Microsoft´s Technical Recognition Awards (an internal awards program) winners were just announced. Bharat Shah, head of the Business Productivity On-line Suite Group and the General Manager for whom I recruit, was honored among the 2010 Outstanding Technical Achievement Award winners.

CONGRATS, BHARAT.

The annual Technical Recognition Awards program is an opportunity to recognize and acknowledge work that has impacted not only Microsoft, but the software industry and the entire world. Awards are determined by nomination and votes of the Microsoft senior technical community.

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As most of you know by now, there are thousands of job postings on the Microsoft Careers site. It can be more than overwhelming to look through all of them and find just the right one.

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As you know from a previous blog post, we are currently revamping our careers site, and we asked what you would change about the site. Those suggestions will be an integral part of the improvements we make, and we’ve since come up with another topic we’d like your opinion on: Job titles on careers site postings!

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It’s the night before your interview and being the conscientious candidate that you are, you’re reviewing your check list to be sure you’re prepared for the big day:

• Interview day schedule – check!
• Confidence – check!
• Classy yet casual outfit – question mark?

When you pair a laid-back dress code with the high expectations of a competitive tech company, knowing how to dress to impress can be tough. But now, Softwear might just be your ticket.

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Dear JobsBlog: I recently found a position I'm interested in at microsoft.com/careers. I could rewrite my resume pretty much word-for-word as listed in the "main responsibilities" section. Would doing so be helpful, or would it seem like I'm trying too hard?

Answer: I don't think rewriting your resume to match the job description word for word is a good idea. I do think reviewing your resume to make sure that it addresses the responsibilities of a job description is a good idea.

A resume is something very personal. First and foremost it is important that your resume reflects accurate information about your experience. We see some resumes that have every technical skill and acronym known to mankind listed! This is frustrating for recruiters and managers to see, because it's hard for us to figure out your focus.

We don’t necessarily expect that a candidate will be a completely perfect fit for a specific job. Most hiring managers and recruiters I have worked with like to see the following:

• A Summary / Skills section listing things you have done
• An Experience section that speaks in detail how you might have gained the skills listed in your summary. For example, if you have C++ experience it is important to show in the body of your resume where you used this skill or gained this experience. Just listing something like this and not backing it up in your experience is not helpful to us in matching your skills to the job being filled.
• Telling a story with your resume – what did you do personally, what were you responsible for on an overall project, how many products / services have you shipped, etc…

That type of resume is much more likely to get attention than a resume that's just a rewrite of the job description!

- Angela

Hello Everyone!

This is something I hear about occasionally that came up again just last week. It appears as though some of our Microsoft candidates are relying on outside sources, even recruiters from other companies, for Microsoft related information because they're worried about asking their Microsoft recruiter too many questions.

So, it seems like a good time to encourage everyone to ASK YOUR MICROSOFT RECRUITER if you have questions about process, policy or whatever else is on your mind. We are here to help and have a direct focus on your experience as a candidate. It is our job to make sure you have as many of your questions answered as we possibly can!

As a recent example, one of my teammates was working with a candidate that was told by another company that Microsoft has a waiting period before we initiate Green Card processing. Although this was true in the past, it isn’t the case any longer.

This candidate was really motivated to take the Microsoft offer but almost passed up a dream job based on outdated information from another company!  

We are constantly working towards improving our processes and policies for existing employees and those that we have yet to hire. What may have been policy last year could very well have changed this year.

So if it is important to you, to your career, to your family... just ask! We would be happy to give you accurate information about Microsoft instead of having you rely on inaccurate information from other sources. Just makes sense right? :-)

 - Angela

One of the first things you will do as a new Microsoft Employee is attend NEO (and learn that yes, we have an acronym for everything!). NEO (New Employee Orientation) is where you will spend your first day and a half as an new Microsoft Employee.

NEO provides the new Microsoft employee a great overview of the different resources available to new employees. It can feel a bit daunting because there is so much information shared during this session but don't worry! You receive a booklet for future reference to all that you heard in this session.

Networking is big at Microsoft and NEO is also your first opportunity to meet other new employees. You will be making new connections, exchanging stories and beginning your Microsoft journey!

Everyone’s first day at Microsoft begins on a Monday (unless Monday is a holiday) and you should expect to be in this session all day (9-5 pm – Lunch is provided for you on day one of NEO).

On the first day of NEO, you will learn about Microsoft’s mission, how the organizational structure works and what the culture is like. You will also receive detailed information about the benefits and get your paperwork completed for those benefits and payroll. Your first day will end with a trip to the Microsoft Visitors’ Center and the company store.

On your second day of NEO, you will be in session until about noon. You will be provided with an overview of corporate citizenship and a review of legal responsibilities and resources. On day two you will also get your employee badge. When you have completed this day, you are free to go to your new work location and start connecting with your manager and team. After that, it's all up to you and your team!

- Angela

My best resume tip comes from the eternal candidate question: how long should my resume be? In my opinion, it doesn't hurt to push your resume past 1 or 2 pages, especially in the electronic age. I'm not talking about padding your resume or including every detail of every past work experience. But if you have extensive past experience, something in there might be relevant to what I need today. If you're cutting too much out, you might not show up in my search results.

Of course, that first page is still very important! Think about the top third of your resume's first page as your advertising billboard. It pulls a recruiter or hiring manager in to read the rest of your story, including all of your relevant experience. :-)

- Angela