Microsoft's JobsBlog

As a soon-to-be graduate this is the toughest process I have ever been through.  I want so badly to work at Microsoft and feel I would fit right into the community.  It is hard to include everything on a resume to maximize my chances of being contacted for a position because my background is so diverse.  It is tough to sit and let my abilities be judged by my resume and not by actually meeting recruiters face-to-face.  I guess that's what I get for being an extrovert and I'm sure there are many other people out there like myself just wiggling in anticipation.

I trust the recruiters at Microsoft as they have obviously done an outstanding job, but being on the other end of the system is quite nerve wracking.

Eric - I don't think this whole process is really unique to Microsoft. As someone close to your position  (soon to be out of college, looking for internships/jobs) the entire system of recruitment and job placement is nerve-racking for us because, well, it is our lives and futures on the line! The recruiters at Microsoft have it even worse because they each receive hundreds (even thousands) of resumes a day. Everyone wants to work for the best companies, with the best benifits and the best pay. Everyone thinks that they could (or should) have a shot, and everyone is nervous and sometime impatient because as I said before, it is our lives and our future.

The best you can do is shoot for the companies you want to work for and apply to some you would be willing to work for. Do some research, talk to some friends and see if there are some companies that maybe you hadn't thought of that wouldn't be so bad. Just like when you were applying to college you did not send your application only to Harvard and then die in anticipation to hear back from them. You sent your application to a number of schools, hoping for the best, planning for the tollerable and praying that you didn't end up at the worst. I don't think the internship/job hunt is any better, unfortunetly.

Francesco

I was hired by MS to work in Redmond (I am in India). I have been waiting for a while to get an h1B now.. but this year ther eis a lottery with a 50% chance of not getting the visa.

What does MS typically do in such a situation?

all this sounds like MS is God and we are mere mortals waiting to get closer to God and have nothing else to do in life.....Yes, there is somebody known as God, but somebody else...

Hi. I wonder what I should do?

I was interviewed in Moscow in February and I was told in the results that Microsoft cannot offer me anything now but that I was very very close and that I should come to interviews that were going to be held in Moscow in May.

I asked for details a couple of times, via emails to both Holly and the recruiter that communicated to me before the interviews and there were no replies :( Do I wait or chase? ;)

What happens if a candidate is unsuccessful in the initial phone interview? Does the candidate still have a chance to get another interview after 6 months with the same resume?

I was asked to come to Redmond for interviews, which was a success. However there was no h1b left (last year). My recruiter told me to contact her back this year but I found out she no longer works for MS. When contacting the group director whom which I interviewed with, he told me that the only way is to work 1 year at a Local Microsoft branch and after one year (if the job will still be open) move to Redmond.

Some say 3rd time everything works (specially products), I will keep you posted.

I was asked to come to Redmond for interviews, which was a success. However there was no h1b left (last year). My recruiter told me to contact her back this year but I found out she no longer works for MS. When contacting the group director whom which I interviewed with, he told me that the only way is to work 1 year at a Local Microsoft branch and after one year (if the job will still be open) move to Redmond.

Some say 3rd time everything works (specially products), I will keep you posted.

Very strange --- but I keep getting "contract for hire" interview calls from second or third party contractors/consultant groups that work directly with Microsoft.  Unless it's a one or two day gig, I have no desire to work for one of Microsoft's outside employment contractors -- even if the position is directly at Microsoft. I would prefer to just work for the company directly.  

After talking with recruiters from these various consulting/contracting groups, mainly from the Pacific Northwest area, the pay/benefits are terrible compared to what MS typically offers.  Most of the position titles (Program Manager, Product Managers, Technical Trainer, Etc.) are the same positions being advertised on Microsoft's career website.  

If these 'contractors' are noticing my resume via careerbuilder.com, monster.com, etc., and Microsoft is willing to pay almost double for their services versus just hiring me directly,  how come Microsoft recruiters are not noticing my resume on their microsoft.com/careers page after roughly 300 resume submissions for the same or similar positions?   Do these second/third party contractors have access to resumes on your career site?

