Clear, practical answers to the top Salesforce Flow interview questions you’ll face in 2025 — including types of flows, real-world scenarios, recursion handling, and best practices.
What is Salesforce Flow?
Salesforce Flow is the platform’s modern automation engine that lets admins and developers build business logic using clicks, not code. Flows can perform fast field updates (before-save), run complex logic after save, call Apex, create and update records, send notifications, and guide users through multi-step processes.
Types of Flows
- Screen Flow — Interactive flows that run in Lightning pages, utility bars, or quick actions.
- Record-Triggered Flow — Runs automatically on record create, update, or delete.
- Scheduled-Triggered Flow — Executes on a schedule without user interaction.
- Autolaunched Flow — Runs in the background and can be invoked by Apex, other flows, or the REST API.
Flow vs Workflow vs Process Builder
Workflow Rules and Process Builder are legacy tools with limited capabilities. Flow is the recommended automation tool for new development because it supports complex branching, loops, multi-object transactions, fault handling, and direct Apex integration.
Real-time scenario: Notify a manager when Opportunity > $50,000 moves to Closed Won
Implementation approach using a Record-Triggered Flow:
- Trigger: Record-Triggered Flow on Opportunity (on update).
- Entry Conditions: StageName = ‘Closed Won’ AND Amount > 50000.
- Use an Decision element to check that the StageName changed to Closed Won (use ISCHANGED semantics or prior value checks).
- Action: Send an Email Alert or create a Custom Notification record to notify the manager. Optionally, create a Chatter post or task.
Handling recursion in Record-Triggered Flows
Recursion happens when a Flow updates the same record and re-triggers. To avoid unintended loops:
- Use entry conditions like ISCHANGED() on the fields that matter.
- Add a custom checkbox (e.g., Flow_Processed__c) to mark when processing is done, then clear it where appropriate.
- Use separate before-save (fast updates) and after-save logic to limit DML operations.
- For advanced control, consider a static Apex flag or Platform Cache to track executions in the same transaction.
Pro tips for interviews
- Share real project examples rather than definitions — show impact (time saved, errors reduced).
- Explain trade-offs: When to prefer Flow vs Apex (complex algorithms, bulk heavy operations).
- Discuss error handling: use Fault paths and user-friendly messages on Screen Flows.
- Mention governor limits: avoid per-record DML in loops and bulkify actions.
Quick checklist to prepare
- Know Flow types and where each is used.
- Be able to design a Record-Triggered Flow from requirements.
- Practice explaining recursion prevention and bulk-safe patterns.
- Have 2–3 real examples ready from your experience.
Want a downloadable PDF with the most common Flow questions? Consider creating a short notes pack that includes diagrams and sample Flow designs — interviewers love visuals.
Conclusion — Why this matters
Flow is now the central automation tool in Salesforce. Mastering Flow not only prepares you for interviews but also empowers admins and developers to build scalable, maintainable automations that reduce manual work and improve data quality. Whether you’re designing record-triggered automations, guided Screen Flows, or scheduled jobs, understanding Flow patterns and limits is essential for delivering business value.
Category: Salesforce Tips
Tags: salesforce-flow, interview-questions, salesforce, automation