Top 30 Salesforce Interview Questions and Answers

1What it is

Many companies (orgs) share one infrastructure, database and codebase. Each org's data is kept separate by its Org ID, so no org can see another's records.

2Why it matters

Sharing keeps costs low and lets Salesforce upgrade everyone at once, three times a year. Because the resources are shared, the platform has to stop any one org using too much - which is exactly why governor limits exist.

3Example

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

Standard objects come built in - Account, Contact, Opportunity, Case. Custom objects are ones you create for your own data, and their API name ends in __c.

2Why it matters

Standard objects come with reports, apps, integrations and features already wired up, so you use them first. You build a custom object only when the data is truly unique to the business.

3Example

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

Both link two objects. Master-detail is a tight parent-child bond: the child cannot exist without its parent. Lookup is a loose, usually optional link.

2Why it matters

The choice decides what happens on delete, who owns the child record, how it is shared, and whether you can use roll-up summary fields.

3Example

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

A custom object with two master-detail fields, one to each side, that creates a many-to-many relationship.

2Why it matters

Salesforce has no direct many-to-many field. A student takes many courses and a course has many students, so a record in the middle - the junction - holds each pairing.

3Example

Student  <-M-D-  Enrollment__c  -M-D->  Course

Riya         ->  enrolled in  ->  Apex, LWC
Apex course  ->  has          ->  Riya, Aman

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

Both store configuration. Custom Metadata types (ending in __mdt) are metadata, so their records deploy with your code. Custom Settings records are data, so they do not.

2Why it matters

Both stop hardcoding values in Apex - you change the configuration without changing the code. Which one you choose depends on whether the value must travel between orgs, or differ per user.

3Example

Decimal gst = Tax_Rate__mdt.getInstance('GST').Rate__c; // 18

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

A profile gives a user their base access, and every user has exactly one. A permission set adds extra access, and a user can have as many as needed.

2Why it matters

The rule is least privilege: keep profiles minimal, then grant extra access with permission sets and permission set groups. Salesforce is moving permissions off profiles, so this is the modern answer.

3Example

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

A tree of roles that opens record visibility upwards: a manager can see the records their team owns.

2Why it matters

It mirrors the reporting structure, so data access follows the org chart automatically, without a sharing rule for every manager.

3Example

CEO              sees everything below
  └ Sales Head   sees Rep A's and Rep B's records
      ├ Rep A    sees own records
      └ Rep B    sees own records

Rep A cannot see Rep B's records.

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

Org-wide defaults (OWD) set the baseline access for each object - usually the most restrictive. The role hierarchy, sharing rules and manual sharing then open access up.

2Why it matters

Salesforce security works by starting locked and granting access, not the other way round. Set the OWD to the access the least-trusted user should have.

3Example

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

Class keywords that decide whether Apex respects the running user's record access.

2Why it matters

Apex runs in system mode by default. Without the right keyword, a controller behind an LWC can show a user records they are not allowed to see - a data leak.

3Example

public with sharing class AccountService {}    // respects the user's sharing
public without sharing class SystemJob {}      // sees every record (system mode)
public inherited sharing class Util {}         // follows whoever calls it

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

Screen flows (with a user interface), record-triggered flows, schedule-triggered flows, autolaunched flows (called from Apex, a button or another flow) and platform event-triggered flows.

2Why it matters

Flow is now the main no-code automation tool: Salesforce retired Workflow Rules and Process Builder, ending support at the end of 2025.

3Example

Trigger    Opportunity is updated
   ↓
Condition  Stage = Closed Won
   ↓
Action     Closed_Won_Date__c = TODAY()

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

A formula that runs when a record is saved. If the formula returns TRUE, the save is blocked and the user sees an error.

2Why it matters

It enforces data quality at the source, for every way a record can be saved - the UI, imports and the API - without writing any code.

