Entries tagged 'interviewing-at-microsoft'
Are you a good fit for Microsoft? Show us (Part I of III)
Dear JobsBlog:
I'm gearing up for an interview with Microsoft. I’m prepared for the technical questions, but want to know what non-technical "soft skills" I should focus on in my interview. Any suggestions?-Covering All My Bases
Dear Covering All My Bases:
Over the years, I’ve received many variations of this question from job candidates.I like to think of the answer in terms of The Three P’s of Microsoft: Passion, Potential and People. Hiring teams try to identify these “soft skills” along with the core skills required for the role. Understanding the Three Ps helps candidates make their best case during the interview process to get a “hire recommendation” from the hiring team.
Today, I’ll explain the First P – Passion – and I will follow up on Potential and People in the coming days:
How to prepare questions for your interview
I recently participated in a job group panel and was asked for my interview tips. As I answered the question, I realized that I've come up with a whole bunch of additional suggestions since I last wrote about interviews for JobsBlog.The first thing isn't a tip, so much as a philosophy of interviews: when faced with an interview, it is important to recognize that the process serves a dual purpose.
1) Interviews gives us a chance to find out whether or not you can contribute to the company, add value to your team and do the duties that are listed in the job description. This is the obvious purpose of an interview.
2) An interview is also a chance for YOU to interview the team to find out if it is a place where you want to work, a role that you want to take and a manager and team with whom you will "fit in."
It is imperative that you remember this second purpose. Interviewers will almost always open the floor to the interviewee at the end of the session to ask THEM questions. So be prepared!