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The #1 Notion Startup system, StartOS is $369 $279! [Get Notion]

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Built in Framer.Use the code partner25proyearly to get 3 months free off Framer Pro. [Get Framer]

The #1 Notion Startup system, StartOS is $369 $279! [Get Notion]

Built in Framer.

Use the code partner25proyearly to get 3 months free off Framer Pro. [Get Framer]

How to Clear the Notion Essentials Badge

How to Clear the Notion Essentials Badge

Here’s what to expect and how to prepare

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Startup Notion Blog

Startup Notion Blog

April 27, 2023

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Notion Essentials is a tough exam. Most people need at least two attempt to clear it and get the badge.

Last week, I cleared it on my first attempt and I want to help you clear it too. Here’s what I did before and during the exam which you can prepare to improve your odds of clearing Essentials on the first go!

Notion Essentials Badge

Getting Access To Notion Essentials Exam

Before we dive in, you might be asking, how do I get access to the exam?

There is no direct link to the exam- you need to fill up the application form here.

The application will ask you to fill up certain details such as your name and email, as well as how long you have used Notion, and specifically your contribution to the community.

You can tag the your Reddit or Twitter posts, or blogs to this.

The Notion Team also want to look at your sample projects- I had a couple of cool ones like using the API that I sent across to showcase my proficiency. Projects you built for yourself work well- as long as you showcase a proficiency in using features like like relations and rollups.

Note that you likely won’t get a single API question on the test.

The team will then evaluate and get back to you with a test link and a unique code for the test. You will have one week from the date they get back to give your Essentials exam.

Structure of the Notion Essentials Exam

The Essentials Exam is 90 mins for 60 questions, all multiple choice. You need to score 70% to get the badge.

You can do the questions in any order, and you can go back to these questions at any time.

If you don’t clear it, you can reattempt the certification in a month! So don’t worry!


Before the Test

Hourglass timer

Get a Timer

60 Questions in 90 minutes might sound like a breeze, but it is anything but that. You probably won’t run into time issues (I finished 15 mins before with multiple checks), but there will be questions you will need to rack your head on.

The timer on screen for me was a visual bar.

I had NO IDEA how much time I had left- there was no number popping up!

I used a digital timer to keep track and recommend you use one too.

Get a Scratchpad

I did not get formula heavy questions, but there one some questions where I had to structure the workspace/ permissions tree in my head. Luckily I had a scratchpad- which made it much easier.

I highly recommend you get something to scribble down too!

Notepad and pencil for writing and taking notes

The Test

Why is it so hard, and what should I study?

I did clear it in my exam in my first attempt, but it was not easy. A common question I get is “what part of the test is so hard?”

It’s a particular type of questions- mostly on granular team permissions and sharing settings. I use Notion in a Team and even I found these quite hard to answer.

What is a difference between a Member and a Guest?
What about group for permission settings?
What happens to a member’s private workspace inside a teamspace when you remove them from the teamspace?

None of these were my actual questions, but you get the idea. This was also the set of questions I needed the scratchpad for incase you are wondering.

A good proportion of Notion users use Notion individually and these situations are ones they don’t normally experience.

I would recommend playing around with these as well as sharing settings. It will help a lot on the test! You can find information about these here.

Some other topics you might want to study:
Notifications: Specifically when and who gets notifications in certain scenarios

Difference between Desktop and Mobile: Did you know that notifications show up differently on the two?

Differences in plans: Things like guest limits and page history

Other topics like using relations, rollups and linked databases also show up. But if you are giving the test, I am quite certain you use these regularly enough to not cause you many problems on the test!

Resources

I used two main resources to prepare for the test.
First, there is this wonderful article describing the frequency of questions on the test that you should check out!

Secondly, I just used the Notion Help Center Documentation to fill in the gaps I needed to for the test, especially in the Team/ Sharing section.

I did not get any complex formula questions (although I don’t know if this is common), but it seems pretty common to not get quizzed on the API.

If you have any more questions, drop a comment and I will try to reply and edit this post!

All the best for your Essentials Exam!

Lady with fingers crossed

———

Special Resource for you!
My friend Jeremy created these flashcards to help you prepare for the Notion Essentials Test- do check them out!

Notion Essentials is a tough exam. Most people need at least two attempt to clear it and get the badge.

Last week, I cleared it on my first attempt and I want to help you clear it too. Here’s what I did before and during the exam which you can prepare to improve your odds of clearing Essentials on the first go!

Notion Essentials Badge

Getting Access To Notion Essentials Exam

Before we dive in, you might be asking, how do I get access to the exam?

There is no direct link to the exam- you need to fill up the application form here.

The application will ask you to fill up certain details such as your name and email, as well as how long you have used Notion, and specifically your contribution to the community.

You can tag the your Reddit or Twitter posts, or blogs to this.

The Notion Team also want to look at your sample projects- I had a couple of cool ones like using the API that I sent across to showcase my proficiency. Projects you built for yourself work well- as long as you showcase a proficiency in using features like like relations and rollups.

Note that you likely won’t get a single API question on the test.

The team will then evaluate and get back to you with a test link and a unique code for the test. You will have one week from the date they get back to give your Essentials exam.

Structure of the Notion Essentials Exam

The Essentials Exam is 90 mins for 60 questions, all multiple choice. You need to score 70% to get the badge.

You can do the questions in any order, and you can go back to these questions at any time.

If you don’t clear it, you can reattempt the certification in a month! So don’t worry!


Before the Test

Hourglass timer

Get a Timer

60 Questions in 90 minutes might sound like a breeze, but it is anything but that. You probably won’t run into time issues (I finished 15 mins before with multiple checks), but there will be questions you will need to rack your head on.

