I admit -- this is a concept I struggle with. Like I’ve said in previous posts, as your recruiter I want you to be set up for success, and I want to help provide the toolbox to get you there. But at the same time, I also want you to do well on your own horsepower as much as possible.

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JobsBlog readers have lots of questions. You ask questions in the comments; you email them to us; sometimes we even think you send them telepathically.  It’s really hard for us to get to all the questions (and the majority of the questions are very similar) – so to make sure cover what you’re wondering most, we’ll answer your questions more often as blog posts.  To start it off, I wanted to answer a question we received last week over email:

Question:
Hi JobsBloggers!
 
I've been reading the JobsBlog for a while, and I was wondering if you would be willing to address a question of mine.  I was recently contacted by someone who signed his email "Search Wizards at Microsoft Corporation".  It's pretty clear that this guy is legit (he has a Microsoft email address and inquired about a position for which I had specifically applied), but I haven't seen much about them. Also, the recruiter called me from a Georgia phone number.

So my questions are: Who are they?  What role do they play in the recruiting process?  Should a candidate expect the hiring process to be any different if they were contacted by one of them rather than if they were originally contacted by a member of an internal Microsoft team?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Answer:
Yes, you were contacted by a vendor for Microsoft and should expect no difference in the recruiting process. Microsoft Recruiting often works with vendors and agency temporaries, especially when there are big hiring influxes and we try to flex the business up and down.  Besides Search Wizards, some other companies you might currently encounter working with us include Corestaff and Kelly Services.  Also, this particular recruiter likely works out of a remote office, which is not a problem either.
 
So, go for it!  There should be no difference for you …. He will guide you through the same process with the same information and should not give you any different of an experience than a full time Microsoft recruiter.
 
Best—Jenna
 
(who started at Microsoft as a contract recruiter too)

Thanks so much for taking our survey I mentioned a few weeks ago!  155 readers offered their input, and I wanted to share the highlights below as well as preview a few changes we’re making based on your feedback.

Who are you?

Most respondents were what we in recruiting call “experienced” professionals … 27.8% of you have less than 5 years experience and 42.9% of you have more than 5 years of experience.  The remaining group consists of current college students (14.3%) and Microsoft employees (15%).  Wow, there are a lot of employees reading so I expect you all to chime in and help answer some of these reader questions. : -) 

A huge majority of respondents work in a technical field … 85.2% in software development and 7.7% in IT/Support/Technical Consulting. 

About ½ of you are currently seeking a job with Microsoft. The rest of you already work here :), are just generally curious about what's going on behind the scenes, and/or are "staying in touch" until you figure out your next move.

64.2% of respondents are age 18 to 28, and 27.7% are age 29 to 40.  The rest are over 40, except for one lone 13 year old who responded. :)

Nearly 57% of respondents live in North America, followed by Europe, Middle East, and Africa (the EMEA region) at 28%, and South America at 8.5%.  Other regions had small showings.

What do you want?

83.4% of you are very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with JobsBlog as it is right now.  No one is very dissatisfied (yay!), but those of you who want to see an improvement focused on improving the navigation / design of the website, highlighting more stories directly from employees – especially more experienced employees, focusing on more “industry” and technical recruiting topics …. and just generally posting more often and including more “how to get a job at Microsoft” info. 

You also requested that we lay-off the kool-aid (some posts are too “salesy” or “fluffy”) and do more fun stuff for the developer audience … like coding contests, technical questions of the week, or mock interviews.   You also asked that Suggestion Kitty – or at least a Q&A format – make a return.

What’s next?

Based on your feedback and suggestions, we’ve got some new changes in store, and you should start noticing a difference in November.   We’re working on the site navigation and categories list to help you more easily find still relevant archives, and the bloggers will revisit some of those older “how to get a job at MS” topics.  We thought we said about all there is to say … but I’m sure we can think of more. :)  You know us.

One thing I’m most excited about is that we’re going to make sure JobsBlog is even more driven by the readers as well as the employees who want to share their stories.  Readers, we’ll have easier feedback mechanisms for you to pose questions / blog post ideas directly to our bloggers. And employees, we’ll start opening up the blog to you so you can tell your story first-hand.  And since we know you love to talk amongst yourselves, we’re also working on a way to take the discussion beyond the blog.

So stay tuned.  I’m really excited to see these changes happen!  Thanks again for your awesome feedback.

Gretchen
JobsBlog Editor

I gotta tell you …  the internet is so weird.  After my last blog post where I stated that Vancouver had “worn me out,” news articles began popping up with my quote.  And the flood of emails followed with more questions around Vancouver and even more comments on my quote.  I never realized that saying your job was tough was newsworthy - but I guess it is.

For most of you who have written to me over the past few weeks wanting a job in Vancouver, I realize I have not replied.  Why?  Because we are not really hiring there yet.  So your emails are currently going in a folder on my computer, where I plan to review them when our Vancouver roles open.

Why the wait?  Well, what I stated before is still true:  We are all busy on-boarding and hiring the people who already committed to Microsoft.  You may not realize that we have people who accepted offers from us in 2006 and are still waiting for a visa.  So Vancouver is a welcome relief, and we are prioritizing finding positions for these people.  After that is complete, we will see some new jobs open.  And when we do, I will post the news here (and open that folder with all the emails!).

But until then, we continue to work away with those people who were already in our process.

So let me give all those reporters a little more to talk about:  it is still tough. Tougher than ever.  And while you are quoting me you can say I love it, too.  I am tired but loving it.

