Get Hired @ Microsoft, Episode 1: Write a Killer Resume

Great info, Lisa - thanks!

Here I go again today, whine whine whine:

Take a look at how videos were made 3 years ago: http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/WM_IN/Zoe-Goldring-and-Gretchen-Ledgard-What-is-it-like-to-interview-at-Microsoft/
That's what Channel 9 was about but what is this video supposed to be? Edited, questions displayed on screen, nothing spontaneous, no personal opinions. This is boring to watch.

I realize the videos 3 years ago were a different format.  Dan and I chose to film it this way since the resume tips were based off of Channel9 and JobsBlog readers submitted questions. 

I would be happy to answer any additonal resume questions through the comments section.

Thanks!
Lisa

You did a great job Lisa...More please.
(Yes I know 8 are planned..Woohoo)

Let me know if I can promote anything.
http://weblogs.asp.net/markwisecarver/

 

Hi Lisa, love it! Can we post this on student resume network www.nuresume.com - take a look at the employer directory section, we can post it under Microsoft. Thanks.

I will check in on the video when at home BUT whilst this may be great for US employees in the UK and I suspect the rest of the world we still have to deal with the outsourced recruitment pimps that Microsoft use.
Here in the UK these people are truly dreadful. I was submitted for a position there by 2 Microsoft employees using the internal recommendation scheme. After 6 weeks of not returning my calls and  lying to me and the Microsoft employees I gave up and went elsewhere.

I don’t know about the US but in the UK a large proportion of the recruitment industry have ethical and professional standards that make second hand car salesmen look like saints.

Indeed, it came out very well.

Don't fret...There are people who don't like Sunshine and we simply can't do anything about that.

Hi Lisa-

Thank you for the info.  Is it possible to have two or more resumes uploaded on Microsoft Site?  I remember trying to customize my resume for two jobs, but I only was allowed to keep one resume.  So my question is, if we apply for a job and then change/customize resume and apply for another job, would this later change affect the first submitted resume? 

Thanks,

I thought this was very helpful.  It's good to know that Microsoft puts the resumes into plain text, so any time spent on formatting is wasted.

Spivonious - I wouldn't say "wasted."  The format is in plain text in our database - but once you get contacted by a recruiter, you'll want to have a well-formatted Word resume ready.  So submit applications online in plain text (this advice holds true for most any company.)  And submit resumes to real people in Word, PDF, etc. 

Good question!  Right now your latest resume is the one that’s considered your “primary” resume in Boolean queries.  But a good piece of advice is that your resumes shouldn’t be very different.  You should start with a general resume and then custom sections, like a summary section or specific accomplishments, to highlight your skills for particular job descriptions – but otherwise, your various resumes should be similar, keyword-wise.   Hope that helps!

Hi Lisa

Lisa,

The ideas about how to improve your resume were great.  I have been told, however that HR recruiters RARELY pick people from the website.  Only when they don't have any candidates recommended by someone and they are desperate.  I was flabbergasted when I heard this! The manager I interviewed (from one of those rare occassions) said she didn't even know who her recruiter is or where the person was located.  Another boss told me that they can never get enough candidates for jobs.  Seems like MS ought to do a better job of connecting hiring managers with recruiters and actually USE the website applicants. There are a lot of us good ones out there.

JM

Hi JM,

Fortunately what you heard is not true.  As a recruiter, our job is to find the best candidates to fit a position.  We absolutely look for candidates in our internal database and typically start with the ones that applied directly to the position.  The candidate expressed an interest in not only working for Microsoft but also for that specific role and team.  We also expand that search and look at all candidates within our internal database who might not have applied for our specific role.  I'm happy to say that we have hired many candidates over the last year that came from our internal database.  So definitely keep applying to the roles that interest you because we are absolutely in there everyday. 

Lisa

it was a gud one.. ; usualy i go about filling in text boxes n selecting list boxes rather uploading ma resume ,thinking ma current resume was a lil crappy,.. But now i would say it defntly deserves some attention!  Change is always for gud..  i liked the answer for each questions..
bt may be u could hav made th Questions n Answers pattern a lil more lively one ..  tats all.. N as a dev i would luv to appreciate th content rather jus considering the presentation
-ioWint