mediocre crowd, not to mention how outdated and inefficient the process is. 

With pre-employment assessments, you can replace resume screening entirely. 

Simply pick up to five skills tests from our test library (and don’t forget to include the Salesforce CRM test) and invite applicants to take them. This enables you to make sure that anyone who comes in for an interview is already an exceptional candidate. 

Then, you simply need to use the Salesforce admin interview questions from this article to identify the most skilled candidates. 

Raise your hiring standards by using a data-driven approach to recruitment. With TestGorilla, you can be sure that you’re making the right hiring decisions each time.