Hello readers! I am writing this blog post from the center of the universe, New York City! I’m on a 3 week long recruiting trip (so I’m tired and full of room service food), and thus far it’s been great.  I’m meeting a lot of great candidates who hopefully can come join our team. I figured for the next few posts while I am on the road I would share some interview tips.  Be on the lookout.  As I interview candidates, it will give me inspiration.

One of the main questions I have been asked this week is “What does Microsoft look during an interview?”--- so that was something I thought I would answer. (Maybe my next interview candidates will read this first and I won’t have to answer it again :)).

I don’t think there is a specific profile of what a Microsoft employee looks like … it’s a combination of things. Here is a list of some things that I look for in candidates while they are interviewing.

1. Be Confident:  You are smart; you have experience—so show it.

2. Have Good Problem Solving Skills: Many of the questions I ask are open ended --- for instance, in an interview someone may ask you to design a cell phone for a 5 year old.  This question is meant to get you thinking---ask questions to the person who asked it.  Clarify.  We want to see how you think.  There is no right answer.  Relate these questions back to the software lifecycle (ie researching, design, testing and implementation).  Keep talking for as long as you can.  I like to see people who are really thinking and can get down to some fine details even I hadn’t thought of.

3. Know Your Resume Front to Back:  Interviewers base most of the questions on things listed on your resume.  If you have 20 different programming languages listed and you claim you are advanced in all, then be ready to answer a question on it.  If you aren’t that confident, or if you’ve only HEARD of a language and never worked in it, then list it that way or keep it off.

4. Be Honest: If you are unclear of what I am asking, then follow up.  If you are asked to code a problem in C++ and you only know Java, then let me know.  I am fine with your coding in Java.  I am trying to determine where your skill set lies, and to do that I need to see your best work.

5. Have Some Questions For Me:  Even though I have been talking for 10 hours straight, have a question ready for me when I ask at the end, “Do you have any questions?” Questions show that you are listening and taking it all in. Maybe you thought about something to ask the night before, or maybe you came up with something on the spot.  In an interview I talk about a lot of things, so I know I would have questions for me. :)

6. Enjoy Yourself: Show me your personality … it’s okay to laugh, smile, breathe.  I’m trying to get to know you and see if I can find a mutually beneficial situation that would work best for both you and Microsoft.  You don’t have to be so serious.

That’s all from the Big Apple.  If you have any more specific questions you’d like answered about the interview process, let me know.  In the post I will go more in depth about problem solving questions, such as what is the difference between a good answer and a GREAT answer!

-Janelle

PS-: I will be on the East Coast for a few more weeks—so if you see someone who looks out of place on your college campus carrying Microsoft products, be sure to wave  :)

Warning- shameless plug ahead.....

I wanted to let you know about a resume workshop I led on Live Meeting a few weeks ago. If you are interested in learning about some of my favorite do’s and don’ts, then this is a great workshop to watch.  

The main topics in this workshop (it lasts around 50 minutes) are as follows:

1. 3 categories of a strong resume (work experience, education, projects and leadership)
   
2. How to get noticed in a crowd of resumes
   
3. Tips and Tricks

So, log-in and check out my workshop.  It's available online until March 2008.

I have to say it's pretty good.  Well, I am the host...but even if I wasn’t, I would still say it was good. A lot of the content is geared towards college students, but many of the main points cross over nicely to industry candidates. 

If that isn’t enough incentive for you to log in, here is one more reason—you can hear what I sound like!  I used my best radio voice.

- Janelle

I hope not!

I recently had a great conversation with one of the managers at Microsoft. He was telling me that a certain company had been reaching out to him in regards to applying for some senior positions within their company. As all smart people do, he entertained the offers, seeing what they had to say (side note: I think everyone should always be looking for their next opportunity.  If anything, it's good interview practice and always nice to see what your market value is).

Anyway, back to the story. So this manager went through the process, and then it came to the time where they asked him to fax over his transcript. He let them know that he did NOT meet the requirement for employment, as it was below a 3.0 (he said it was 2.9999, which I think is what everyone says). The company insisted that he fax a transcript, so he went to his parents house, dug through his old paperwork, and ended up faxing them his report card from 3rd grade instead. I thought that was a great story- the company did appreciate the humor in it as well.

This got me thinking- do the grades you earn in college really matter? I know that there were some classes I slept through in college (I'm talking about Principles of Accounting 210), and there were some I did great in. 

Is it fair for this record to follow you all the way through your career? Should there be a cut-off point where it doesn’t matter anymore?

I know Microsoft employees who love to ask about GPA, but to me it doesn’t make an ounce of difference.

What are your thoughts? Do grades even matter?  Should they matter to potential employers as you progress in your career?

- Janelle 

P.S. In case you were wondering, the manager didn’t take the job.

 Happy 4th of July!! I hope everyone is enjoying themselves.  The weather in Seattle has been AMAZING the past few days (sorry, I have to brag just a little... since people always think it rains here).

