I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Cobalt
Interview
My interview process at Cobalt was very comprehensive but it went smoothly and HR was very communicative throughout. The whole process is 4 rounds of interviews, where 3 of 4 are pretty standard interviews and one is a demo/presentation. The first interview was an HR phone screen to make sure you meet basic qualifications. The second interview was with the Director of Consulting and is a 30 minute video interview. This was a pretty standard interview, where they asked about my background, qualifications, and why I was interested in the position but it was pretty conversational - not reading off of a script. The third interview is a demo/presentation of the Microsoft product that Cobalt uses. If you have experience with this product, this portion of the interview should not be too difficult but still requires a few hours of preparation. I did not have experience with this product and thus spent many hours learning about the product before the demo. The demo is followed with some time for questions - most of these questions were not technical or related to the product, but rather how you arrived at your answers and what resources were used to prepare. It felt like this portion of the interview was very important for them to determine how you work, learn, and respond to ambiguous requirements. This is also important for candidates to assess whether they enjoy working with the product. The final interview was the following day and was pretty lighthearted, mostly just answering any final questions and tying up loose ends. I was provided an offer during this interview.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What resources did you use to prepare for the demo?
I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Cobalt (Crystal City, VA)
Interview
The interview process at Cobalt consisted of an initial application, a general interview, a presentation to the company about Dynamics 365 CRM, a showcase of how to use the Dynamics 365 CRM software to the company, a short follow-up interview, and a final conversation about culture and questions. Cobalt will also have you take a personality test and provide your college transcripts. The may still have a noncompete to sign as well.
I had a pleasant experience with the interview process with Cobalt. The initial interview with the Directory of Consulting was very professional, but had a personal touch. The preparation needed for a joint presentation and showcase interview was quite difficult, but I cared about the role and put some of that on myself. It also helped prepare me for some of the work I experience at Cobalt now. That interview was the main portion of this process and it lasted 1.5-2 hours. The rest of the process was fairly smooth. I had mixed initial feelings about the various individuals I met with, but I felt optimistic about the culture and core values at Cobalt. I have been happy at Cobalt since accepting the offer.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
(After the showcase of Dynamics 365 performed by the interviewee to Cobalt): Do you think that Dynamics CRM can help businesses?
I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Cobalt (Alexandria, VA) in Dec 2014
Interview
I found Cobalt through a Microsoft recruiting agency. Allison from the HR department contacted me to handle scheduling. There were two interviews and two assessments. The first interview was a phone call with the hiring manager and Allison (who remained pretty quiet), and involved basic interview questions involving topics like experience and goals. I think it lasted around 20 minutes. I asked for some materials around position levels. Allison provided this information within a couple days. I think that is when I was sent an online, timed assessment made up of situational questions. The timed element for this was a little stressful. Cobalt reached out to schedule the second interview within a week. The second interview was at Cobalt's office. Allison provided a schedule and list of interviewers. Interviewers included the hiring manager, the development director and the support manager (these two interviewed me together and had a "good cop/bad cop" vibe going), and the CEO. The CEO's questions were "tougher" than interview questions I've been asked in the past. I think this interview lasted around 2 hours. Allison reached out within (I think) a week to schedule an in-person assessment where I demoed a CRM administrative process. The assessment instructions were clear, resources were provided for preparation, and the demo was limited to 30 minutes. Attendees included all of the interviewers. Questions and answers occurred after the assessment, and lasted for maybe 20 minutes (max). After some back and forth with my recruiter, they made an offer within my desired salary range. The offer was made within a couple days of the last assessment. Overall: informative, professional, efficient, positive experience, with a healthy dose of interview/assessment stress on my part.