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Top Salesforce certifications to better your career

February 11, 2020 by Mandy

When you think of connecting your company directly to your customer, Salesforce CRM is the first thing that should come to your mind. Salesforce is a customer relationship management software that brings companies and customers together. As it is created with the intent of reinventing customer relationship management, Salesforce is the world’s number 1 CRM platform today.

There are more than 1.5 lacs of companies that rely on Salesforce to drive better results for sales productivity, sales win rates, marketing, and revenue growth and services quality. Salesforce is a registered Software as a Service(SaaS) CRM company. Salesforce.com is a multi-tenant architecture. This implies that multiple customers work on common technology and on the latest updates. The updates happen automatically. With Salesforce, you can focus on innovation rather than technology.

This article gives you a complete overview of the Salesforce features and top Salesforce certifications that can benefit your career.

Features of Salesforce

The top features of Salesforce are :

Customer-first approach:

The first priority of this platform is the customer. It lets you treat your customers as if they are your only customer. Salesforce makes it easier to determine the customer’s choices and requirements and solve their issues to upsell your services.

CRM innovation:

There are some innovative developments like Artificial Intelligence, in-built customization tools, more than 4k pre-integrated apps on AppExchange and data-driven insights and analytics.

Negligible maintenance:

With the entire range of Salesforce products running on the cloud, it minimizes the maintenance cost of otherwise setting up expensive infrastructure.

Mobile-first CRM:

With everything being on the cloud, you don’t need to worry about the device you are using. Businesses get the facility of working using any device connected to the internet (laptop or smartphone) with Salesforce CRM.

Great customer support:

You can manage and analyze all customer activities with the help of Salesforce CRM. This helps you monitor the jobs and responsibilities of all departments, from sales to customer support, raising tickets for completion of work, and channel marketing to website analytics. It helps you in providing quality service to your customers.

Greater sales:

Salesforce CRM can increase your sales productivity by 38%, as it can help you sell faster and smarter. With its lightning platform, you can work with enhanced efficiency and growth.

Types of Salesforce Certification

Salesforce certifications are targeted at the Administrator level and Developer level.

Salesforce offers two levels of Administrator credentials. These are:

Salesforce Certified Administrator: In this certification, a candidate’s knowledge of customizing Salesforce, managing users, configuring the platform, and using Salesforce features to the fullest is verified.
Salesforce Certified Advanced Administrator: This certification is best suited for experienced professionals. In addition to verifying a candidate’s proficiency in dashboards, designing advanced reports, and automation processes, this certification also tests skills in using advanced administration capabilities using Salesforce.

At the developer level, Salesforce offers three categories of certification.

Salesforce Certified Commerce Cloud Developer: Candidates are expected to have hands-on experience of using the Commerce Cloud Digital Platform so that they can develop an e-commerce solution.
Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I: This is apt for experienced professionals and makes sure that an individual is skilled in designing custom declarative and programmatic applications on the Force.com platform.
Salesforce Certified Platform Developer II: This certification validates a candidate’s advanced knowledge of data modeling and the coding capabilities of the Force.com platform.

Top 5 Salesforce Certifications to Pursue

Salesforce is best known for its intelligent Customer Success Platform, which provides cloud solutions for sales, communities, services, analytics, marketing, platform, apps, the Internet of Things(IoT) and Artificial Intelligence.

Most Salesforce Certifications can be acquired by qualifying a 60-questions, multiple-choice exam. The duration of these exams varies from 90 to 120 minutes depending on the certification. Top 5 Salesforce certifications that one can pursue to upgrade their career are:

Salesforce Administrator Certification

This Certification is designed to ensure that you achieve expertise in the concepts of Salesforce Administrator. Here you learn how to configure and administer Sales and Service Clouds, understand the sales and marketing ecosystem, and utilize Salesforce features to the fullest to derive a lot out of them.

To become certified you should complete the training course and visit certification.Salesforce.com to register to take the ADM201 exam and pass it.