3Example

AND(
  ISPICKVAL(StageName, "Closed Won"),
  ISBLANK(Amount)
)

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

The fixed sequence of steps Salesforce follows every time a record is saved - from validation through triggers, flows and roll-ups to the final commit.

2Why it matters

It explains bugs like "why did my field get overwritten?" or "why did my trigger run twice?" - a favourite senior-level question.

3Example

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

Per-transaction caps the platform enforces on queries, DML, CPU time and memory. Cross one and Salesforce stops the code and rolls back the transaction.

2Why it matters

Multi-tenancy: no single org is allowed to hog the shared servers. The limits also force code to handle real data volumes.

3Example

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

Writing code that handles 200 records as efficiently as it handles one.

2Why it matters

Triggers receive records in batches of up to 200. SOQL or DML inside a loop runs once per record and breaks the limits fast.

3Example

for (Account a : accs) {
    insert new Contact(LastName = a.Name, AccountId = a.Id);
}

List<Contact> cons = new List<Contact>();
for (Account a : accs) {
    cons.add(new Contact(LastName = a.Name, AccountId = a.Id));
}
insert cons;

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

Built-in variables that tell a trigger what is happening: Trigger.new, Trigger.old, newMap, oldMap, and flags such as isInsert, isUpdate, isBefore, isAfter.

2Why it matters

They tell you which records changed, what the values were before, and which event you are handling - so one trigger can serve every event correctly.

3Example

if (Trigger.isUpdate) {
    for (Account a : Trigger.new) {
        Account old = Trigger.oldMap.get(a.Id);
        if (a.Phone != old.Phone) {
            // phone number changed
        }
    }
}

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

A before trigger changes the same record before it is saved. An after trigger runs once the record is saved and has an Id.

2Why it matters

Field updates in a before trigger need no extra DML, so they are faster and cannot cause recursion. Work on other records, or anything that needs the Id, belongs in an after trigger.

3Example

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

One trigger per object that hands the work to a handler class, plus a static guard that remembers what has already been processed in this transaction.

2Why it matters

The logic stays testable and runs in a known order, and a trigger that updates records cannot fire itself in an endless loop.

3Example

trigger AccountTrigger on Account (before insert, after update) {
    AccountHandler.run();
}

public class AccountHandler {
    // Static: lives for the whole transaction, shared by every trigger call.
    static Set<Id> processed = new Set<Id>();

    public static void run() {
        switch on Trigger.operationType {
            when BEFORE_INSERT {
                setDefaults((List<Account>) Trigger.new); // no Ids yet - nothing to guard
            }
            when AFTER_UPDATE {
                List<Account> todo = new List<Account>();
                for (Account a : (List<Account>) Trigger.new) {
                    if (processed.add(a.Id)) todo.add(a); // add() is false if already seen
                }
                syncContacts(todo);
            }
        }
    }
    static void setDefaults(List<Account> accs) { /* ... */ }
    static void syncContacts(List<Account> accs) { /* ... */ }
}

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

SOQL queries one object and its related records with exact filters. SOSL searches text across many objects at once.

2Why it matters

Pick by situation: if you know the object and the field, use SOQL. If you are searching for a word everywhere, use SOSL.

3Example

// SOQL - one object, exact filter
List<Account> accs = [SELECT Name FROM Account WHERE Industry = 'IT'];

// SOSL - text search across objects
List<List<SObject>> found = [FIND 'Rahul' IN ALL FIELDS
                             RETURNING Contact(Name), Lead(Name)];

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

Both run Apex asynchronously, in the background. Queueable is the modern, more flexible version.

2Why it matters

Async Apex is needed for callouts from triggers, heavy processing, and the higher governor limits background work gets.

3Example

Id jobId = System.enqueueJob(new SyncJob(accounts));

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

Apex that processes very large data sets in chunks, through three methods: start, execute and finish.

2Why it matters

Every chunk runs as its own transaction with fresh governor limits, so one job can work through up to 50 million records.

