7 Unconventional tips for taking Microsoft Certification Exams in 2024

Earning a Microsoft certification requires passing its associated certification exam(s) which is no easy feat. These exams can be taken in person at a testing center, or via an online proctored exam. Proctored exams involve invigilators ensuring exams are taken under exam conditions which ensures the integrity of upholding Microsoft certifications. This can be a nerve-wracking experience especially for those who’ve never taken proctored examinations before or in a long time. Much of the common examination tips can be found on the official Microsoft Learn website such as this. In this blog, I want to cover some unconventional tips for the exams I’ve personally learned after successfully passing several Microsoft certification exams. 

Tip 1: Read the question first and scan for key information 

The first tip is probably the most conventional, but also one of the most important tips that has helped the most in every exam so far. Microsoft certification exam questions in particular like to give more information than what’s required for the answer. Therefore, if you read the entire question first before looking at the possible answers, you will waste time reading unnecessary information. 

 

Figure 1: An example of the detail asked in questions 

 

This tip is especially true for the case studies. Currently the UI for the case study section is challenging for ingesting information for a case study, as every section is individually tabbed and a top tip – only a few tabs are relevant to the actual questions! The case study material is the same for all questions; it’ll show all the same tabs for each even if they are irrelevant to the question asked. But unlike the regular questions, the information isn’t on the same page as the actual questions asked. 

 


Figure 2:
Case Study UI. Note the question is in its own tab as well 

Tip 2: Keep your exam setup as simple as possible 

This tip is applicable if you are taking the exam online, which is the common scenario these days given the convenience. 

When I first took exams, I did them at my WFH office desk which made me spend time having to clear unnecessary items then adding them back after the exam. I ended up adding significantly more time before and after doing the exam.  

Afterwards, when I realised I could find a small empty space to setup a temporary table with a laptop, charger and chair (mouse optional) was all I needed to do the exam. 

Nobody loves taking exams, so by reducing the overall time I spent on exam day it made me more motivated to do another. 

Tip 3: Use the “Review Your Answers” button on long or unsure questions 

Figure 3: At the end of each section you can see a summary of every question and whether you answered or flagged them for review. Use this to your advantage for time management 

 

A common exam problem that occurs is the dreaded “Oh wait I only have 5 minutes to answer 25 questions” problem. Examination time management is a critical skill that is true for Microsoft certification exams. 

For the most part, these are the criteria I think about on whether to check the “Review Your Answers” box: 

  • Do I have no idea what the answer is? Make a best guesstimate and move on but need to make sure I go back to this question 
  • Does this question require memorisation that I need to refer Microsoft Learn to find out? Defer to later as this will take time 
  • Do I have to think more than a few minutes to get the answer or already thought about it for a few minutes? Defer to later so I don’t run out of time 

Reviewing your previously completed questions is a time consuming task, so you don’t want to flag too many questions. If you have time, then you can go through every question afterwards to make sure you didn’t mis-click or misinterpret the question. 

Tip 4: Don’t get surprised by labs during your exam 

This tip only applies for specialty and role-based exams (Usually associate or expert level exams). 

 

Figure 4: A lab question where a VM opens to the side with instructions on the other, instructing you to complete tasks in Azure Portal 

 

Out of the 6 non-foundational Microsoft Certification Exams I’ve taken, I have not been asked to do a lab, but nonetheless being prepared to do hand-son exercises is advised.

If you can get around the Azure Portal comfortably given the content of the exam, you should be fine. Having labs included in your exam adds an extra 20 minutes to the overall examination time, so that gives you an indication of how long it takes to do the lab. 

To do practice labs before your exam, do a search on “[EXAM CODE] Labs”. For example “AZ-104 Labs” gives you as a first resource: https://microsoftlearning.github.io/AZ-104-MicrosoftAzureAdministrator/ 

I would highly recommend for practical preparation you do all the labs as listed in the Microsoft Learn, as (I’ve been told) the exam labs are very similar.

Tip 5: Carefully read the Exam Summary page before you begin your exam 

Figure 5: Two different screens of the Exam Summary. Note the second one includes Labs! 

 

This page will tell you how many questions there are, how many sections there are and if you are expected to do a Lab. This information changes for every instance of any exam. There is no time limit on each section of the exam, just a pooled time limit for the whole exam as a whole. Therefore, this is an opportunity to plan out our exam time. It shouldn’t take more than a minute to mentally plan your exam strategy. 

Tip 6: Utilise Microsoft Learn during the exam wisely 

Being able to use Microsoft Learn documentation during the exam has helped answer the question: “But in real life we’d be able to refer to the docs!” However, there are a few things to note to consider when using it as a resource during your exam given it’s time limited.

You cannot CTRL + F / search for keywords, which means you should remember Tip 1: Get good at scanning for key information. In general, if you need to look for entirely new pages you’ve never seen before on Microsoft Learn, you’ll be spending a lot of time.  

Searching via Microsoft Learn (unfortunately) includes more than just documentation and filters all content areas by default. Usually for the exam, just documentation and reference content areas are useful while the rest can bloat the suggested results.

 

Figure 6: Microsoft Learn can return a lot of results. Use filtering and specific search terms to help find the documentation you’re looking for and spend less time on Microsoft Learn 

Tip 7: There is a certification exam sandbox! 

Wondering where I got some of these screenshots despite the exam being proctored and disallowing 3rd party programs (such as screenshot tools)? 

Recently, Microsoft has released a certification exam sandbox which mimics the UI and experience of the actual exam, which you can click here and launch directly in your browser: https://aka.ms/examdemo. Use this to test the computer you are using (assuming again you are taking the exam online!) to make sure your screen is large enough. 

Conclusion 

Whether it’s your first Microsoft certification exam, or you haven’t taken one in years, there’s probably a tip or two that will help you during your next exam. Good luck to everyone taking a certification exam! 

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