Eventhough it's summer time, this is the time of year that many people begin to look for new jobs. Perhaps it’s the nice weather; the fact that you got back from vacation and realized that you hate your job, or maybe it’s the sight of your boss in short shorts. For whatever reason, people get an itchy finger this time of year.

One of my best friends is currently in the interview process at another company and he has been asking me a lot of questions. His process has been slow and not moving as fast as he would like, which got me thinking that there are a few things that I should let you know.

Here are some things to remember when applying for a job in the summer. Happy Hunting!

1. People are on vacation - this means your recruiter, the hiring manager, and everyone else on your interview loop. It may take a while for someone to get back to you. Please be patient.


2. Some companies may not have as many openings. It all depends on when they get headcount. Or, perhaps they hired college students as interns and have met the quota for the summer. Look to the job postings to see what’s available.


3. Don’t be afraid to take a vacation while in the interview process. Companies are reasonable. Don’t cancel any much needed vacations when interviewing. If you have a family vacation planned the day they want to interview, don’t be afraid to ask for another date - companies can be flexible.


4. Send out an email requesting next steps. Your recruiter may have gone on vacation, and if you email them perhaps they have an out-of-office auto reply that says who their understudy is. They may have info for you as well.


5. Don’t be blinded by sunny locations. Remember that this is the prettiest time of year, and jobs always seem to be the most fun on the surface when you show up for the company BBQ. Think of what it will be like in winter, when everyone is cold and angry again. (Ha ha!)


6. Companies may want you to start immediately. Remember that every job is different. A company that may not usually hire in the summer may have lost a key player, and may need their new employee to start ASAP. Remember, you should always give 2 weeks notice to your current employer. Your new company will respect that no matter how “urgent” they make the position seem.  

I think people are in the best mood during the summer months.  So, go out there and apply for that dream job! No time like the present to make a positive life change for yourself.

-Janelle

There's only one trick question in the Microsoft interview process that I can guarantee you'll be asked.  It's alarmingly simple, but don’t be fooled, for it's the granddaddy stumper of them all:

“Do you have any questions?”

You will be asked this question routinely in your interview process, and you will eventually get to the point where you are tired of hearing it and will have had most of your most pressing curiosities answered.  And in your exhaustion you might be tempted to say, “no, I don’t have any more questions."  And I can uniformly tell you that you should never-never-never-never-never say “no”.  We evaluate your interest and passion for Microsoft, the job, and this industry by the questions you ask, and no question is off-limits. 

I suggest that to prepare for your interview, you make an exhaustive list of questions and have them ready.  It's ok to write them down, or just mentally put them on file.  But make sure you have enough, and keep asking them until we cut you off…

Got it?
Any questions?

- Jenna

By Elizabeth Hoogs

In the last three weeks, I have been to as many schools and as many career fairs.  I just finished the Fall Career Fair at University of Wisconsin Madison, and after shaking hands and collecting resumes, I have a stack of candidates who stood out to me and my colleagues as passionate, smart, and will be invited for first round interviews.  So what did they do right?

Career Fairs are brutal.  You poor students wonder among the booths, weave your way through the crowds, resumes in hand, trying to catch the eye of a recruiter.  Your job is to communicate your interests and impress me in a very short period of time.  Here are a few tips on being noticed (in a good way;-)).

1. Come Prepared with a resume:
Please come with a resume, preferably 1 page, 1 side.  If you are going to have a 2+ page resume, please staple the two pages.  I will often get back to the office with a single, nameless second page.  Please make sure the contact information and grad date are up to date on your resume. 

2. Do quick research on the companies you plan to visit:
Most Career Service Centers will post which companies will be attending the fairs.  By spending a few minutes on each of your targeted companies, you will learn about the opportunities they offer.  This helps you highlight your skills relevant to those positions while speaking to the recruiter and you stand out as a driven candidate.  Knowing what you want is really important to us; it’s often not just about what you can do, but what you want to do. 

3. Tell me about yourself, not your resume:
We love the opportunity to speak with students and get beyond the resume.  Try to emphasize what you’re passionate about doing and back it up with examples of what you’ve done, but do not read from your resume.  Take the opportunity to tell the recruiter about your passions, interests, and how they can be realized at their company and trust that they will look at your resume in depth later. 

Of course, skill level, which positions are open or not, and your talent are the primary determining factors, but these might help you showcase your potential match for a given company.  I hope these can help you increase your success and that you hear from many companies!

Liz

By Janelle Godfrey

I’ve been asked recently by some candidates what recruiters ACTUALLY look for when screening a resume. I have worked on both sides of the fence:  I spent several years working at the Career Center for MBAs at the University of Washington, assisting students in how to make their resumes POP, and now I find myself on the other side, looking for something that POPS out of a stack of hundreds of resumes.

Let me first say that every recruiter is different; I can only tell you what I look for. Hopefully some of these tips will help you better understand how your experience and skills can translate into getting that highly desired contact from a recruiter.

