Our scholarship program is rolling out early this year in the hopes of giving students plenty of time to apply! As a reminder, this scholarship is open to all students pursuing studies in CS and related technical disciplines. Here's all the info you need to apply:

Applications must be postmarked by February 1, 2009. While all candidates who meet the criteria for eligibility described below may apply, a large majority of our scholarships will be awarded to female students, under-represented minority students or students with disabilities. Minority applicants must be a member of one of the following groups under-represented in the software field: African American, Hispanic or Native American. Microsoft will review all applications and select final candidates on the basis of eligibility, quality of application, displayed interest in the software industry, commitment to leadership and financial need. We will target announcing scholarship recipients by March 20, 2009.

What are the provisions of the award? Scholarships are awarded, full or partial amounts, to recipients for the 2009-2010 academic year. Full tuition scholarships will cover tuition for the 2009-2010 academic year as posted by the financial aid office at your college or university. Microsoft will make payments to the designated school, and they’re not transferable to other academic institutions. Funds are to be used for tuition only and may not be used for other costs on the recipient's bursar bill. All recipients of the scholarship will be required to apply for, and complete if offered, a salaried summer internship of 12 weeks or more at Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, Washington. Microsoft reserves the right not to offer a position to the scholarship winner if an appropriate match cannot be found.

What are the criteria for scholarship eligibility? Students must be enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program at a college or university in the United States, Canada, or Mexico at the time the application is submitted. Students must be enrolled full-time and making satisfactory progress toward an undergraduate degree in computer science, computer engineering, or a related technical discipline, such as math or physics, with a demonstrated interest in computer science. The student must have a 3.0 cumulative grade point average out of a possible 4.0, or a 4.0 cumulative grade point average out of a possible 5.0.

What is required to apply? A completed application includes five items: your résumé, transcript, essay questions, letter of referral, and confirmation of your online application to the Microsoft Summer Internship program. All items must be mailed to the address below and postmarked by February 1, 2009 to receive full consideration. An application is considered ineligible if all parts are not received. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that all pieces are received by Microsoft by the deadline.

Résumé - Enclose a copy of your résumé that includes your e-mail address, campus address and phone number, student ID number, permanent address and phone number, major and expected graduation date.
Transcript - Enclose a copy of your current academic transcript.
Essay Questions - Use one page to answer all four of the following essay questions (not one page per question).
• Describe how you demonstrate your passion for technology outside the classroom.
• Describe the toughest technical problem you've worked on, how you addressed the problem, your role in reaching the outcome, if it was team-based, and the final outcome.
• Describe a situation which demonstrates initiative and your willingness to go above and beyond.
• Describe how you are currently funding your college education.
Gender/Ethnicity/Disability (optional) - Please note your gender, ethnicity or disability on the page with your essay questions if you would like that information to be considered with your application.
Letter of referral - Enclose a letter of referral from a faculty member or an academic advisor who knows your work.
Confirmation of Online Application to the Microsoft Internship Program - Apply online at http://www.microsoft.com/college for a summer internship and print out a confirmation page showing you have done so. This printed confirmation must be included in your mailed application materials.

Please send your completed application postmarked by February 1 2009 to:

Microsoft Scholarship Program
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-8303

Good luck!

Attending school job fairs is a rite of passage for many upperclassmen looking for internship and full time gigs to kick off their career. But we know college students face daunting challenges during their academic school year, including heavy workloads and difficult courses.

The career fair is often scheduled for just one day and not everyone can make it. So if you’re that person, should you just wait for the next career fair and hope the schedule will work out in your favor that time?

The answer is no. Don’t wait! Here are ways you can put your name in the hat for consideration.