-Jenna

Warning- shameless plug ahead.....

I wanted to let you know about a resume workshop I led on Live Meeting a few weeks ago. If you are interested in learning about some of my favorite do’s and don’ts, then this is a great workshop to watch.  

The main topics in this workshop (it lasts around 50 minutes) are as follows:

1. 3 categories of a strong resume (work experience, education, projects and leadership)
   
2. How to get noticed in a crowd of resumes
   
3. Tips and Tricks

So, log-in and check out my workshop.  It's available online until March 2008.

I have to say it's pretty good.  Well, I am the host...but even if I wasn’t, I would still say it was good. A lot of the content is geared towards college students, but many of the main points cross over nicely to industry candidates. 

If that isn’t enough incentive for you to log in, here is one more reason—you can hear what I sound like!  I used my best radio voice.

- Janelle

As you loyal readers know I am pretty open to constructive criticism about Microsoft, and there is no finer place on earth to find people who ask the “tough” questions than in a Meet the Company Presentation on a college campus. College students are my favorite - which is why I recruit them. They are honest, bold, sometimes misinformed, and sometimes they hit the nail right on the head. 

In my school set we have visited 20 schools already this year, and without a doubt the best comments and questions come from these presentations.  A lot of times, when I'm at a school and the crowd seems a bit timid, I ask everyone to tell me their favorite Microsoft rumor, “horror” story, or myth they’ve heard. Then I spend the next 20 minutes trying to answer them to the best of my ability. Most times, I don’t even need to ask because the students bring them up on their own.

I wanted to share some of my favorites that I have heard/been told/seen at a presentation. Maybe it’s something you’ve been thinking-  or maybe you were the one who asked it!

MY FAVORITE SEVEN THINGS SAID/ASKED/SEEN DURING MS PRESENTATIONS THUS FAR (school names withheld, to protect the identity of the innocent):

7. “During an interview my friend said he met with 10 people, and they each asked him the same question over and over just using different verbiage--- the same question. Is that true?”  Typically, our interviewers ask a variety of questions.

6.  A group of “protestors” showed up, wearing Linux t-shirts and holding stuffed penguins.  I love that!

5.  “I heard that Seattle has the highest suicide rate in the country… do you think that has anything to do with Microsoft being headquartered there?”  Ouch.

4. “Okay, I hate using computers—what other type of jobs would you recommend for me at Microsoft?” You might be out of luck.

3. “Are people at Microsoft allowed to own or use on campus I-Pods or Macs? I heard that managers take them away if you are found to have one?”  Um, no, that doesn't happen.

2.  “I heard that Google has more users from the Redmond, WA area than anywhere else in the country, and that the internal servers now have to block it from Microsoft users due to the fact that all employees use Google.”   That’s quite the conspiracy theory!

1. "Does Microsoft come up with any original ideas? It just seems as though you copy things everyone else does but just make a lamer version.”  That was my favorite.

Do you have a pressing question you wanna ask? A horror story or myth I can put to rest? Please let me know. I’m ready for it.

- Janelle

Hi gang – As I mentioned in my last post, we’re planning some new features for JobsBlog, while making sure we keep doing what you love. 

So what’s going well?  And, what could go better?  We invite you to give us feedback through our Microsoft JobsBlog survey.  The info you provide will help make sure we keep giving you more of what you want and need!

I want to especially encourage those of you who read the blog, but rarely comment, to take our survey.  We know a lot about our commenters (they’re quite vocal), but many more of you are out there – so we want to make sure your opinion is heard. 

The survey should only take about 5 minutes to complete.   It will be open for one week (closing next Tuesday, 10/16), and once it’s closed, we’ll share the results back with you, so you’ll know what we heard.

Thanks again, and let me know in the comments if you have any questions.

Gretchen
JobsBlog Editor

Take the survey!

Hi there, campers!  Look who’s back!  For those of you who don’t remember me, I’m Gretchen, one of the founders of JobsBlog, and I regularly wrote for the blog until I left Microsoft in April 2006.  You might call me the Michael Jordon or Roger Clemens of JobsBlog … will retirement really stick?  Or will I be back again, ready to give it another go?

So, the questions I’ve heard a lot lately … Why did you leave?  And why are you back?

As I wrote in my good-bye post, Microsoft was my first job out of college – and I stayed here for nearly 6 years, much longer than I probably would have predicted when I accepted my offer.  I found myself in a position that’s probably not too uncommon to others’ experiences.  I felt to further my breadth and knowledge, I needed to see what it was like on the outside … but at the same time, I didn’t want to leave MS and work for a competitor.  So I co-founded my own small consulting company with Zoe, the other original founder of JobsBlog.  We got to focus every day on the work we loved while helping small companies and jobseekers. 

The best part is that my team here at Microsoft was supportive every step of the way … as I was leaving, once I was gone, and, of course, when I decided I wanted to come back. :)  It sounds incredibly cliché, but while I enjoyed working for myself, I missed the impact, resources, and incredibly smart people who define Microsoft.

So, I’m back – and yes, that also means I’m back with JobsBlog as the site’s editor.  I’m no longer a recruiter so I won’t be offering up the helpful tips and tricks and insider info that our other JobsBloggers do, but I will chime in from time to time.  I’m really excited to engage with all of you and make sure we’re delivering the interesting and useful information you want to see.  So look for more on this in the weeks to come.

I’m really happy to be back, and if I’ve got any long-time readers out there, please chime in and say hi.  I’d love to hear from you!

Gretchen
JobsBlog Editor