1.  Keep a constant log of what you do: This may sound silly, but trust me; it’s hard to keep track of everything that you have done in school when it’s occurring in real time. I have always kept a word document of great things I have done ... i.e. an ongoing list of projects, classes, ideas, deliverables, etc that I have been a part of.  This way, when you are looking for ideas, you have a running tab of things that you have worked on. It’s hard to think of things when you are stressed looking for a job; this way you have it all in one place. For instance, when I worked at Expedia on our referral program, I wrote a paragraph about what I did, who it affected, and what the results were. Then when I was looking for a job that required that kind of experience, I was able to stick in a great bullet point in my resume that matched what they were looking for (it also helps on job interview questions. look to this list before any interview and you will easily be able to look back on all you accomplished).

2.  Results:  Everyone has bullet points on their resume (i.e. “Created new programming tool for current team) … but what many people forget is the results of this. Try something like “Created new programming tool for team THAT RESULTED IN"… and say what happened from it. Think more about how you impacted your environments and less about just the basic facts of what you did. Your resume should be about accomplishments and not just a laundry list that reads like a job description.

3.  Consider your audience:  I like to tell students to have several different copies of resumes that correlate to the jobs that they are looking for. You shouldn’t just have one general resume if you have a million different types of experience. The best resumes are those that aren’t five pages. Maybe you have done a lot; maybe you are a PhD and have published 20 different articles … If the job you are applying for doesn’t care, then it’s okay to leave some things out. If you are applying for an IT job and a dev job, then you should have two different resumes that can highlight your experience for each. Whatever gets your point across is always a safe bet.

4.  Proofing by a stranger: When I was working for the MBA program, I heard a statistic … when applying for a job, you should assume that each person who looks at your resume looks at it for an average of 40 seconds … Although I can tell you that I do look at resumes longer, sometimes it’s that first look that really decides someone’s fate. A great way to help you understand how the overall message of your resume reads is by finding a stranger ... find someone in one of your classes or in your department that doesn’t know you. Ask them if they would look at your resume for 40 seconds; then have them flip the paper over and write down the top 3 things they learned about you. This is a great indicator of what others see when they look at your resume. If they say something like, “Where you went to school, your major, and your first job title,” that’s great! If someone can’t get over some bizarre fact or typo in your resume, it’s a safe assumption that recruiters will notice the same thing.

5.  Don’t write checks that you can’t cash:  We have all been in a situation where we need to make ourselves feel more important than we actually were ... a document such as a resume is not the place to do this… make sure that what you put on your resume can be questioned. The worst feeling that a candidate can experience is having to back track on their resume. Let’s say you wrote on your resume that you were the Program Manager for a release during an internship and that you managed all of the other interns during the summer. If you are in an interview and someone asks you your role and you have to say, “well, I never really managed but I was the lead,” then say it, and state how you made the project better. Don’t make up facts; the truth is more impressive because you can confidently speak about it. It’s better to build yourself up in an interview when questioned than have the rug pulled out from under you while caught up in a story.

Well, those are my 5 cents; I hope they shed some light in resume writing. If you have any other questions, I am open to helping you out. I love seeing people able to not only achieve their potential and greatness but also write about it on a resume, with great results.

-Janelle 

Brian wrote a very thoughtful response to my last blog post of declining offers with some valuable comments, which has prompted my next post:

What do you do when faced with multiple interviews and offer deadlines that overlap? How do you evaluate all of your options and make a decision in a reasonable timeframe?

This is a common problem, and if you are looking at multiple employers, it's hard to avoid (and Yes Brian, I agree with you, there is nothing wrong with looking at multiple companies, I would do the same thing). 

Here is my advice:

Be upfront at the start. Hiring managers and recruiters don’t like “surprises," and you have little to gain by having “secret” interviews with other companies. When you receive your first offer, let all the recruiters know, and instead of delaying the deadline on the current offer that you just received, push your other pending interviews to an earlier date.  This approach does a few things:

• It will maintain the passion and integrity you have with your current offer and show them you are interested and taking them seriously; not willing to let them be “second place."
• It demonstrates to your other pending interviews that you are wanted elsewhere, and puts the ownership on the second company to “sell” you as well as evaluate you.
• Nothing speeds up a recruiter faster than knowing that you have other offers and a tight deadline. 

When you tell the second interviewing company of your competing offer, it is a gesture of “good faith” to offer to FAX your competing offer to the recruiter (this can be a power move for candidates as it also establishes a new “bottom-line” on compensation).  While this won’t likely be required, it will demonstrate that you are truthful and transparent in your communication and not just pushing date changes for arbitrary reasons.

And what if the other pending interviews refuse to change the date? I would argue that any company that refuses to change the date of your interview with a competing offer in hand is not that serious about your candidacy, and this should be taken into consideration with your decision. This may sound harsh, but I stand by it….

 -Jenna

 PS-- Look for two follow up posts I will do next week: the first one with more detail on ”what is a reasonable deadline?" and a second on a real-life example of a recent hire who used this above approach with me…