• Use your Career Center or our heygenius.com site: We often partner with your career center to post jobs that we are hiring for. In many cases, we have on-campus interviews right in your career center. If you don’t see job postings in your center, simply apply on our heygenius.com or our Microsoft.com/college sites.
• Attend Microsoft sponsored events: From Meet the Company Presentations to Tech Talks and Tech Fests (technology product fairs), we accept college resumes at almost all of our events. Can’t make it? Give your resume to a friend who's attending to pass along!
• If you are abroad or are at another co-op for the fall semester: Once you apply online and are selected for an interview, we can schedule the initial phone interview even if you’re in Spain! If you do well, you can wait until you return to school and conduct the second and final round on one of our Microsoft campuses then. If you have an offer deadline though, discuss with your school recruiter and we’ll try to work something out. We’ve made it simple for you to contact your school recruiter right on our site.
• Attending career fairs at other schools: Ok, we’ve seen this happen and we will always pass on your resume to your school recruiter. However, please adhere to the host school’s policy since they often do not allow students from other schools to attend. Save a little travel time and simply apply online instead!
• You’re never too early to make a connection: Even if you’re a freshman, going to Career Fairs will help you hone in what employers are looking for. 

Happy job hunting!

- Ginny

Yesterday, the lobby in our recruiting building felt like the TKTS line in Times Square.

Starting at noon, we handed out over 400 Mariners/Red Sox tickets and stadium food vouchers on a first come/first serve basis to our summer interns. At first, I thought - wow, such excitement for a Mariners game! But on second thought, perhaps it has something to do with the Red Sox. ;-)

So if you are at the series next week and see busloads of interns arriving, that’s us!

- Ginny

As promised, here's my Q&A with Austin Lin, an Information Science major and a Program Manager summer intern with the Mobile team.

Q: Hi Austin! Now that you’ve gone through our PM interview process, tell us your experience (the good, bad and ugly). Were you surprised by the questions asked by the interviewers? What’s one piece of advice you would give students who are about to go through interviews themselves?

A: The PM interview process is a unique experience that tests your design skills, communication skills and problem solving skills.
The good: I really enjoyed doing some of the design questions that tested how familiar you are with the market as well as how creative you are in creating a solution to a problem. I was surprised by the how open-ended the questions were. Ask follow up questions!
The bad: I didn’t leave enough time to visit Seattle after my final round interview. If you can, plan an extra day either before or after your interview so you can sightsee.
The ugly: I thought I botched my first round interview and I was 90% sure I would not make it to the next round. Interviewers know that you are under a lot of stress during interviews so if you mess up don’t worry too much about it. It is more important that you learn from your mistakes and move on.
Advice: The more you can show you want the position and can perform well, the easier it is to get a job.

Q: You didn’t choose to go into the CS program but rather the Information Science program. What is it and why did you choose it?

A: The Information Science program at Cornell is a more holistic way of looking at Internet and technology and how it impacts society. It draws parts from Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, and Social Sciences. Personally I think it is a great fit for the Program Manager role at Microsoft. The moral of the story is that you don’t need to be a Computer Science major to explore opportunities at Microsoft.

Q: Given program management is about software design, customer empathy and project management, what did you do to prepare for this role? Were there any non-CS classes that were useful?

A: One unique characteristic of the PM role is that there are some skills that cannot be learned within the confines of a classroom. Leadership roles in student organizations or in project-based classes can hone your project management skills. If your major is not Computer Science and you are interested in software, try to supplement your classes with outside research projects or jobs that give you hands-on experience. Understanding the market and the keeping up with tech trends is also a large part of it. A passion for technology is a definite must.

Q: What was your overall experience with our recruiting process? Were there any areas that you thought helped you prepare for the interview process or anything you'd suggest our readers should ask their recruiters?

A: Microsoft’s recruiting process is definitely both fun and educational. An interview process does give the company to get a better sense of your skills and interests. However, more importantly, it allows you to gauge the type of work you will be doing and what kind of environment you will be in. If you find the interview questions challenging and fun, the position is probably a good fit. If the questions are not challenging or not what you were looking for, shop around for other positions.