The timer on screen for me was a visual bar.

I had NO IDEA how much time I had left- there was no number popping up!

I used a digital timer to keep track and recommend you use one too.

Get a Scratchpad

I did not get formula heavy questions, but there one some questions where I had to structure the workspace/ permissions tree in my head. Luckily I had a scratchpad- which made it much easier.

I highly recommend you get something to scribble down too!

Notepad and pencil for writing and taking notes

The Test

Why is it so hard, and what should I study?

I did clear it in my exam in my first attempt, but it was not easy. A common question I get is “what part of the test is so hard?”

It’s a particular type of questions- mostly on granular team permissions and sharing settings. I use Notion in a Team and even I found these quite hard to answer.

What is a difference between a Member and a Guest?
What about group for permission settings?
What happens to a member’s private workspace inside a teamspace when you remove them from the teamspace?

None of these were my actual questions, but you get the idea. This was also the set of questions I needed the scratchpad for incase you are wondering.

A good proportion of Notion users use Notion individually and these situations are ones they don’t normally experience.

I would recommend playing around with these as well as sharing settings. It will help a lot on the test! You can find information about these here.

Some other topics you might want to study:
Notifications: Specifically when and who gets notifications in certain scenarios

Difference between Desktop and Mobile: Did you know that notifications show up differently on the two?

Differences in plans: Things like guest limits and page history

Other topics like using relations, rollups and linked databases also show up. But if you are giving the test, I am quite certain you use these regularly enough to not cause you many problems on the test!

Resources

I used two main resources to prepare for the test.
First, there is this wonderful article describing the frequency of questions on the test that you should check out!

Secondly, I just used the Notion Help Center Documentation to fill in the gaps I needed to for the test, especially in the Team/ Sharing section.

I did not get any complex formula questions (although I don’t know if this is common), but it seems pretty common to not get quizzed on the API.

If you have any more questions, drop a comment and I will try to reply and edit this post!

All the best for your Essentials Exam!

Lady with fingers crossed

———

Special Resource for you!
My friend Jeremy created these flashcards to help you prepare for the Notion Essentials Test- do check them out!

Notion Essentials is a tough exam. Most people need at least two attempt to clear it and get the badge.

Last week, I cleared it on my first attempt and I want to help you clear it too. Here’s what I did before and during the exam which you can prepare to improve your odds of clearing Essentials on the first go!

Notion Essentials Badge

Getting Access To Notion Essentials Exam

Before we dive in, you might be asking, how do I get access to the exam?

There is no direct link to the exam- you need to fill up the application form here.

The application will ask you to fill up certain details such as your name and email, as well as how long you have used Notion, and specifically your contribution to the community.

You can tag the your Reddit or Twitter posts, or blogs to this.

The Notion Team also want to look at your sample projects- I had a couple of cool ones like using the API that I sent across to showcase my proficiency. Projects you built for yourself work well- as long as you showcase a proficiency in using features like like relations and rollups.

Note that you likely won’t get a single API question on the test.

The team will then evaluate and get back to you with a test link and a unique code for the test. You will have one week from the date they get back to give your Essentials exam.

Structure of the Notion Essentials Exam

The Essentials Exam is 90 mins for 60 questions, all multiple choice. You need to score 70% to get the badge.

You can do the questions in any order, and you can go back to these questions at any time.

If you don’t clear it, you can reattempt the certification in a month! So don’t worry!


Before the Test

Hourglass timer

Get a Timer

60 Questions in 90 minutes might sound like a breeze, but it is anything but that. You probably won’t run into time issues (I finished 15 mins before with multiple checks), but there will be questions you will need to rack your head on.

The timer on screen for me was a visual bar.

I had NO IDEA how much time I had left- there was no number popping up!

I used a digital timer to keep track and recommend you use one too.

Get a Scratchpad

I did not get formula heavy questions, but there one some questions where I had to structure the workspace/ permissions tree in my head. Luckily I had a scratchpad- which made it much easier.

I highly recommend you get something to scribble down too!

Notepad and pencil for writing and taking notes

The Test

Why is it so hard, and what should I study?

I did clear it in my exam in my first attempt, but it was not easy. A common question I get is “what part of the test is so hard?”

It’s a particular type of questions- mostly on granular team permissions and sharing settings. I use Notion in a Team and even I found these quite hard to answer.

What is a difference between a Member and a Guest?
What about group for permission settings?
What happens to a member’s private workspace inside a teamspace when you remove them from the teamspace?

None of these were my actual questions, but you get the idea. This was also the set of questions I needed the scratchpad for incase you are wondering.

A good proportion of Notion users use Notion individually and these situations are ones they don’t normally experience.

I would recommend playing around with these as well as sharing settings. It will help a lot on the test! You can find information about these here.

Some other topics you might want to study:
Notifications: Specifically when and who gets notifications in certain scenarios

Difference between Desktop and Mobile: Did you know that notifications show up differently on the two?

Differences in plans: Things like guest limits and page history

Other topics like using relations, rollups and linked databases also show up. But if you are giving the test, I am quite certain you use these regularly enough to not cause you many problems on the test!

Resources

I used two main resources to prepare for the test.
First, there is this wonderful article describing the frequency of questions on the test that you should check out!

Secondly, I just used the Notion Help Center Documentation to fill in the gaps I needed to for the test, especially in the Team/ Sharing section.

I did not get any complex formula questions (although I don’t know if this is common), but it seems pretty common to not get quizzed on the API.

If you have any more questions, drop a comment and I will try to reply and edit this post!

All the best for your Essentials Exam!

Lady with fingers crossed

———

Special Resource for you!
My friend Jeremy created these flashcards to help you prepare for the Notion Essentials Test- do check them out!