Hiring: How to assess a Microsoft Dynamics NAV job candidate in an interview

Any job interview is an individual process that is based on the circumstances and the candidate. For a job focused on Microsoft Dynamics NAV, the process will depend on the role you are offering and the required level of product knowledge. For instance, a support consultant may not need to have in-depth knowledge about Fixed Assets (but a motivation to find a solution should exist). For a person who will participate in  a role which influences the future of company processes, I recommend that the candidate have a strong background in many areas of the product.

The answers to each set of NAV-related interview questions can be evaluated much like any others. Common sense and a sixth sense for parsing the candidate's answers are particularly helpful. It is important to have a couple of questions in your pocket for which you already know the correct answer before asking.

The warm-up: Basic questions

Basic questions should help to evaluate whether the candidate's NAV background covers the needs of your role. One of my favourite questions is which modules the candidate feels most comfortable with. Most consultants and developers do cover modules which they specialize in only. This could be Finance, Sales and Marketing, Purchasing, Warehouse, Manufacturing, or others.

Based on your individual utilization of NAV, you may be looking for a candidate who has experience in a module which is in use the most in your company. Or, in case you are planning to integrate an external web service, then experience with SOAP or REST is a big plus. If you have the impression that the candidate sounds like they are reading ...