Good news for those who missed out last time: the Second Shot promotion is back!  This means you have no excuses delaying on that next Microsoft Certification.  Register at the link below, because it’s always good to keep that voucher number handy.

Second Shot landing page http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/offers/secondshot/default.mspx

Full [...]]]>

Some mornings you probably will need that Second Shot.

Good news for those who missed out last time: the Second Shot promotion is back!  This means you have no excuses delaying on that next Microsoft Certification.  Register at the link below, because it’s always good to keep that voucher number handy.

Second Shot landing page
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/offers/secondshot/default.mspx

Full message from Microsoft:

Our Second Shot offer, which gives you a free second chance to pass your IT professional, developer, or Microsoft Dynamics exam, is available again to help you show off your industry-leading IT skills with less stress. Second Shot helps you get certified. We are pleased to make it available to you once again with the help of our worldwide test delivery partner, Prometric. Follow these steps to certify your skills on Microsoft’s latest technologies–the Visual Studio 2008 development system, the Windows Server 2008 operating system, or the Windows Vista operating system, for example–with a free second chance to pass your exam if you need it.

Thanks to ‘Second Shot’, I was able to try my luck again without consequences. I was glad [...]]]> Huzzah! I passed my CRM 4.0 Applications exam today with flying colors this time!  I’m feeling as elated as Spain winning the Euro 2008 Cup yesterday… minus the jubilation of the whole country, but I’m working on it.

Thanks to ‘Second Shot’, I was able to try my luck again without consequences. I was glad to have had the opportunity to take it at least once before, to get familiar with the exam questions and get a feel for what the test writers were looking for.

So to assist you in your quest for certification, I’ve outlined five tips that will help narrow down your choices when taking the Applications exam.

5 tips to help pass some questions on the CRM 4.0 MB2-632 exam

• There is no drag-and-drop functionality in CRM 4.0.  That would be a nice feature to add to the future CRM 5.0, though!
• Each single Marketing List can only contain one type of record/entity.  So if you’re planning a Marketing Campaign that will include Accounts, Contacts and Leads, you will need to add at least three separate Marketing Lists to the Marketing Campaign.
• Relationship Roles in CRM 4.0 are very useful for defining relationships that are not so cut-and-dried.  You’ll probably see Relationship Roles come up a few times in the exam.
• Ask yourself what types of CRM records are synchronized with the Outlook Client, and how to create new records from there.
  Also figure out what records are related and available to each entity.  An example: you wouldn’t go to an Opportunity record to find related Cases.
• Find out how the Service Scheduler shows or does not show conflicts in the Service Calendar.

Hopefully with these tips, you’ll share the glory too… at least in the Dynamics world. 

Good luck!

However, time is running out.  It appears I need to register and take my second exam before June 30th, when the Second Shot voucher expires.  Needless [...]]]> As I mentioned in a previous post, bummer on my first CRM exam.  Luckily I had registered for the Second Shot promotion, which allows me to take it again for free.

However, time is running out.  It appears I need to register and take my second exam before June 30th, when the Second Shot voucher expires.  Needless to say, I’m registering today, whether I’m ready or not!

Links

• Second Shot Offer Homepage [microsoft.com]
• Second Shot Offer FAQ’s [microsoft.com]
• Contact Prometric – North America [prometric.com]

Some Questions and Answers from the FAQ page are below.

Q. What is the timeframe for taking my first exam and then retaking that same exam if I do not pass on the first try?
A. If you registered for the Second Shot offer before May 31, 2008, and have an exam voucher, you have until June 30, 2008, to complete your first exam or any retakes of exams you did not pass.

Q. Did I need to register for this offer before I took my initial certification exam?
A. Yes, you needed to register for the Second Shot offer on the Microsoft Web site to receive your free exam voucher by May 31, 2008. If you registered for the Second Shot offer before May 31 and have an exam voucher, you have until June 30, 2008, to complete your first exam and any retakes of exams that you did not pass.

Q. Can I call the call or test center toll-free?
A. The call is toll-free in some countries and regions. In some countries and regions, a fee is required for the call.

Lately I’ve figured the new tricky CRM 4.0 exams deserved their own lolcat picture (right). Luckily, I’ve found some study resources that may help for my Second Shot exam.

In a slightly hidden section on the PartnerSource website are links to download the Student [...]]]>

NOTE: Due to several requests for the guides, I’ve made them available on SkyDrive.

Lately I’ve figured the new tricky CRM 4.0 exams deserved their own lolcat picture (right). Luckily, I’ve found some study resources that may help for my Second Shot exam.

In a slightly hidden section on the PartnerSource website are links to download the Student Manuals for the CRM 4.0 certification exams. Obviously they don’t give any questions away, but they do provide good guidelines on what to expect. Unfortunately, you will need a PartnerSource login to access these links.

Good luck on your exam!

Links to the downloads in PartnerSource (login required)

• MB2-632: Applications in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 – Student Manual (PDF, 2.3MB)
  
• MB2-631: Customization and Configuration for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Exam – Student Manual (PDF, 7.3MB)
  
• MB2-633: Installation and Deployment for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Exam – Student Manual (PDF, 3.6MB)