3Example

Database.executeBatch(new CleanupBatch(), 200);
// 1,000,000 records / 200 = 5,000 chunks, each with fresh limits

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

Apex that runs at a set time, scheduled with a cron expression.

2Why it matters

Nightly jobs, periodic syncs and clean-ups run on their own, without anyone clicking a button.

3Example

public class NightlyJob implements Schedulable {
    public void execute(SchedulableContext sc) {
        Database.executeBatch(new CleanupBatch());
    }
}

System.schedule('Nightly', '0 0 2 * * ?', new NightlyJob());

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

Classes marked @isTest that check your code works. Production deployments need 75% code coverage across the org, with all tests passing.

2Why it matters

They stop broken code reaching production. Every trigger must have some coverage too, or it cannot be deployed.

3Example

@isTest
private class AccountTriggerTest {
    @isTest
    static void setsRatingHot() {
        Test.startTest();
        insert new Account(Name = 'Acme');
        Test.stopTest();

        Account a = [SELECT Rating FROM Account LIMIT 1];
        Assert.areEqual('Hot', a.Rating);
    }
}

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

Methods LWC calls at each stage of a component's life, from creation to removal.

2Why it matters

They tell you where to load data and where it is safe to touch the DOM.

3Example

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

@api makes a property public, so a parent can set it. @track watches changes inside an object or array. @wire fetches data reactively.

2Why it matters

Together they control a component's inputs and when it re-renders.

3Example

<c-child record-id={recId}></c-child>

@api recordId;                     // set by the parent
@track filters = { city: '' };      // watch changes inside the object

@wire(getRecord, { recordId: '$recordId', fields: FIELDS })
record;                             // fetched again when recordId changes

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

Parent to child with an @api property. Child to parent with a CustomEvent. Unrelated components with Lightning Message Service (LMS).

2Why it matters

It is one of the most common questions in LWC coding rounds, because every real page has components talking to each other.

3Example

this.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent('select', { detail: id }));

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

@wire calls Apex automatically and reactively. An imperative call runs when you call it, and returns a Promise.

2Why it matters

Button clicks and anything that changes data (DML) need an imperative call. Read-only data for display suits @wire, with the Apex method marked cacheable=true.

3Example

// Wire: automatic and cached
@wire(getAccounts) accounts;

// Imperative: on a click
handleClick() {
    getAccounts()
        .then((r) => { this.data = r; })
        .catch((e) => { this.error = e; });
}

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

Built-in create, read, update and delete for single records with no Apex: record forms, getRecord, updateRecord and related adapters.

2Why it matters

It shares one cache across components, enforces field security and sharing automatically, and needs no Apex - so no test class either.

3Example

<lightning-record-form
    object-api-name="Account"
    record-id={recordId}
    layout-type="Full"
    mode="edit">
</lightning-record-form>

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

Publish-subscribe messages, defined like an object with the suffix __e. Publishers send events to an event bus, and any number of subscribers receive them.

2Why it matters

They decouple systems: the publisher never waits for, or even knows about, the subscribers. They power real-time notifications inside and outside Salesforce.

3Example

EventBus.publish(new Order_Event__e(Order_Id__c = orderId));

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

Apex calls an external API with HttpRequest. A Named Credential stores the endpoint and the authentication, so the code only names it.

2Why it matters

No URLs or secrets are hardcoded in the code, OAuth tokens are handled for you, and each environment can point to its own endpoint.

3Example

HttpRequest req = new HttpRequest();
req.setEndpoint('callout:Payment_API/orders');
req.setMethod('POST');
req.setBody(JSON.serialize(order));
HttpResponse res = new Http().send(req);

4In short - say this in the interview

1What it is

Sandboxes are copies of production for building and testing. Changes move between orgs with change sets, the Salesforce CLI or DevOps Center.

2Why it matters

You never build directly in production. Each change is built, tested and approved before it reaches real users.

3Example

sf project deploy start --target-org uat

4In short - say this in the interview