Did you know that Salesforce interviews these days include more scenario-based questions than traditional theoretical ones? If you are rushing through the basics, you could be missing a crucial aspect of what interviewers want today. Employers these days want candidates who can tackle real problems or who know how to deal with them. If you are still practicing fundamental topics, this guide is a must for you.
These 20 practical Salesforce Trigger interview questions and answers will guide you with what you need to know to demonstrate your skills in a way that meets the needs of the employer in today’s industry if you are an experienced candidate. Whether this is your first time on the platform or you’re just changing up your strategy, these questions will give you trending questions that can make your career in 2026.
20 Salesforce Trigger Interview Questions with Real-Time Scenarios
Q1. How would you ensure your trigger handles bulk data correctly when working with multiple records?
A. The first step that I would take is checking if the trigger is bulkified. So that it manages all the records without causing any limit issues. To avoid any governor limit I always avoid SOQL queries or DML operations inside loops. Instead of that I will perform it outside the loop by collecting important data beforehand. With the use of trigger variables, to tailor the logic based on the operation type. At last, I would check if the code is optimized and write test cases.
Q2. What actions would you take if your trigger is causing a timeout due to processing large amounts of data?
A. To resolve a timeout caused by large data, I’d bulkify SOQL/DML, move heavy processing to Batch Apex or asynchronous methods like Future or Queueable, and apply proper filters to limit record processing. I’d analyze debug logs to uncover any slow points and confirm that the data model and indexes are properly optimized.
Q3. Once a record is added, how would you update it automatically according to certain criteria?
A. I would use a trigger with an after insert event. I will check conditions such as specific field values or related records, and then update the record using a DML update statement. To avoid any kind of unwanted updates and hitting governor limits. If necessary, I could also use asynchronous methods like Future or Queueable to offload complex processing.
Q4. How to write a trigger to update the total value of a related list when updating a record?
A. For this, I would create an after update-based trigger on the parent object to update the total on the related list when a record is updated. The trigger would select the child records associated with the parent, calculate the total and then update the total field on the parent. While writing test classes also need to write code that handles bulk first check if total has changed before doing update for performance and writing test classes.
Q5. How can you manage a situation where a single transaction requires a trigger to interact with multiple objects?
A. In the case of a trigger acting on multiple objects I perform a trigger framework to handle each logic separately. Along with this I will also use the collection of bulk operations with the use of SOQL or DML handling to prevent governor limit violations.
Q6. What would you do if a trigger needs to update a parent record based on changes in its child records?
A. To update the parent record I would create a child object. The trigger would rollup the child records needed data and then update the parent record with a bulk dml. This guarantees that the parent record is always current with changes on the child records.
Q7. Can you write a trigger to assign a task automatically when a record meets a particular criterion?
A. Yes, I'd write a trigger on the record to test the condition in the after insert/update event. If true, I'd create a new Task record in DML and assign it automatically.
Q8. What do you do when a trigger is firing before save record and you want to change the saved value?
A. In a before save trigger, I can modify values directly on the Trigger.new rows before they are saved to the database. This way, the value can be changed before it's written.
Q9. How can a trigger be structured to handle updates for parent and child records simultaneously?
A. The approach that I follow is to modify both the parent and the child record at the same time to run the record in the parent trigger. To check any other relevant record update I use a SOQL query. After checking this I would perform bulkified DML operations to update parent and child records.
Q10. Suppose you have a situation where a trigger has to compute some values using the related record.
A. A SOQL may then be issued against the related record to perform calculations on the related record's data. The calculated value is then used to update the current record and the logic is tested to ensure they have accurate, related information.
Q11. How do you prevent a record from being updated if a field is not filled in?
A. In the trigger, check the field using if (record.Field__c != null). If the field is null, the update logic is skipped, so no changes happen.
Q12. How would you optimize a trigger that is running slowly and affecting the overall performance of the production environment?
A. Bulkifying queries and DML operations in the trigger is an optimization that reduces the execution dramatically. In case of big data volumes, moving the logic to Batch Apex or Queueable Apex allows processing the long running operations asynchronously and keeps the system performance intact, not impacting real-time transactions.
Q13. How would you fix the issue in code if the trigger is raising an error because of missing required fields?
A. Including validations in a trigger helps confirm that all mandatory fields are present before DML, preventing corrupt data by handling missing fields properly.
Q14. What would you do if a trigger fires for multiple objects and you want to control the order of execution?
A. A trigger framework can be used to manage the execution order. By defining clear separation of logic and using platform events or control variables, the sequence of execution can be managed, ensuring that the right operations occur on each object in the desired order.
Q15. How to limit a trigger to run only once per record, even on multiple updates?
A. Using a static variable in an Apex class, they will analyse if the record has been processed or not. Next, store the record IDs of the processed records to avoid multiple updates. Another way is using
Q16. How would you manage a situation where a trigger mistakenly updates every record, even though only some should be changed?
