Salesforce Interview Questions and Experience

1. Technical Questions

1. What is the difference between a Role and a Profile in Salesforce?
   A Profile defines object-level and field-level permissions. A Role controls record visibility through the role hierarchy.
2. Explain Governor Limits in Salesforce. Why are they important?
   Governor Limits enforce multi-tenant efficiency. For example, SOQL queries are capped, and exceeding limits causes runtime exceptions.
3. What is a Trigger in Salesforce?
   A trigger is Apex code that executes automatically before or after DML operations such as insert, update, or delete.
4. What is the difference between SOQL and SOSL?
   SOQL retrieves records from a single object or related objects. SOSL searches across multiple objects using text-based queries.
5. What is the difference between With Sharing and Without Sharing keywords?
   “With Sharing” enforces record-sharing rules. “Without Sharing” ignores them and allows broader data access.
6. What is a Lightning Web Component (LWC)?
   LWC is a modern UI framework built with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, offering faster performance than Aura Components.
7. Explain a Batch Apex job.
   Batch Apex processes large volumes of records asynchronously in manageable chunks, ideal for millions of records.
8. What are Validation Rules in Salesforce?
   Validation rules enforce data quality by restricting invalid values during record creation or updates.
9. Explain the difference between Standard Objects and Custom Objects.
   Standard objects like Account and Contact come with Salesforce. Custom objects are created by users for unique business needs.
10. What are Test Classes in Salesforce and why are they required?
    Test classes validate Apex code and ensure at least 75% coverage before deploying to production.
11. How do you implement a Many-to-Many relationship in Salesforce?
    By creating a Junction Object that links two Master-Detail relationships.
12. What is the difference between Workflow Rules and Process Builder?
    Workflow rules automate simple actions, while Process Builder allows multi-step automation with complex logic.
13. Explain the concept of Queueable Apex.
    Queueable Apex supports asynchronous processing with job chaining, more flexible than @future methods.
14. What is the use of a Sandbox in Salesforce?
    A Sandbox is a replica of production used for testing, development, or training without affecting live data.
15. How is Security implemented in Salesforce?
    Security is applied at object, field, and record levels using profiles, permission sets, role hierarchy, and sharing rules.

For Freshers

1. What are the different editions of Salesforce?
   Essentials, Professional, Enterprise, and Unlimited — each offers varying levels of features and customization.
2. Why do you want to join Salesforce?
   Because Salesforce is a global leader in CRM, known for innovation and cloud technologies, and it offers great learning opportunities for freshers.
3. What do you know about Salesforce’s core products?
   Sales Cloud for sales automation, Service Cloud for customer support, Marketing Cloud for campaigns, and Commerce Cloud for e-commerce.
4. How do you prepare yourself to learn Salesforce quickly as a beginner?
   By completing Salesforce Trailhead modules, practicing hands-on with developer orgs, and focusing on core CRM concepts.

For Salesforce Developers

1. What is the difference between Apex Class and Apex Trigger?
   An Apex Class is reusable code defining logic. A Trigger executes automatically on specific DML events on objects.
2. How do you handle bulk data operations in Apex?
   Use bulkified triggers, Batch Apex, Queueable Apex, or the Data Loader to process large volumes efficiently within governor limits.
3. What is the difference between Aura and LWC?
   Aura Components use Salesforce’s proprietary framework. LWC leverages modern JavaScript, offering better performance and standardization.

For Salesforce Administrators

1. How do you control record-level access in Salesforce?
   Record access is controlled through role hierarchy, sharing rules, manual sharing, and organization-wide defaults.
2. What is the difference between Permission Sets and Profiles?
   Profiles define base user permissions. Permission sets extend access without changing the profile.
3. How do you use Reports and Dashboards in Salesforce?
   Reports summarize records based on filters. Dashboards visually represent reports, helping managers track KPIs.

For Salesforce Analysts/Consultants

1. How do you gather requirements for a Salesforce project?
   Use stakeholder interviews, process mapping, and user stories. Translate requirements into Salesforce features like objects, fields, and workflows.
2. How do you measure ROI of a Salesforce implementation?
   Track metrics like lead conversion rate, sales cycle duration, customer retention, and user adoption before and after implementation.
3. How do you prioritize features when clients request multiple changes?
   By evaluating business impact, feasibility, cost, and alignment with project goals, then using frameworks like MoSCoW (Must, Should, Could, Won’t).

