So you sent off your resume, and you’ve bagged yourself a job interview for your dream Microsoft Dynamics job.
After nailing down all the traditional pre-interview prep – ironing your shirt, practising your friendliest smile, planning your route to the interview location – all that’s left is to do some swotting up.
If you’re interviewing for a job working with Microsoft Dynamics, you’ll have to brush up on your technical knowledge as well as tackling the standard stuff. Queue some frantic research on Microsoft Dynamics interview questions.
While (unfortunately) there’s no crystal ball full of job interview questions out there, nowadays many employers lean more towards competency-based interviews than a pop-quiz of questions and answers, meaning you can make an educated guess at the sort of questions you’ll get asked.
While technical questions help illustrate your knowledge, competency-based questions allow employers to measure up your “soft skills”, such as decision making, problem-solving and interpersonal abilities, and see how you’d fit into their company’s culture.
These types of questions give you the opportunity to truly shine in an interview, and a chance to tell your “dragon-slaying stories”. Dragon-slaying stories are pithy, powerful anecdotes detailing how your work has made a positive difference, and can give potential employers a great snapshot of your character and skills; providing you give a little thought to your answers in advance.
We’ve rounded up some key Microsoft Dynamics interview questions you might come across in your next job interview, so all you have to worry about is shining your shoes…
What does the Dynamics landscape look like at the moment, and where do you see it going?
There’s change afoot in the Dynamics ecosystem right now, so there are plenty of topics you can raise that will show you have your finger on the pulse. For example, new kid on the block Dynamics 365 is making a big noise, and as a major new player, is changing the way both partners and end users are structuring their business processes.
Many of Dynamics 365’s preceding products are also seeing updates and off-premise versions being rolled out, as the future of the CRM and ERP industry becomes increasingly cloud-based.
Another major development for Dynamics is Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn, which is set to put Dynamics streets ahead of its competitors when it comes to sales and customer service, and will no doubt spark a CRM arms race amongst other software out to gain back their ground.
Microsoft loves a good conference and holds them several times a year, so be sure to take a look at their latest blogs to find relevant and newsworthy developments you can dazzle your interviewer with.
Tell me about the latest features of X.
If you’re using a product regularly, you’ll likely be aware of recent updates and added features, but it’s still worth preparing an answer for a question like this. You know when someone asks you what your favorite movie is, and suddenly you can’t think of a single movie in the history of cinema? You don’t want that kind of brain freeze in a job interview, but it can happen even with information you’d think was on the tip of your tongue.
Take a few minutes to write down some of the most recent features of the product in question, noting what they do and how they’ve added to the product’s functionality, so they’re fresh in your mind if the time comes.
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Which industries do you have experience in?
Although the functionalities of certain Dynamics products naturally align them to particular industries, the suite has broad scope, and having experience in more than one vertical can be a bonus for employers.
For example, while NAV is popular with manufacturing companies, its field service capabilities and invoicing processes make it appealing to many organizations in the Oilfield industry. Having experience within more than one industry implies you’re able to deal with clients with varying needs and requirements, and shows flexibility and willingness to keep learning new things.
What functional areas are you the most skilled in? How have you bridged that experience into other areas?
With each Dynamics product leveraging features in a number of areas, it’s inevitable that you’ll have more experience in some than others, depending on your previous positions. The key is to show off your skills in your core areas, while expressing how you’ve learned those talents to other functionalities.
Even if your experience across a product is limited, this is a good opportunity to turn a potential weakness into a strength by detailing how you’re taking on new challenges and working to grow your knowledge.
Make sure you look carefully into the job description to see exactly what the role will entail, that way you can hit those key points and explain how your experience will transfer to meet their requirements.
How many implementations have you completed?
No matter the size of the end user, implementations are major projects. A successful roll-out takes not just technical knowledge, but also a lot of soft skills, such as analysis, project planning, and time management.
Obviously the more implementations you have under your belt, the better it looks on paper, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still sell yourself if you haven’t been hands-on with that many. Talking about your experience across the full lifecycle of the implementation, from analysis and data planning right through to testing and configuration, highlights a multitude of skills and a dedication to following a project through.
Tell me about a project you’re proud of.
This is a chance to showcase not only your practical skills, but your passion for the work you do too. Use the STAR technique to show yourself off as a problem solver. Describe a challenging professional Situation that you found yourself in, outline the Task that you were called upon to complete, detail the Action you took, and explain the positive Result that your action achieved. In an interview scenario, your work can’t speak for itself, so don’t be afraid to blow your own trumpet.
How would you describe cloud computing to a 7-year-old?
Whether you’re implementing Dynamics products for end users, or managing an organization’s in-house system, you’re inevitably going to cross paths with people who aren’t as technically savvy as you. Questions like these let interviewers see how well you communicate with others, and also help test your own understanding of technologies.
What you want to demonstrate with your answer is patience, empathy, and an ability to communicate complex technical information to people of different skill levels. Avoid anything along the lines of: “You wouldn’t understand; go catch a Pokémon or something and leave me alone”.
Best of luck in your interview – we’re sure you’ll do great! And when it comes to negotiating that all-important paycheck, our salary negotiation guide will help make sure you get the compensation you deserve.
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