I am happy where I am at in my career field, but would love the opportunity to use my technical background in a company such as Microsoft.  Similiar companies, I feel, do a better job at viewing prospective employee resumes and at least let us know if we are a worthy canidate (I give kudos to Starbucks and Google's HR systems).  Perhaps this is something MS needs to look into -- a more timely matter on communicating on the status of our resume submissions (vs. just saying 'Not Available' in your resume submissions area of the Career page)?    

Who knows ... maybe in a year or two, I might win the MS Career page lottery like Noah Spitzer-Williams; http://blogs.msdn.com/jobsblog/archive/2007/02/19/meet-noah-spitzer-williams-a-candidate-who-emerged-from-the-never-ending-black-hole.aspx;

and be selected!    

hey someguy..

there is a group for ppl like us:

http://groups.google.com/group/Microsofties2b?hl=en

Hi jenna,

I understand the situation there recruiters are in is very difficult. I guess you guys receive hundreds of resumes everyday, if not thousands. So you might miss few people and those guys will never hear about anything. In that case I suggest candidates should keep on applying until he/she gets noticed.

But as a candidate I would prefer that, if my resume was being looked at but I am not the perfect guy for the job, then I should hear atleast 'No' or a 'Wait' from a recruiter, rather than just silence. Otherwise I would think that I am not being noticed and keep on sending resumes and might be creating bad impression to the recruiter.

Now this is out of this topic but I was interviewed at redmond last year and got denied. Now I feel that I am ready to have one more crack at it again. Should I send my resume directly to you guys or start applying for positions on microsoft website? Also any advises for rejected guys, as I did not get any reason from my recruiter last time about my rejection and she only said that she cant disclose that information?

Thanks

Lav

I have and odd situation, my resume was referred by a friend (industry referral) and nearly instantly I recieved an email from the HC staff.

In the email I was asked to provide a series of time slots in two weeks (the actual email arrived Wednesday, April 04, 2007 01:07 pm) and a telephone number where I could be reached. As soon the email got to me I arranged my schedule and sent the time slots. The email mentioned that the recruiter would answer me in a lapse no longer than two days... two weeks later I'm still waiting for a response...(still I've written him a couple of times and no answer so far)... what's wrong?

I got a mail from staffing cons. at msft regarding a position for PM and if interested they can setup some time to talk. I mailed back showing my interest but it has been 2 days ... no reply !!! Should i call the number or wait infinitely or is this the normal process ???

@ msft_hopeful.

Do you have the name of the person that contacted you... it might be the same that contacted me

mail me at marutizen@gmail.com, i will give you the details, so that we can both see if we are in the same boat ... ("sinking"_)

probably mine is the shortest rejection .... (i should be up for a record)

1. Applied on Sun 29 April, evening on MSFT website.

2. Contacted on Monday 30 April, afternoon asking if I was interested.

3. Replied back in the evening ..... yes of course interested ...

4. Watching "silence" of the lambs since then :-)

Can i be considered as the fastest rejection, even without being interviewed !! Will it find a place in "Microness computer of records" ??? :-)

I faced a similar situation. Based on my own judgement of my interview (one has to be truthful to himself -:) ), I figured that I would have cleared the interview. This gave me extra confidence to call the recruiter and ask her for update.  As a last attempt, I sent her an email suggesting that she can tell me I am not picked if that were to be the case. She replied back saying that it is not the case.  I then figured that it is something else that is bothering her. I called her and explained her the reasons for me to receive a quick feedback. she understood that and THEN gave me the timeframe and believe it or not ... the reasons for the delay..

I am writing this post from India. I would like to say that the mode of interview does not matter here. It is the attitude of the recruiters. Unforutnately, I had a recruiter who is not truthful and I could not believe that she still works for microsoft. I cleared all my rounds of interview(she sent me emails) and was waiting for the final round. She told me that only one final round is pending. Now she tells me that I need to go through the loop again because now I am being screened for a senior position(does this mean that she did not have a clue of what position did she reocmmend me to). Recruiters are the front face of the company.

I agree that Microsoft is one of the best companies in the world. But recruiters like this lady should stop acting like a saviour of man kind.

After onsite interviews how long does it take to know hire or no hire. which comes in faster ? does no message for 3-4 days mean no hire ?