Zoe Goldring and Gretchen Ledgard - What is it like to interview at Microsoft?

Posted By: The Channel 9 Team | Aug 19th, 2004 @ 6:48 PM | 308,579 Views | 76 Comments
They are famous in the weblog world -- known as the "JobsBloggers" Gretchen Ledgard and Zoe Goldring give lots of tips on how to get hired at Microsoft.

Since every team we've interviewed lately says they have jobs open, we thought it would be fun to talk about what the interview process is like.

In this interview we talk about how to get noticed and resume tips.

Gretchen works in the talent acquisition and engagement organization -- you can think of her as a "Community Program Manager" for Microsoft Technical Recruiting.

Zoe keeps her eye out for software development engineers, testers, program managers, and other technical people.

The tips talked about here are focused on core technical positions.

Another site, in addition to the JobsBlogs, that has tons of information for people who want to work at Microsoft is Chris Sells' "Interviewing at Microsoft" site.

In this video she gives a great tip: don't drink coffee! (One candidate spilled an entire cup in her office).
Media Downloads:
Rating:
1
0
#Aug 19th, 2004 @ 8:22 PM
Mav Phoenix
Mav Phoenix
Hero by fate
A very insightful video, the dress code surprised me.
#Aug 19th, 2004 @ 10:24 PM
jonathanh
jonathanh
My mod color is red
Wait, we have a dress code?  Damn, NO-ONE tells me this stuff...
#Aug 19th, 2004 @ 10:37 PM
Gretchen
Gretchen
One follow-up comment in regards to the recommended interview attire:  My fellow recruiting weblogger, Heather Hamilton,has asked me to point out that I was speaking specifically about people interviewing for Development, Test, and Program Management roles.  For that, it's definitely ok to dress "business casual" (slacks, sweater, button-down, etc), but for marketing roles (for which Heather recruits), you should still wear a suit.  When in doubt, ask your recruiter.  He or she will steer you in the right direction. Smiley
#Aug 20th, 2004 @ 2:17 AM
Mun
Mun
Yummm... I like code :-)
Great video, and good to put faces to the Technical Careers @ Microsoft blog Smiley

Interesting to hear that Microsoft doesn't necessarily look for a degree in candidates... Maybe there is hope for me after all! Smiley
#Aug 20th, 2004 @ 4:00 AM
GaryBushey
GaryBushey
The blob in the upper right hand corner is my dog
Great Video.  Been reading your BLOGs for a while and it is nice to be able to put a face to the names.
#Aug 20th, 2004 @ 7:04 AM
ZippyV
ZippyV
Fired Up
Scoble, you forgot to ask some questions about the 'funny' part of their job!

Funny things in a cv, people wanting high positions but have zero-knowledge, spies from other companies who want to infiltrate Microsoft, and so on.
#Aug 20th, 2004 @ 7:28 AM
RedWolves2
RedWolves2
Great video but these long video's are killing me!
#Aug 20th, 2004 @ 8:32 AM
Gretchen
Gretchen
Zippy - that's a really good question.  You're right ... we do get a lot of people who apply for positions well beyond their experience and that's always amusing.  Things like:  "I believe that my 5 years as Lead Cook at IHOP has prepared me for the opening as the Director of Windows."  And people are serious. 

As for corporate spies ... wow, that's a good one.  Honestly, I've never thought about that. Kinda like "secret shoppers," huh? 

A couple years ago, it was trendy to make one of those human billboards that read "Hire me" or "Will Code for Food" and then stand on the street corner near MS.  For some reason (and I have no idea why), I was the person typically assigned to greeting them and talking to them about Microsoft.  Never a dull moment ... Smiley
Microsoft Communities