Kelly Nissl is the Sr. Go-To-Market Operations Manager and the Gainsight Admin at Zapproved. I recently asked Kelly to share her Gainsight Admin certification journey with the Community, so settle in with a warm cup of your favorite beverage and pickup some tips for preparing for certification!
“I recently completed all 3 levels of certifications and took an all over the map approach to preparation. I had never even heard of Gainsight when I started my current role and took over the platform in July 2021. I started by going down the web-based training path. It was definitely useful and I found it to be a good high-level overview of everything on the platform. There is a lot of documentation though and that can be intimidating when first starting out and not knowing where to begin or what may even be actually in use in the org.
(Hi, me. Intimidated. 
)
While I completed a large chunk of the online training, I am definitely more of a hands on learner and had to kind of sink or swim in my situation. My predecessor was on his way out the door to a new gig when I came onboard. What I found helpful beyond words was the live training. I signed up for the full week (5 days, several hours per day, different big topics each day), and the instruction and materials were great as well as the hands on access to a dev org. I can't recommend it enough if you have the opportunity to take it.
After the live training, I took several of the practice tests. (Maybe closer to 20, but who's counting?) It was super helpful to get used to the format of the exam, as well as identify where the gaps in my knowledge were. At the end of the test you get a breakdown of your percentages for each main area. I definitely needed work on some areas that I apparently felt falsely confident in, so it was really good to be able to focus my study time. The exam is free and all you have to do is just keep going in and registering. There is zero reason not to take it, and take it again (and again).
One thing I will note: in taking the proctored Level 3 exam, I definitely noticed that there were questions about things that I distinctly remembered from the live training that I did not remember from my own reading and web-based learning. It could be that I just did not absorb it on my own, or it could be that the live training is just a little more robust.
Ultimately, the tools are out there, and I think using all of them will only ensure success. I went from "what's Gainsight?" to Levels 1/2/3 certified in 7 months... all while learning/administering/implementing other business platforms. And if you are migrating from SFDC to NXT, definitely explore what kind of discounts you can get for the live training. It makes everything super accessible and will help tremendously!”
For more information on Admin certification, click here. And don’t forget to check out our Study Guide for Level 3! If you have questions or need assistance with training and certification, reach out to training@gainsight.com.
