Dear JobsBlog: I've done it before, and I've seen it in virtually every resume that I come across. But let’s put the question to rest. What is your take on the famous "list of skills" like: "Programming lauguages: C#, Java, C++ Software Design: UML, Merise Services and Hosting: Web Services, WCF, OData, Windows Azure platform." Are they always good, always bad, or "it depends"? Should this list be included on a resume? If so, why? Thanks in advance!

-List of Skills

Dear List: As a Developer or Engineer, your main skill or trade is your ability to code, build, ship, optimize, test, and solve problems.  As recruiters we review a lot of resumes and  appreciate it when you include the arsenal of technical skills you have with regards to specific programming languages, database experience, and other tools/technologies.  So yes, you should include this information. With one caveat: what we don’t want to see are technologies listed you barely have experience with.  If you’ve used XML once and aren’t well versed in it, it is better to leave it off your resume. Anything you list is fair game to call out during a technical interview/screen.  It doesn’t bode well to list things you aren’t very familiar with. We know you have a lot to offer and that you have broad technical ability but we want it to be clear to us what you have done and what your areas of strengths are technically. For example, by your skills list alone we can tell if you’re a hard core Microsoft technologies engineer, someone who fully immersed in the mobile world, a UI Developer, or someone who is focused on the LAMP stack. 

Beyond technical skills, if you have a strong ability or domain expertise in an area please call that out.  Without clearly listing this, we won’t know what your expertise is in, what jobs might best suited for you, and better yet what your technical background looks like.  Also if you have special skills such as experience with R, machine learning, data mining, Hadoop, or MapReduce to name a few, we would love to be able to see these skills listed clearly.  Writing a resume is not an easy or quick task however erring on the side of simplicity, getting straight to the point about what your contribution was for each job, and clearly citing your strong ability in certain technical areas is probably your safest bet. A resume is supposed to summarize your skills and experience on paper, it’s job is to get you that phone screen and interview.  Help us understand you on paper and get you to the next step in finding your new career.

Good luck!
Eugenia

Geek in question: Steve Kaplan

Job title: Program Manager at Microsoft India Development Center (MSIDC) in Hyderabad.

Other titles: Runner. Marathoner. The fastest engineer at the MSIDC.

Upon shipping CRM 2011, Steve Kaplan sat at his desk at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond pondering his next step. A few months later, he logged in from his new desk at Microsoft’s India Development Center (MSIDC) in Hyderabad.

Although working and living on the other side of the planet, Steve took with him his passion for adventure, technology and hardcore distance running.  He also took a passion to learn from India and his new co-workers.

I spoke with Steve via Lync to find out why he made this move and what makes him tick.

Did you always know you wanted to work for Microsoft?
Growing up, I was always passionate about technology and Microsoft software was always in my house. As a teenager, I read every book by Bill Gates and thought that working at Microsoft sounded cool.

How did you first start working here?
During my junior year at Carnegie Mellon, I did an internship at MSN Money. It was an amazing experience. I got to build real things and ship a real product. I had an offer to come back again as an intern, but instead I went to Salesforce.com for my next summer to work in their Professional Services group. I wanted to try something different while the stakes were still low.

I learned a lot there too, but also decided that I most wanted to build products. Microsoft was and is really one of the best places for a grad to be an engineer, particularly as a PM. You truly learn how to ship large software at scale. Just as McKinsey might be like finishing school for business types, Microsoft is the same for software nerds.

Tell us about your first role at Microsoft and how it led you to India.
I started as a full-time employee in the CRM product group in 2008. I worked on the team for 3 years and got a ton out of the experience – learning, learning, learning. But after 3 years and shipping CRM 2011, I was ready for a change.

Half of our team was based in Hyderabad and after meeting some of the team who were visiting Redmond, I got the idea that I would like to work as an engineer in India.

What was it that drew you to India in particular?
I’ve always been fascinated by India  – it is the world’s largest democracy and has such rich cultural history. At the same time, I was also looking to work outside of my normal comfort zone – as that’s when I have some of the most interesting experiences.

What was the process of getting the job and moving?
I met with the Group Program Manager from Hyderabad while he was in Redmond and interviewed then. He was interested, so I did a field trip to India for two weeks to try to wrap my head around what I was about to do.

I decided to go for it. Microsoft was extremely supportive in terms of logistics. They shipped all of my stuff. I had a stipend for relocation expenses and even a relocation consultant. The consultant helped me to get the lay of the land, including a car, apartment and a driver. Incredibly, this made it possible for me to be in the office and getting stuff done on day one.