A. To meet the specific criteria I would use conditional logic in the trigger to update a record. Methods like checking if the field is blank or matches certain values could be very helpful in this. To make sure only the required record is updated I would use filtered collections and decision statements before performing DML.
Q17. How to chunk a trigger if it processes too many records for a single transaction and hits governor limits?
A. For large volumes of data, Batch Apex should be used so that records can be processed in manageable chunks. This enables asynchronous processing and helps with staying within the governor limits of Salesforce and processing high data volumes.
Q18. How would you update a field in one record conditionally, based on changes to the same field in a related record?
A. With the help of Record-Triggered Flow, any record in the related record can be updated. After this, check the condition to know if a change should trigger an update. Then use the update record element to update the field.
Q19. How to send an email to a group mail when an opportunity amount is greater than 100,000?
A. By creating a before or after trigger on the opportunity object, the condition for the amount if it is more than 100000, can be checked. If so, invoke the Messaging.SingleEmailMessage class to send an email to the specific group telling them about a high value opportunity.
Q20. What are you going to do so that users cannot update a record once it’s approved?
A. A validation rule could be written to stop updates after the record has an approval status. The rule would examine the field (e.g. "Status = Approved") and raise an error if a modification is made after approval, meaning you keep your records locked once finalized.
Also Read:-
Common Mistakes to Avoid in Salesforce Trigger Interviews
Candidates commonly make the following mistake while tackling the technical Salesforce trigger interview questions -
- Not Bulkifying Code: - Failing to handle multiple records in a single transaction, leading to hitting governor limits.
- Hardcoding Values:- Using fixed values like IDs or field names instead of making the code dynamic.
- Ignoring Trigger Context:- Understanding the behaviour of the trigger by analysing whether it's firing or not.
- Not Considering Governor Limits:- Sometimes candidates write code without considering Salesforce's governor limits, such as SOQL queries, DML operations.
- Overcomplicating the Logic:- Writing unwanted code or adding unnecessary complexity.
- Not Handling Recursive Triggers:- Failing to control recursive triggers can cause infinite loops and unwanted behavior.
- Skipping Test Classes:- Not writing enough test cases, or failing to cover different scenarios in test classes.
- Not Using Proper Error Handling:- Lacking error handling in the trigger, which can lead to failed operations without clear feedback.
- Not Using Trigger Frameworks:- Avoiding the use of trigger frameworks that help manage complex logic and prevent multiple triggers on the same object.
- Not Optimizing for Performance:- Writing inefficient queries or DML operations can cause performance issues when processing large volumes of data.
Tip to reduce these mistakes -
Salesforce courses online can be a good way to prevent general errors in Salesforce. As these courses have expert trainers who can guide you wherever you are lacking. Having a good mentor can help reduce mistakes and build core technical skills.
Interview Preparation Tips
1. Know Basics - Be familiar with the basics of Salesforce like the Objects, Fields and Relationships, Know Process Builder, Flows And More.
2. Practice Apex Code - Be prepared to write and explain Apex code (triggers and classes). Know how to work with governor limits and bulk
3. Explain Your Approach - Don’t hesitate to describe your thought process when you talk about solutions. It really tells how effectively you problem solve and whether you’re capable of breaking down complex problems.
4. Learn good practices - Write maintenance-friendly, efficient and scalable code. Do not hard-code anything and always bulkify your code for better performance.
5. Ready for Real-world Scenarios - Be ready for scenario questions where you have to apply some Salesforce knowledge to a business problem think like solutions.
Conclusion
The above 20 interview questions on triggers in Salesforce would be very helpful in improving your practical knowledge. If you are someone who is learning from home, this will be your must-go guide, but remember, your goal should not only be to answer questions but also to give an impactful impression. Platforms like
Srijan Institute provide complete end-to-end training from the technical round to the HR round.
FAQ Related to Salesforce Triger Interview Question
Q1: What is a trigger in Salesforce and when is it executed?
A: A trigger is Apex code that runs automatically in response to DML events (insert, update, delete, undelete, merge) on a Salesforce object.
Q2: What’s the difference between a before trigger and an after trigger?
A: As the name describes, a before trigger performs before data modification in the database, whereas an after trigger performs after modification operations.
Q3: What does bulkification mean, and why is it important?
A: Bulkification means writing code that handles multiple records in a single invocation to stay within governor limits. Important to process lists (not single sObjects) and use collections for DML/SOQL.
Q4: How do you prevent recursion in triggers?
A: Use static variables in an Apex class to track if the trigger has already run for a given context, and guard code with that flag (e.g., if (MyTriggerHandler.isFirstRun) { ... }).
Q5: How do you test triggers in Salesforce Apex?
A: Create test data using isTest insert and update record to invoke the trigger. Lastly, verify the expected behaviour using the System.
