Cheap Windows 7 blog how-i-got-to-microsoft-part-1

Last week, I asked you to publish links to posts you felt were the most beneficial Microsoft software and interview accounts. Thanks for the links,Windows 7 Activation, and keep them coming. I’ll post a link on my sidebar so you can reference these stories later when you need them.
I realized that Zo"e blogged about her interview experience, but I’ve never written about mine. And considering how long-winded I tend to be on here, I thought I might as well share my story, too … (Plus, I'm home sick today. I'm trolling my email,Buy Windows 7, but I don't have the concentration or energy to work on something "real." Dayquil ... mmm ... Dayquil.)
Part 1: Why I decided to apply to Microsoft …
I attended college in the late 90s <ah, those had been the days ;-)> when all the kids joined .coms after graduation, and Trilogy was the place to be. I majored in English Literature, and I intended to either attend law school or work for a magazine … so either way, the typical college career fair didn’t really make sense to me. Looking back on it, I should have attended (hell, I could have been hired in to write web content for a technical company), but I suppose I never thought that much about how you find a job. I was still used to sending hard copies of my resume to magazines and papers … only never to hear back. And my Dad, convinced his little girl would never make it on her own, was constantly setting up interviews for me for government jobs ("We have flex time! You can work 8:00 am to 5:00 pm ... OR 7:30 am to 4:30 pm ... Your choice!") and boring law firm, backroom troll sort of gigs (ok, that one I actually took. Thanks, Dad! Oh, and I did get my other internships on my own ... thank you very much.
Anyway, my bio explains that I applied to Microsoft after Josh got his job, but there’s more it than that. My motivation to work at Microsoft … and especially in Recruiting … was to affect change on what I’ve now come to call the “applicant experience.” Nobel, huh? ;-)
While in college, most of my friends were engineering students so I saw them all attend the career fairs, show up at companies’ “pizza sessions,” cut their hair for that all-important internship, and spend half of senior year flying around the country for final interviews. I noticed how some companies had great reputations on campus (nice interviewers, happy interns, informational programs, solid marketing),Cheap Windows 7, and I also saw those with less than rosy reputations (stodgy, out-of-touch interviewers, negative word-on-the-street, elitist attitudes). I have to say that Microsoft didn’t really fall into either of those camps. I remember Microsoft being thought of as a very cool and highly regarded place to work, but I wouldn’t say their treatment of my friends was without flaw. I could, however, count off so many other companies that acted in such a rude, close-minded, and short-sighted manner that it still makes my jaw drop. <But that’s another story for another time.>
When I think back on it, Microsoft only did two things to my friends that seemed really wrong … One was with Josh, when his recruiter for his internship promptly hung up the phone on him with a “good luck to you” grumble when he declined his internship offer. (She later called back to apologize and offered him another 24 hours to rethink his “poor” decision. He still declined. That other was something to do with a visa situation. When Microsoft found out that a single of my friends held a certain type of visa, they cancelled his interviews without explanation. (I now understand the immigration law behind this, and I agree with Microsoft’s decisions to cancel his interviews … but his recruiter handled it very poorly. Someone should have taken the time to explain to him what was going on.)
But the point is that five or six years later, I still remember these stories,Windows 7 Pro Product Key, and I’m sure all my other friends who might have been interested in Microsoft still do, too. You can spend all your time and energy on fancy marketing, stellar interviewer training, impressive closing packages, etc … but if you don’t treat your customers with respect, all that other stuff goes down the drain.
I saw the flip-side of Microsoft the next year when Josh interviewed for his full-time position. His recruiter was incredible. Instead of solely trying to convince him to work at Microsoft, she recognized I was a single with the biggest barriers to his acceptance so she’d work on me, too. Microsoft didn’t throw extra money or fancy gifts at Josh and me. They just paid attention to us. They listened and addressed Josh’s concerns. They treated a 22 year old kid like a mature adult. They talked about the present … but they also focused on the future. I believe it was Microsoft’s professionalism that sold Josh to come here, and I was glad to have seen two sides from the same coin. <I will say the only snag in his fulltime offer process was that he received offers from three teams, and the team that he really,Office Pro, really, really wanted to work for didn’t return his calls and emails … so I guess Visual Studio lucked out But again, that just goes to show you that treating someone with respect and paying attention to them goes a long, long way.>
After that, I was sold. I wanted to be a part with the team that found and attracted the best talent. I wanted to beat some sense into those recruiters, interviewers, and hiring managers who clearly didn’t “get it.” And I wanted to work with and learn from those who did.
So I emailed Josh’s recruiter my resume, and she promised to forward it to the “recruiter for recruiters,” whoever that was. <I'm the first to admit it helps to have a contact on the inside.>
And then I started holding my breath.
Next time …. My phone screen!
gretchen