For Salesforce Managers/Architects

1. How do you lead a Salesforce project with multiple teams?
   Break down milestones, assign clear responsibilities, use agile methodology, and maintain transparent communication across admin, developer, and business teams.
2. How do you ensure Salesforce data quality over time?
   Implement validation rules, duplicate management, scheduled audits, and training for end users.
3. How do you handle Salesforce integration with external systems?
   Use REST/SOAP APIs, middleware tools (MuleSoft, Informatica), or AppExchange connectors for seamless data exchange.
4. What strategy would you use for user adoption in a new Salesforce rollout?
   Provide training sessions, create user-friendly dashboards, offer quick support, and showcase benefits to encourage adoption.

1. Tell me about a time when you had to collaborate with a cross-functional team.
   I worked with developers and business analysts to design a Salesforce solution. Clear communication and shared updates ensured timely delivery.
2. How do you handle situations where project requirements keep changing?
   I confirm priorities with stakeholders, document changes, and adjust timelines. I also communicate impacts clearly to the team and management.
3. Describe a challenge you faced in a Salesforce project and how you solved it.
   We faced duplicate records affecting reports. I implemented duplicate management rules, cleaned existing data, and trained users on best practices.
4. How do you manage conflicts within a team?
   I listen to both perspectives, encourage constructive discussion, and focus on shared project goals to reach a balanced resolution.
5. Salesforce emphasizes Customer Success. How do you apply this value?
   I always prioritize delivering value to the end customer, ensuring that any customization or workflow enhances their experience and efficiency.
6. How do you manage tight deadlines while ensuring quality?
   I break down tasks, set priorities, and use agile methods to deliver iterations. I balance speed with regular quality checks.
7. Tell me about a time when you influenced a decision without direct authority.
   I proposed adopting LWC for performance gains. By showing data and benefits, I convinced the team and managers to approve it.
8. How do you ensure clear communication when explaining technical details to non-technical stakeholders?
   I simplify terminology, use diagrams, and give examples related to business outcomes, ensuring the message is understood.

Candidate Background

New grad, University of Maryland, College Park. Projects and internships aligned to software engineering. Prepared with LeetCode, Grind 75, and Salesforce tagged questions. Comfortable with Java and Python.

Interview Process They Faced

• Online Assessment: HackerRank, 70 minutes, 2 coding questions.
• Round 1 (Coding): 60 minutes, Java required. Binary tree boundary style extraction with de-duplication and edge cases.
• Round 2 (Coding): 60 minutes, Python. Q1 custom stack with O(1) special ops, Q2 graph style puzzle with approach and tradeoffs.
• Round 3 (Techno-Managerial / Behavioral): 45 minutes with Director. Project deep dive, light system design discussion, values alignment, standard behavioral questions.
• Post Rounds: Compensation and benefits discussion. Offer released.

Questions Asked

• OA: Circular traversal minimum steps; make sequence nearly increasing via deletions using LIS logic.
• Coding R1: Binary tree boundary style traversal on unbalanced trees with no duplicates, write tree scaffolding and tests in Java.
• Coding R2: Design a custom stack supporting constant time special ops with duplicates; open ended graph problem focusing on BFS vs DFS choice and complexity.

Behavioral / Design: System design style discussion on past projects, scalability, tradeoffs, and Why Salesforce.

Outcome & Difficulty Level: Selected for AMTS in San Francisco with early start. Difficulty: Moderate to Hard. Emphasis on data structures, robustness, test cases, and clear reasoning.

Candidate Background

Experienced engineer with strong skills in trees, graphs, BFS, and system design concepts. Preparing over several years with renewed attempt after an earlier try.

Interview Process They Faced

• Round 1 (N-ary Tree Case): Company leader hierarchy modeled as N-ary tree. Build violator lists per leader with missing node handling.
• Round 2 (Binary Trees): Boundary traversal, vertical order traversal, top view.
• Round 3 (BFS Problem): Snakes and Ladders shortest path, edge cases and efficiency.
• Round 4 (System Design): Start with hashmap internals, collision strategy, then scale to distributed cache design, partitioning, replication, failover, and recovery.
• Round 5 (Hiring Manager): Behavioral and domain focus with security questions and project impact.

Questions Asked

• Trees: N-ary aggregation using post order; binary tree boundary, vertical order, top view.
• Graphs: BFS for shortest path on game board with edge cases.
• Design: Hashmap internals to distributed cache design with scaling, consistency, and DR.
• Hiring Manager: Most challenging task, conflict resolution, security basics and applied security in distributed systems.

Outcome & Difficulty Level: Not selected. Difficulty: Moderate to Hard. Strong performance in algorithms and system design, gap noted in security depth and impact storytelling in the hiring manager round.