How does working at MSIDC compare to working in Redmond?
As someone who grew up in the US, there is so much wild stuff happening here in India that work is actually the most familiar thing to me. From the physical campus to the work culture, it is very similar to Redmond. Specifically at MSIDC, it is amazing to see the deep engineering contribution teams are making to several Microsoft products from CRM to Office to Bing. MSIDC is truly a key location in Microsoft’s global shared development strategy.

And you’ve continued your outside-of-work interests in India too?
Running has always been a passion of mine and I’ve brought that with me, even to India. I’ve been training five to six days a week. I recently ran the Hyderabad Marathon, traveled to Berlin for another and am now competing in all of the major distance races in India. I just completed the Mumbai Marathon this past weekend and finished 6th in the open race.

Since I’ve been in India, I’ve met a lot of local runners online. And through them I’ve figured out times and places to run. It is important to go early in the morning here before it gets too hot and the streets get too crowded or noisy.  This actually forces me to be much more disciplined about my running and I have to say that I think I am in the best running shape of my life.

Do you meet other North Americans who have moved to India to work in tech?
I’m surprised that there aren’t more young people doing something like this, especially considering all that is happening in India. I think this is really an amazing opportunity.

What’s next?
China? Maybe.  I love that I can work in different countries and get these experiences all within Microsoft while still being focused on building the best products.

 

Inspired by Steve's story? Here are the top engineering positions open at MSIDC. Take a look. You might be suprised at what you find!

Group Program Manager, Microsoft Office Division 

Principal Test Manager, Microsoft Office Division
 
User Experience Manager, Microsoft Office Division

User Experience Designer, Bing 

Test Manager, Online Services Division  

Senior Test Lead, Windows 

Senior Development Lead, Microsoft Business Solutions 

Partner Director SDE, Server & Tools Business

Partner Development Manager, Server & Tools Business 

I've got good news for International job seekers interested in Microsoft software development opportunities, but not ready to relocate Stateside: we have jobs in the places you live!
 
This is the first in a series to showcase some of our global development centers and development teams. They are working on a wide variety of different technology and products with the team sizes range from big to small. The one thing that they all have in common is that they have huge impact on products that are used around the world. I'm looking forward to sharing the interviews and pictures from these places around the world.
 

So keep an eye on JobsBlog for my posts over the next months as we go around the world  - meeting the people who build the software we use. Our first stop next week will be in Oslo, Norway.
 
In the meantime, for a listing of all of our development opportunities – visit the below links.  There may not be openings right now in all of these locations, but join the Talent Network and get notified as opportunities become available within your location and technology interests.
 

Canada:  Click Here
China:  Click Here
Europe:  Click Here
India:  Click Here
Israel:  Click Here
Japan:  Click Here
For all other positions and locations:  Click Here
 
Thanks all – hope this helps you find that job you’ve been looking for….it is possibly closer to home then you thought!
 
-Anne

Sometimes we get questions that even our expert staff needs a little extra help answering. We are very lucky that we have so many talented recruiters at Microsoft to draw from. Today we have a special guest post from Joe Wallis who agreed to help us out with this question from a reader.

Dear JobsBlog: I will finish my degree in Information Technology in a few months. Technically, I am inexperienced in the job market, but I have 11 years of experience in the Air Force. During those years I've set up SharePoint portal pages, developed databases, managed accounts etc. Basically, I've worked on computer systems and programs with no real focus but to "get the job done". My question is how do I use those skills I picked up in the military to make me appeal more to hiring managers, specifically Microsoft? - Very Eager Technologist

Dear V.E.T. - That is a great question and we appreciate your interest in Microsoft. First of all, thank you for your service and Microsoft wishes you the best of luck in your career search!

As you finish your degree in Information Technology and with your computer systems background in the Air Force, Microsoft is a great place to leverage your skills and a company that values your experience. Microsoft has a specific military/veteran recruiting program called Militay2Microsoft. We use the tagline “We Still Serve”. A great place to start engaging our program is at our website, www.westillserve.com. Our site has several functions that can assist in finding the right opportunities to match your experience. We have a MOS/AFSC/NEC decoder tool that will present you with open positions at Microsoft that best match your military specialty.

Every Friday afternoon between 12 and 3 PM PST, you can chat with veterans at Microsoft through our website and find out how they made their transition to Microsoft. Veterans representing our internal Microsoft Military Community are available to answer your questions concerning a career at Microsoft.

Our website also has a function to join our Talent Network and set up a search agent that will email you open positions that match your experience at whatever frequency you want. This is set up with keyword entries and is a great way see where your skills currently match to Microsoft open positions. I would also recommend you follow our social media sites at LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Our social pages are all named “We Still Serve” and can be found on our website.