To prepare for the PM interview process, brush up on basic computer science skills. Read up a little about user centered design and the software development life cycle. Be comfortable thinking out loud and sketching out ideas on a whiteboard. Keep in touch with your college recruiter and try to set yourself apart at recruiting events. They are there to help you get hired so send them emails and talk to them if they come to your campus.

Dear Jobsblog: I am in my third year in a non-CS discipline but am very interested into the software development arena. I’ve been told that it seems my skills set would be more suitable for only IT type positions. What are your suggestions?

-Feeling Pigeonholed

Dear "Feeling Pigeonholed": While most of our college hires for the core SDE/SDET/PM roles tend to have CS or CE/EE degrees, we have also hired students studying Mechanical Engineering, Math, Biomedical Engineering, IT and Applied Physics just to name a few. The trend I see that’s allowing them to be successful is the extracurricular activities that exposed them to problem solving, project management, or algorithms. Some students also had experience with coding from high school and simply refreshed the basics while others gained experience through their internships.

But there’s no need to take my word for it. Check back tomorrow for a Q and A with Austin Lin, an Information Science major who just accepted a PM summer internship with the Mobile team (he happens to be one of our 2008 scholarship winners too). He'll share some tips with readers that may be in the same boat.

- Ginny

Dear JobsBlog: I went through a full time interview loop two months ago and during two of my interviews, I had very similar questions. Do the interviewers not talk to each other?

-Feeling Repetitive

Dear Feeling Repetitive: Our interviewers definitely talk to each other before the next person goes and meets a candidate. Part of that is to prevent them from asking the same questions, but the other reason is to make sure you get an opportunity to demonstrate a range of technical prowess – from coding, problem solving, creativity, design and more.

I’m not sure what questions you received, but if you had 2-3 test questions in a row and you’re interviewing for an SDET position, they are probably just assessing your testing skills through different questions.

I’ve also heard of cases where a candidate coded a question but ran out of time so the second interviewer continued on with the same question, but asked the candidate to test the code once he finished with the problem.

If anything, I would take the second opportunity like it’s a golden ticket since it’s another chance for you to talk or think about a problem (out loud always helps!) that you might’ve missed earlier in the day.

With this in mind, I would also suggest preparing several good questions you’d like to ask the interviewers so they don’t all get the same questions from you either!

- Ginny

Microsoft has a strong practice of converting our excellent interns into full-time super stars! And as we await anxiously for the hundreds of interns that will embark on their summer internship journey with us (some for their second or third time) starting this May, we wanted to share a new video tech talk that highlights what could happen after a successful internship with us.

The 10-minute video: “Intern to Full-time Employee: In Their Own Words” consists of interviews from three former interns (PM, SDE SDET) who are now making their impact as full-fledged employees. We hire talented students from hundreds of schools both in the US and internationally so maybe you’ll be someone we highlight in the future.

Take a look at Hey-genius.com/techtalks and let us know what you think!

Dear Jobsblog: I know communication skills are evaluated during technical interviews, but I am an ESL [English as a Second Language] student and am not always comfortable with English interviews. Any tips for students like me?

-Tongue Tied

Dear Tongue Tied: Interviews are nerve-wrecking to begin with but I'm sure for ESL students, it may be even more frightening! Here are some things to keep in mind:

In a global economy, you should go in knowing that your diverse language and cultural experience is an advantage in itself!

For those studying in US colleges, you’ve had the chance to practicing communicating and working on projects in an English environment already. For those abroad, you’ve probably had English as part of your school curriculum as well. Those experiences have already helped you prepare for your interviews.

Technical interviews focus a lot on programming, problem solving and math skills and those are skills you can demonstrate in your interviews without needing to command the English language completely! It’s also ok to ask clarifying questions if you want to double check what the interviewer is really asking.

So what else can you do to ease your anxiety? Participate in mock interviews at your school’s career center, with alums working in the technology sector or just practice some interview questions with yourself!

One last thing to remember: passion for technology is universal and can be demonstrated regardless what your native language happened to be!

- Ginny