Salesforce Platform App Builder Certification

This is designed for candidates who would like to demonstrate their skills in designing, building and deploying custom applications using the declarative customization capabilities of the Lightning platform. The candidates have knowledge of creating, managing, and update data models, application security, business logic, and process automation.

You can qualify for this exam by scoring a minimum of 63% marks and duration being 105minutes.

Salesforce Platform Developer I

This Certification is designed to make you dexterous in developing business logic and customizing applications programmatically using Apex code and Visualforce UI framework on the Force.com platform. It prepares you for Dev450 certification. The learning objectives include cloud computing concepts, PaaS, SaaS, IaaS- Service model, Public, Private, Community, and hybrid cloud models.

Salesforce Certified Service Cloud Consultant

This is designed for consultants who have experience in implementing Salesforce Service Cloud Solutions in a customer-facing role. The professionals are experienced in administration and configuring a Salesforce application. This certification demonstrates that a candidate can successfully design and implement Service Cloud Solutions that meet customer business requirements, are maintainable and scalable, and contribute to long term customer success.

Salesforce Sales Cloud Consultant Certification

With this certification, you learn the industry knowledge, implementation strategies, sales cloud, solution design, marketing, and leads account and contact management, opportunity management, sales productivity, communities and site management, sales cloud analytics, integration and data management.

Salesforce has become the latest trend these days and if you wish to get an exponential salary hike then you certainly need to qualify any of the Salesforce certifications. To qualify these certifications, taking a training course will certainly help you. An online course is designed to equip you with the skills to answer the questions, apply knowledge and demonstrate Salesforce administration competencies, describe the standard object architecture, and much more. So add this credential to your resume today and witness the desired growth in your career.

10 Top Tips and Tricks for How to Use a Macbook

February 3, 2020 by Mandy

In today’s modern digital era, we rely on technology and the internet more than ever before. It seems as though we’re all glued to our digital devices on a regular basis.

Perhaps you’ve recently invested in a MacBook by Apple. And, you’re curious about how to use a MacBook to its utmost potential.

Well, the good news is you’ve come to the right place with this article. Detailed below are ten key tips and tricks you need to know about before operating your new MacBook.

Many professionals are looking to MacBooks as their ideal digital device for work. This is true, in particular, when it comes to creative or design-based occupations. Apple has all but monopolized the laptop game.

In fact, that’s why experts recognize that Apple is a valuable brand for professionals. Keep reading to ensure you’re optimizing your MacBook and using it for all its worth.

1. Take a Screenshot When You Need To

Sometimes, you want to take a picture of what you see on your MacBook. Perhaps you have to save some of the information on a certain website. Well, the great thing about a Macbook is that taking a screenshot is all too easy.

You’ll want to press these keys in order: Shift, Command, 4. Then, you’ll see a cursor that you can use to outline which part of the screen you want to capture. Save the photo in your documents for future use.

2. Print on Both Sides of the Paper

It’s also pretty easy to print double-sided from your Macbook. This is done in the print settings once you indicate you’re ready to print something. For more details, check out this guide on how to print double sided on Mac devices.

3. It’s Still Possible to Run Microsoft Windows

You’re aware that Macbooks rely on Apple’s operating system. Still, did you know you can also use Microsoft Windows when you need to? Do some online research to see which programs you can install to make your MacBook run on Windows.

4. Enjoy Special Characters When Typing

One of the great things about using a Macbook is the fact that you have special characters available when typing. For example, you can type an accent (`) over the letter “e” by holding down the “e” button until a miniature menu pops up. Choose the “e” with the special character you’re looking for.

This tip also works for other characters across your keyboard. Take the time to see which buttons generate which special characters.

5. Find the Definition of a Word Instantly

Often, you’ll want to know the definition of a word. Well, looking up the definition of a word is quite simple from a MacBook.

