October is almost here and we will have many new visa employees joining the Microsoft ranks.  Such an exciting time of year!  New employees who have had a Microsoft dream for years and it is about to come true!  Sometimes, I feel like the Jobs Fairy sprinkling my MS Jobs Pixy Dust wherever I go!

So much as been published and talked about where immigration is concerned.  While the numbers are being discussed and there is talk about how it will all impact our economy… it sometimes seems that we forget there are actual living and breathing human beings with dreams, goals and career aspirations that are being heavily affected.  I would like you to meet one of those soon-to-be new employees.

Meet Stephen Vanterpool.  Stephen hails from the British Virgin Islands and actually did a contractor assignment before being offered a FTE position (so he has a pretty good idea of what he has gotten himself into).  His hiring process was a bit rocky – but we worked through it together and now he is about to arrive!  If working at Microsoft is something you really want – Stephen is a perfect example that persistence pays off!

Almost There (Getting a Job at Microsoft)

Well, the time is drawing near. In under two weeks, I will be back in Redmond, but this time as an official blue badge!

It has been quite the journey, and I thought I'd provide a little write-up for anyone attempting to make the same trip. Please excuse me if it gets a little lengthy, it's a story that I'm very excited about.

Almost a year ago I moved out to Redmond to start working as a contractor (orange badge) on the Windows Live Custom Domains team.

I spent the first few months marveling at my new surroundings. The creative energy, the passion that most people showed for their jobs was a new phenomenon for me. Realizing that I wanted to stick around awhile longer than being a contractor would allow, I decided to apply for a full time spot.

I went over to the Microsoft Careers site and applied for a position. After a few weeks of no luck, I was somewhat disheartened, and that's when I got a call from Angela. From the beginning, she was extremely friendly and that did much to allay most of the nervousness I was feeling. She conducted my phone screen , and after I passed she arranged for my in-person interviews.

The morning of the interview loop, I met up with Angela in person and she briefed me on the process, giving me a few tips on how to handle myself. The one that stuck with me the most was this(and I'm heavily paraphrasing):

Before you do ANYTHING in an interview, take a moment to think about it. Don't be afraid to ask questions to make sure you grasp the task at hand. And when you do start on it, make sure you narrate your thought process. How you think is often more important than specifically what you know (That said, don't go in to a coding interview not knowing what a compiler is).

This advice turned out to be invaluable as I went through a day of increasingly challenging interviews. Angela IM'd me early the next morning to let me know that the team wanted to hire me! I was (and still am) on top of the world. As a child I'd often said "Some day I'll work at Microsoft!", in much the same way that most other kids said "I wanna be an astronaut!". So, I could barely contain myself when it began to actually happen.

Over the next few weeks, Angela was my advocate. She worked hard to make sure I received the offer letter, and helped navigate some fairly obscure immigration and relocation issues. In the end, Microsoft helped me move out of my current apartment, stored my stuff, flew me home and back, and when I return to the US in a few weeks, they will put me up until I find my own place, and THEN move all my stuff back in. Truly amazing from my point of view, or maybe I'm just easily impressed....

What I liked about the whole process was that I really got the impression that my needs mattered.  It may sound cliche, but I truly got the feeling that Angela and her team really cared about me, and making my hiring experience an extremely positive one.

There are areas that need improving, however. The major one that comes to mind is the immigration process.  I heard many times that immigration can be a hold up for new employees.  Personally, I found it hard to work through the times when it was difficult to get advice on important issues such as the steps necessary for getting my H1-B visa  Finally, someone was able to take control of my case and got things sorted out. I really hope that improvements regarding immigration can be made in the U.S., as that progression was a low point in an otherwise fantastic (from my point of view) process.

Overall, my experience has been wonderful, and I encourage anyone out there who thinks they have something to offer and is just dying for the chance to really make an impact, APPLY!  You've got nothing to lose.

- Angela