An Expert’s View on Tackling Adobe Certification Exams

Hoodoo has a high percentage of employees who hold certifications for the Adobe Experience Cloud products. We recently sat down with Kyle Rosenlof, Director of Analytics at Hoodoo Digital, to talk about Adobe's certification exams. Kyle holds certifications for Adobe Target Business Practitioner, as well as Adobe Analytics Business Practitioner, Developer, and Architect. He was also recruited to assist Adobe in writing the course exams for the Adobe Analytics Architect exam, and as a result, holds an extra badge as a Subject Matter Expert. 

What are Adobe certification exams? 

Kyle: Adobe offers several official certification tests for its products. As you might imagine, Adobe's exams are intended to ensure that people who are implementing products for Adobe customers are qualified to work with those products. Qualifying these individuals helps ensure that the Adobe products are implemented correctly and in a way that sets Adobe’s customers up for success. Some of the tests are very technical, aimed at developers, while others are more focused on the business applications of the tools. For products in the Adobe Experience Cloud, there are generally certifications for Business Practitioner, Developer, and Architect roles.

How do you prepare for them? 

Kyle: The first step anyone should take to prepare is to read through the test guide that Adobe provides. It will highlight the areas that the exam will focus on. I highly recommend reading through this guide at least a couple of times to see which topics feel familiar and which ones you need to spend extra time reviewing. Then spend time actually shoring up your knowledge in the areas that you might not have a lot of practical experience with. After that, you should go through the questions on the practice test as if you were actually taking the test, meaning without using any notes or other resources. Do this a few times, but keep in mind that the purpose is to ensure you learn the material and understand how to apply the knowledge; it isn’t to memorize the questions and answers so you can ace the practice test. 

The second thing I would suggest to prepare is to talk to your own colleagues. As you work on things, ask your team members about the logic or reasoning behind their processes and why tasks are being done the way they are. Also, don’t blindly trust that someone else in your organization knows how to do something and so, therefore, you don’t need to. 

The best preparation for these exams, however, is through practical experience, and that comes from working with the product. That is simply the best way to learn about it. These exams are meant to test people who have been actively working with the software, in some cases for several years. 

What's the best approach to taking the exam? 

Kyle: First and foremost, don't be intimidated. You’ve already studied and prepared for this test, so don’t overthink it. Second, when it’s time to take the exam, plan ahead and make sure to give yourself plenty of time. Don’t try to squeeze it in on a busy day. Third, pace yourself as you go through the exam and read through all of the questions at least once. You don’t want to spend all your time on the first few questions and never get to the rest. 

I know that some people might suggest just to take the exam and see where you are lacking and then you will know where you need to shore up your knowledge. That isn't a bad idea, however, this approach could easily become expensive if your organization doesn’t cover the cost of the exam. So if you choose this approach, I would suggest at least reviewing the practice questions ahead of time as well as the documents provided by Adobe about what the test covers. 

What about third-party training organizations? 

Kyle: There are third-party training sites and materials out there, but just be careful. Choose reputable vendors that have the most up-to-date information. Adobe has done a good job of providing a lot of information and training, free of charge, through their Experience League. Also for those that are part of the Solution Partner Portal there are lots of additional, guided learner journeys that help those studying to take the exam.

Are there benefits to passing the Adobe Certification exams? 

Kyle: Absolutely! Credibility is hard to come by in general. These certifications are an excellent way to signal to people that you are proficient in a specific product or solution discipline and can be trusted to work with or for them. But there is more to it than just that. It bolsters the confidence of the person who took the exam; they have the certified authority to say that they know what they are doing and can work with the tool. Here at Hoodoo, we also incentivize our employees by paying for them to take the exam and then giving them a monetary bonus when they pass each certification.