All you have to do is highlight the word you’re interested in and hold down on clicking it. The operating system will search for its definition on your behalf and display it.

6. Record What’s Happening on Your Screen

There might be times when you want to record what’s happening on your screen. Perhaps you want to record a set of instructions to showcase how to accomplish a task in a particular software program.

The first thing you need to recognize for this tip is that you’ll need an updated version of Mojave on your Macbook. Then, use Shift, Command, 5 to display controls to record what’s happening on your screen. If you don’t have an updated version of that system yet, it’s time to look into it.

7. Control, Alt, Delete Is a Little Bit Different on a MacBook

It’s important to note that Control, Alt, Delete is a different version on a Macbook. Instead, use Command, Options, Escape. Then, you can log out of your user account or do whatever else you were going to do with Control, Alt, Delete.

8. Find Your Hidden Cursor

Depending on the content on your MacBook’s screen, it’s possible to lose track of where your cursor is. You don’t want to chance clicking on something with significance just to locate the hidden cursor. You could accidentally navigate to another web page you weren’t intending to visit, for instance.

Instead, move the cursor around quickly and dramatically. The MacBook will make the cursor appear larger, making it easier to spot.

9. Choose Which Apps to Load When You Turn on Your MacBook

Did you know that a MacBook offers its users a ton of personal control? For instance, you can set detailed instructions about which apps to load automatically when you open your MacBook.

Go into your system preferences and search for the area that controls turning on the MacBook itself. Take the time to think about which apps or web pages you want immediate access to when you open the MacBook.

10. How to Use a MacBook With a Split View

This is another MacBook tip that requires a more recent and updated version of the operating system. Hover your cursor above the green arrows in the top left corner of an open window next to the yellow and red buttons. If you click and hold those greens arrows, you’ll get the option to put that window on either the left or right side of the screen.

Repeat the process with another open window for the opposite side of the screen. Then, run two programs at once with simultaneous access.

Continue Making the Most of Using Your MacBook

There’s no need to cut corners when it comes to making the most of your digital devices. They can increase your workplace productivity and increase the overall quality of your personal life.

If you want more informative content like this, we encourage you to browse through the rest of our website today!

How to Encourage Your Child to Develop Their Talents

January 8, 2020 by Mandy

As a responsible parent, you take pride in helping your child achieve his or her dreams. If your kid has a passion for a skill or hobby, you like to support it. In fact, you’re interested in how to encourage these talents throughout the child’s development.

Well, the good news is that you’ve come to the right place by reading this article. Detailed below is everything you need to know about encouraging the growth of a child’s talents and abilities.

Don’t underestimate the importance of these years in which your child is growing and learning. After all, even experts recognize the impact of early childhood development later in life. For that reason, you’ll take the following guidance seriously.

Don’t let your child’s potential go to waste. Make sure he or she has all of the resources necessary to truly thrive. Keep reading to help them grow and develop well.

Learn About New Subjects Along with Your Child

The first thing to consider is how involved you want to get when it comes to your child’s passion. If he or she has discovered a unique talent or a beloved hobby, it’s up to you to encourage those activities.

One way to support their passion is to learn everything you can about it. Learn about how to develop that hobby together, in fact. That can make their passion both an avenue to follow their dreams and a way to bond with you.

How to Encourage Hobbies or Passions on a Budget

Of course, you’re also going to need to consider the costs of this new passion. It’s likely that you’ll need to purchase some tools or equipment.

For example, if your child is into performing magic and making a full show out of it, they’ll need some props and costumes. If he or she is falling in love with a musical instrument, you’ll need to pay for regular lessons. Either way, you’re going to be spending some money.

It’s important to note that doing so will be worth the investment in the long run. Your child deserves to develop whatever skill or talent that will make him or her happy.

Take the time to look at your available budget. Do you have the funds to finance this pursuit of passion? It’s okay to do some shuffling around to start budgeting for this new hobby on a regular basis.

