A Job at Microsoft: Getting and Passing the Interview
Secret Sauces
Yes, we do stay extremely busy here at Microsoft, but I’m also an ambassador for the good things that we do here. So, I’m also always excited to help others experience what it’s like working at Microsoft and will do everything in my power to ensure qualified people get the chance.
I get asked A LOT for tips and tricks when it comes to getting an interview and then doing well in the interview process. I’m always happy and available to discuss this one-on-one, but there are also those that aren’t quite comfortable reaching out like that.
Finding the right opportunity
Don’t make locating an opportunity at Microsoft a stressful event. It may be your goal to work at Microsoft, but you need to let the right opportunity surface. You need to let things work themselves out. That’s not to say you should hold out for the perfect job because - I hate to break it to you - there is no such thing.
My personal goal in my roles at Microsoft is always to get closer and closer to being 100% Rod Trent. I started as a field agent to get my foot in the door, then moved on to a couple more roles to where I am now. Each role took me a few steps closer to more fully utilizing my entire skillset. Throughout my career, I’ve acquired many skills and experiences some of which I’m still not utilizing in my current role. For example, I’ve owned, operated and sold companies; I’ve managed large teams; I’ve invented and run large conferences; I’ve worked in marketing; etc., etc., etc. I may never do any of those things again at Microsoft. Some of those things I may never want to do again. Even though I continue to work to get to 100%, I feel accomplished and happy with the opportunities in my current role and I’m probably at 85%.
I say that to say this, don’t be afraid of taking a role just to get your foot in the door. Joining Microsoft in a role that puts you at about 60% is perfect. But don’t settle for less than that. 60% allows you to bring many of your existing skillsets, but also bring incentive to continue improvement. You don’t want a role at Microsoft where you’ll be unhappy. Take your career experiences and your skills and identify those areas that you’d love to keep doing.
Take this information and head out to https://careers.microsoft.com, search the roles that have those keywords in them, and then set up an alert so that you’re notified regularly for any new roles that come available. You can get as granular as you need in the search results before turning on an alert for a specific role type.
Getting the interview
In most cases, getting an interview at Microsoft is no different than any other company: you need to know someone and allow that someone to be your advocate to the recruiters, to the hiring manager, and to the interviewers.
As you can imagine with a company the size of Microsoft, the bulk of the recruiting process is outsourced. So, the initial steps to identify top candidates’ resumes go through a generic process to identify relevant candidates. And a lot of times the process gets it wrong. You may be the most skilled and deserving person in the world, but if you are terrible at writing resumes you can think twice about getting past the initial barrier.
My resume was on the junk pile until I reached out to a couple people at Microsoft who I had known for years. One of those people was so upset that I wasn’t going to at least get an interview, he threatened to quit. Just a day later, I started receiving calendar invites for my scheduled interviews.
Hopefully, your advocate won’t have to do anything so drastic, but it’s important to understand how effective an advocate really is. You need someone in your corner willing to make the recommendations. This person can do things like send recommendations directly to the hiring manager to help get your resume moved to the top of the stack and even discuss your abilities with the interviewers.
Again, using your network is key to getting an interview.
During the interview
Most of the interviews are with three different interviewers, each with their own style, questions, and approach. The interviews are scheduled around both yours and the interviewers’ schedules. Sometimes, all three interviews could be the same day. Sometimes, those are stretched out over a week or so.
Here’s some tips of how to prepare for the interviews:
During the interview, it’s OK (and expected) to admit if you don’t know something, or…
Admit you know a little about it (i.e., “I’m vaguely familiar”) from your own professional experiences but are happy to learn the Microsoft way of doing it.
Get across that you are an avid, hungry learner and can ramp up quickly.
For many, it’s tough to “brag” on themselves so be prepared to exhibit your experience and knowledge through your real-world situations, showing how you approached something and how it was resolved effectively.
Don’t be afraid to talk about situations that provided opportunities for learning, i.e., those times your efforts actually failed but it allowed you to pivot, readjust your approach, and how you applied changes to be successful the next time.
There might be some questions on how you approach inclusiveness in working with customers, partners, and colleagues. Be prepared to provide your own examples.
There are no trick questions, despite what you might have heard. Just be open and honest with your responses.
The three interviewers will approach the role from three different perspectives, usually business, technical, and social.
After the interview
Follow up! Follow up with the recruiter, with the interviewers (if possible), but most definitely follow-up with your advocate. I know there are some that have a sense of fear of bothering others by following up too often or too quickly. You must follow-up. It’s appreciated and expected.
Even after all of this, not getting hired is not the end of the world. And DON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY. There are many reasons for not getting an offer that have absolutely nothing to do with you. I’ve seen many roles given to someone internally or someone from another team at the last second because of a reorg or budget adjustments. Most times, it’s not you - it’s us.
But you now have the experience of the Microsoft recruitment process under your belt, and you have made new contacts through the process. Keep those Microsoft career site alerts in place, keep applying to new roles, and keep reaching out to your advocates.
[Want to discuss this further? Hit me up on Twitter or LinkedIn]
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