As our program presents numerous well qualified veterans to our staffing organization and our internal Military Microsoft community advocates within their businesses for veterans, hiring managers are becoming well aware of the great skills and experience our veterans bring to Microsoft. Again, good luck in your career search and we look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

Joe

Geek in question: Shannon Loftis

Job title: Studio Head – Good Science Studio

Shannon Loftis can barely walk ten steps on campus without someone waving to her, saying hello or shouting her name. Since starting as a temp at Microsoft in 1992, Shannon has spent almost 20 years rising through the ranks of gaming and making more than a few friends and admirers along the way.

As the head of the company’s prestigious Good Science Studio, her team was tasked with creating the original games for Xbox Kinect. Good Science’s first release was Kinect Adventures, which shipped with every first-generation Kinect.

I met up with Shannon to find out the secret of her ongoing success in one of the most desirable and competitive areas in the tech industry.

How did you get your start in gaming?
In the mid 90s, I was doing database design and project management for Microsoft. The story I heard was that Bill Gates was really into playing online bridge and decided that we should have a version of the game on the then-emerging technology of MSN.

I came to games to work on that project, which evolved into a virtual card table, which evolved into an online gaming service, which evolved into a lot of other new things. At the same time, Microsoft was ramping up in sports games, flight simulation games, and was inventing new ways of PC gaming.

You must have seen gaming change quite a bit since then.
Gaming is big business these days. It is huge compared to other types of entertainment - even movies. The industry has a lot of creative brilliance and with Kinect we are really pushing the boundaries of technology. The technology is just so much more powerful now, and we can do so much more for people.

While some people dismiss gaming as too violent or just for kids, there is much more to it than that. It’s critical work. Entertainment is a fundamental human need, and gaming is a great way to give people a moment of pleasure and enjoyment in an otherwise stressful day. Life gets faster and faster paced and interactive entertainment is a great release.

There are a lot of other game studios out there. Why have you stayed with Microsoft?
I fell in love with the culture and still find it intoxicating that everyone around is so smart and is somebody you can learn from.

That and Microsoft’s huge range of opportunities. You never find yourself at a dead end here. There’s always something new and exciting and the company keeps evolving. For example, it is the only company that could pull off something like Kinect.

How did Good Science start?
A bunch of people started working on Kinect when it was still “Project Natal” back at the end of ‘08. All that we had at that point was a rudimentary camera duct-taped to a very expensive PC with a high-end graphics card. It was up to us to turn that into a consumer-friendly product.

I was working for Microsoft in the United Kingdom at the time and the company asked me to move back to Redmond to start Good Science in ‘09. Our goal was to figure out what kinds of experiences were best to introduce Kinect to the world.

And how did you structure the studio?
Good Science bridges the gap between incubation and research. The goal was to make a team of flexible creative generalists. We wanted to find the best way to introduce the world to full-body, no controller gaming and no-barriers UI. Hence, Kinect Adventures. And we’ve got some great new stuff in store too.

How many people work at the studio?
The size of Good Science is wildly variable as it expands and contracts depending on the projects at hand. At the smallest it can be 45 people and at the largest it is about 75.

So, it’s like its own startup within Microsoft?
Microsoft is a fairly fractal company, so teams must know how to stand on their own. Good Science has a ton of creative freedom, like a startup, but we’re able to tackle big challenges and boldly move forward with the support of Microsoft.

Unlike a lot of startups, we have the focus and depth to make really big bets.

Did you know right away that you were onto something huge with Kinect?
We had lots of challenges to overcome but knew pretty quickly that what we had was magic. Seeing the crowd reaction when we showed it off at E3 in 2009 was one of the most exciting experiences of my life.

Do you plan to stay in gaming for the rest of your career?
It’s likely too late for me to cure cancer or go the moon, so this is still my shot at deep, fulfilling work.

Kinect is already profound and will be even more so in the future. For example: there is a Kinect “hack,” Jewel Mine, that helps rehabilitate people who have had strokes as the interactive movements can repair neural damage.

This is all just the start. I look forward to being along for the journey.

A few months ago we published a brief story on a contest we were running at Microsoft that challenged our employees to tell us why they loved working here in a video of 10 seconds. 10 seconds is not so much time when you think about it. But our US winners were impressive in their creativity.

The contest was also run with our offices globally and we now have the exclusive video from the international winners. Check out the moving, hair raising, and downright heart felt submissions by the winners from our offices around the world. Congratulations!

After viewing the films, take a moment to customize your job search experience with us! You can sign up for individualized job agents and be notified of upcoming events. It only takes a few minutes and it's all here right now!