Sometimes, secondhand musical instruments or other equipment for hobbies are available. It’s your responsibility to do the research and learn how to support your child’s dreams at a reasonable price. You might want to ask friends and family members to pitch in and help, too.

Remember, Their Self-Confidence Is Essential

The main goal for any hobby or passion your child pursues should be that of boosting their self-confidence. As they start to perfect their skills in their desired craft, you might notice a change start to develop.

Confident kids are happy ones. They know how to speak for themselves while respecting others’ boundaries. Plus, they’ll be more likely to continue following their passion.

Make sure you only say positive things as they dive into their new passion. Even when they make mistakes, it’s important to help them keep setting goals and moving forward instead of looking back. They’re going to rely on your encouragement to maintain and grow their overall self-esteem.

It’s Okay to Seek Professional Guidance on the Matter

Don’t underestimate the value of proper childhood development. A well-rounded education and upbringing will help him or her succeed throughout life as an adult. In some cases, though, it’s in everyone’s best interest to seek professional counsel.

This is of particular importance when it comes to families with children who have disabilities. Special needs parents need to stay well-connected with professionals in that field. There are going to be certain standards crucial to your child’s upbringing that you’ll need to know about.

In addition, some children have natural struggles relating to other kids around them. This might be the case when he or she has gone through a traumatic experience already at a young age. Even then, talking with a family therapist might help both you and the child cope better.

Be willing to ask for help from your friends and family members, too. Remember, it takes a village to raise even just one child well.

Connect with Families Who Have the Same Interests

One of the most crucial things you can do for your child is to surround them with kids who have similar passions. That way, they can start to develop a community that supports each other over time. Plus, you can get to know the parents and bond with them.

Do some online research regarding local meetups or networking events in your area. You’ll find someone who enjoys the same hobby or activity as your child. Be willing to connect with these other families to encourage those pursuits throughout the future.

Continue to Make the Most of Your Life as a Parent

At this point in the article, you have a thorough understanding of how to encourage your child to develop his or her talents. There’s no need to cut corners when it comes to investing in our little ones. That’s why you’ll take the above guidelines seriously.

Of course, there are still a lot of ins and outs to navigate modern parenting expectations. Supporting and encouraging the development of your child is only one component. It can be in your best interest to continue to stay well-informed.

In fact, that’s where this website can come into play. We prioritize bringing readers like you the most reliable parenting advice on the market. We want moms everywhere to feel healthy, look fabulous, and take on the world.

For that reason, we encourage you to browse through the rest of our website today. In our articles, you’ll find the latest and greatest trends in the world of intentional motherhood. To start, comment below this article about how it inspired you and your family to keep investing in yourselves and your abilities.

How To Find The Right Continuing Education Courses For Your Needs

December 12, 2019 by Mandy

Do you want to advance your career or learn a new skill? You’ll want to enroll in continuing education courses.

The unemployment rate has dropped to 3.5%. Many see this as a job applicant’s market, but the best jobs have the most competition.

You can stand out from the crowd by enrolling in the right continuing education courses. There are hundreds of courses about any topic. How can you choose the right ones? Read on to find out.

Why is Continuing Education Necessary?

You may be wondering if continuing education is necessary. In some professions, you need to take continuing education or CE courses to maintain your certification or license.

Others see that there is an increase in salary when they enroll in CE courses. Here are a couple of other reasons to consider taking CE courses.

The Job Market is Changing

Yes, the job market is at historic lows. If you only look at the unemployment rate, you’re missing a lot of information.

What the unemployment rate doesn’t tell you is that the job market is shifting. Thanks to artificial intelligence, more work is becoming automated. That means repetitive jobs like those you see in shipping and manufacturing are going by the wayside.

Continuing education classes can help position you to take advantage of these shifts. Your manufacturing job may be going away, but you learned how to operate a manufacturing plant and the programming behind automation.

You’re now an indispensable part of the manufacturing team. Instead of being out of work, you have job security and a raise.

Change Careers

You may be bored with your career. It’s been rewarding in many aspects, but maybe you need a change of pace. If you’ve worked for years in a stressful industry, you can leverage continuing education courses to change your path.

How to Evaluate Continuing Education Classes

Now that you understand why continuing education is necessary, how can you make sure you enroll in the right continuing education courses.

Your Purpose

Do you need CE credits to maintain a certification? Do you just want to advance your career? The purpose of taking continuing education classes will be your first step in evaluating courses.

If you find that you have to take CE courses to maintain your license or certification, make sure that you enroll in classes where you can apply CE credits.

Your Learning Goals

Is there something specific that you want to learn? Maybe you want to learn how to be a better writer aside from fulfilling your licensing requirements.

Write down the skills or information that you want to learn. These could be things that you’re curious about or will help you be better in your work.

Look at the Curriculum

Most courses will have a syllabus or a course outline posted before you sign up. Take a look at this to make sure that you’ll accomplish your learning goals.

Don’t be afraid to be challenged in your class. That’s what learning is about. It will make you think differently and work harder.

You’ll walk away from the course remembering what you learned because you had to work hard for it.

Teacher Credentials

Do you know anything about the person who’s teaching the continuing education course? You want to know the experience of the person teaching.

For example, if you’re going to take a photography course, do you want to learn from a hobbyist or from someone who shoots for National Geographic?

Of course, their teaching style is something that you want to find out in advance. Do they ask students a lot of questions to keep them engaged?

You can read course reviews or reach out to the instructor directly to find out if they’re a good fit for your learning style.

Preparing to Go Back to School

If you’ve been out of school for a while, you’re going to be in for quite a shock. It’s a hard adjustment to balance your work and home lives while doing homework for your CE class.

Fortunately, many classes are short, but there are others that require a lot of study and continued commitment.

You’ll want to start your preparation by getting your supplies together. Have plenty of notebooks, a laptop, and plenty of things for note-taking.

You should also have your eyes checked before you start your classes. The reason why is because you could be in the back of the room and find it hard to see. That can make learning very difficult. Get an exam and if it turns out you need glasses, find out how you can get the right pair.

Finally, you need to schedule study time. This is going to be the most important part. You need to have quiet time with no distractions. You also don’t want to be exhausted while you study because you won’t remember anything.

Find a time of day where your energy is up and you’re likely to remember the material. For some people, this could be earlier in the day. For others, it could be after dinner.

You need to be self-aware and know your own rhythms that work for you. Once you schedule a time for studying, make sure you stick with it.

Choosing the Right Continuing Education Courses

Continuing education courses are an important part of growing your career. It’s how you’ll stay on top of technologies and constantly improve your skills.

When you’re looking for a class, you want to choose one that fits your purpose and will challenge you to grow. If you’re going to invest the money in a class, you don’t want to just coast through it.

When you do enroll in a class, make sure that you give yourself time to study. It’s hard when life is busy as it is. It may require a couple of shifts in your schedule, but the commitment is well worth it.

Check out this site again for articles on everything from education to travel.

A Useful Guide to the Average Cost of Private Schools

October 22, 2019 by Mandy

Every parent wants the best for their children, including the best education possible. While public schools offer a comprehensive education aligned with national standards, many parents choose to send their kids to a private school to ensure a well-rounded education with additional opportunities.

If you’ve considered this alternative route, you’ve probably wondered what the average cost of private schools really is. We’ve got your guide to what you’ll need to spend to get your child into a private school.

What are the Different Types of Private School?

There are different types of private schools, and each has a different tuition model. It’s important to know which school you’d like to send your child to before looking into cost, as they can be vastly different.