Emel Ozturk - Microsoft Dubai

Leo Shum - Microsoft China 

Basar Guner - Microsoft Istanbul

Jason Pankow is a regular contributor to Dear JobsBlog, but that's just in his spare time. His real job is devoted to searching the world over for top technical talent - most recently as part of Kinect for Windows. Jason took a few minutes to write about his new recruiting gig with this group at Microsoft. The stuff they are working on is pretty unreal. But don't take my word for it. Just read what he has to say...then see if you or someone you know is ready to take on a new career challenge in 2012!

About 2 months ago, I started supporting the Kinect for Windows team. At first I was unsure what to expect. Kinect was launched to change the way people play games and experience entertainment. How would that translate to Windows? I honestly had no clue. Here is what I have learned about the innovative and highly gifted Kinect for Windows (K4W) team and the product they’re developing. 

The release of Kinect for Xbox in late 2010 not only resulted in a Guinness World Record being set for the “fastest selling consumer electronics device,” but it lit a fire of innovation. Technology savvy consumers and developers quickly saw the advantages of using Kinect to interact with computers using simple gestures, voice commands, and movement.

The transformative powers and limitless possibilities of Kinect became known as the Kinect Effect.

From around the world, people were using Kinect in ways never before imagined. Recognizing this enthusiasm and energy, Microsoft formed the Kinect for Windows group. K4W is a fast growing team that is building the hardware, software, tools and resources to enable the use of Kinect beyond gaming and entertainment. The team has already launched two beta versions of a non-commercial software development kit (SDK) and will be releasing version 1.0 hardware and software in early 2012.

Lead by Craig Eisler, formerly the Corporate Vice President for Entertainment Clients and the Zune Music and Video Business, Kinect for Windows has the passion, drive, and resourcefulness of a startup while being part of a well-established Microsoft business group. The team has grown rapidly and WE’RE STILL GROWING!

We are actively looking for people with diverse backgrounds and experiences to join the team!

What does it take to succeed in the Kinect for Windows group? I asked Craig who explained, “We’re seeking people who embrace constant innovations and welcome the opportunity to become a part of the journey. As a new group, team members must have the flexibility to accept new challenges and branch into areas that have yet to be defined.”

So…is this you? Currently, the team is hiring software development engineers and technical program managers. Engineer roles are available for a range of skills and experience levels including system development for audio and graphics systems, building and executing automated and manual test plans, and developing SDKs and UI frameworks. 

Check out our latest Kinect for Windows job openings for full details on what kinds of qualifications we’re seeking. 

Microsoft encourages our employees, partners and customers to “Be What’s Next". The breakthrough natural user interface (NUI) platform being developed and evangelized by the Kinect for Windows team isn’t just on the cutting edge of technology…it is what’s next!

In early 2012, the Kinect for Windows commercial program will launch -- ushering in the use of Kinect-enabled devices in education, healthcare, automotive, retail, and more. This program will also increase the need for people of varying viewpoints, ready to lay the groundwork to enable businesses and industries to utilize the many capabilities of Kinect software, hardware, and resources to create innovative, highly interactive applications and experiences for their customers. 

If you are a techy geek like me (and I suspect you are or you wouldn’t be reading this post) keep your eye on the Kinect for Windows team.

Think you’re up for the challenge? Feel free to apply and find out.

Hello Dear JobsBlog Readers,
 
We are rounding out an amazing year of growth, loss, and change in the world of technology. As a part of the people that make up this workforce, I wanted to reflect on 2011 and starting 2012 - another year full of possibilities and products. 

As citizens of the high technology world, this is a chance to think about what you will do in the New Year and what part you will play:

1. Recommit yourself to your job. Maybe you have been thinking the grass is greener but are generally happy with your job. Either recommit yourself to your job – doing the best work possible with a positive attitude -  or recommit yourself to finding a job that will get you to do your best work with the best possible attitude. Sometimes the grass isn’t always greener and I think as a whole we need to be thankful for what we have been blessed with. This is a trait often forgotten in this world of tumultuous talent change. If you’re not there personally, you can take steps to get there.

2. Keep yourself marketable. Complacency is another thing that is so easy to fall into. As we all know the economy is something that is uncertain. Equip yourself with what you need to be marketable – a class, a programming language, a mentor. You know you’re marketable when you meet the requirements for jobs you are interested in and get job interviews and offers if you choose to take it that far. Don’t let comfort and loads of work block you from taking care of yourself and your future.

3. Choose your attitude – I hinted about this earlier. Your attitude towards life and work – you control it and it controls the outcome of your work, job, and sometimes life. I’m not saying to view the world with rose colored glasses but be aware that you control your happiness. Sometimes keeping up with Joneses and getting to the next level are not what you are really looking for. Reexamine what your top priorities are and reinvest your time, energy, and attitude to those things.

Here’s to a happy and successful New Year and may 2012 bring you and your families’ great joy, hope, and true happiness.

-Eugenia