Traditional Private School.These schools, which can be Kindergarten through graduation, aren’t funded by the federal government like public schools. It’s why they require a fee to attend. They may be run as for or non-profit, depending on the organization that runs them.
Boarding School.These types of private schools also include food and lodging in the cost of tuition. They create a special kind of community because students and faculty live on campus together. These schools are a blend of athletes, artists, and scholars.
Language Immersion School.The classes at these schools are taught in another language. Partial immersion begins at 50% of classes being taught in the language, up to 100% immersion with all classes in the chosen foreign language. These schools are chosen by parents who want their children to develop fluency in another language.
Montessori Schools.Montessori schools put a great deal of emphasis on learning through exploration and individual interests. They are designed in three-year blocks, where children will have the same classmates for the entire term. They also focus heavily on the home environment, which means Montessori is a lifestyle choice, not just a school.
Religious Schools.These are also called parochial schools, or private schools attached to a specific church. These differ from a traditional private school that is affiliated with a religious organization. The first is funded by the entity it’s attached to, the second is entirely funded by student tuition.

What are the Benefits of a Private School?

There are several different reasons a parent may choose to send their child to a private school.

Better academic opportunities.Most private schools offer expanded extracurricular activities and advanced placement classes.
Higher test scores and college placement opportunities.Privately schooled children generally score better on college placement exams than their publicly schooled peers. Further, private schools boast an almost 100% rate of their students attending their first-choice college.
Smaller classes.Private schools typically have smaller class sizes than public schools, allowing teachers to more individually coach each student.
Parental involvement.Parents are encouraged at a higher level to be part of their children’s education. Instead of brief parent-teacher conferences, parents are kept involved and apprised on a regular basis of student progress.
Better resources.Because they don’t depend on government funding and receive both tuition and donations from alumni, they typically have higher quality resources in their classrooms.

What if the Average Cost of Private Schools?

Now that you understand what each of the different schools entails, we can begin to break down the cost of each.

According to the Private School Review, the average cost of private school during the 2019 – 2020 school year was $10,676, down from $14,575 the previous year. The costs vary depending on the type of private school and the state it’s located in.

Nebraska has the lowest average annual cost at $3,565. The East Coast boasts the top five states for annual cost, with Connecticut coming in at a whopping $24,433 average.

Elementary programs are generally several thousand dollars cheaper than high schools annually. This is contributed to the competition between options – at lower grade levels there are more choices for parents. By high school, there are only a few options for continuing education and so the cost increases.

Location within each state also plays a factor. You’ll pay more for a school located in a bustling city than one on the prairies of Kansas, for instance.

The Cost of Different Kinds of Private School

Private school cost varies wildly within those averages, dependent not just on the location, but the type of school.

Boarding schools top the list, with some costing up to $40,000 or $50,000 a year in tuition. However, this includes the cost of room and board, food and many extracurricular programs.

Religious schools offer the lowest tuitions of all private schools, with some as low as only several thousand a year. They also generally offer the most in scholarships for students wanting to attend who may not otherwise be able to afford it.

Montessori schools have the largest gap between the highest and lowest tuitions. This is because there is such a broad spectrum of schools that fall under the Montessori heading. There are small programs with less than 50 students in total, and large schools that have hundreds of participants. Tuition will depend on where the school is located, how big it is, and what it offers.

Gifted schools that focus on developing specific talents are going to be on the higher end of the tuition scale. Because they employ teachers who are credentialed in these specific areas of study, a student will pay more to have access to the teaching.

Are There Additional Fees Related to Private School?

When figuring out the annual tuition of a school, you’ll want to factor in additional costs. These include one-time registration fees, books, transportation, and meals, if they aren’t included in the tuition.

Many private schools also require a uniform that can add hundreds or even thousands to the cost. Private schools also frequently host trips overseas or to special locations that might require additional funds to attend.

Sending Your Child to Private School

While the average cost of private schools is a much greater expense than a public school, the good news is there are financial aid and scholarship programs available for many. When looking for a private school in your area, research the programs each school may have that help parents afford tuition.

And be sure to check out the other parenting articles on our site for more information!