... And Make the Most out of your Summer Internship

M I C R O S O F T S O F T W A R E R O A D M A P Software Developer Engineer: hardcore coding Software Developer Engineer in Test: you build it to break it Program Manager: Design new features TAM/AC: problem solve and plan for MS IT customers SE/PFE: work on and offsite with customers providing either proactive or reactive support

M I C R O S O F T S O F T W A R E R O A D M A P Stand out from your peers Lots of students have similar resumes, same classes, same class projects, make yours unique No experience? Fill it up with other great stuff Build an application or game just for fun, create iphone and zune apps, participate in contests like ImagineCup and TopCoder Three areas Microsoft recruiters assess resumes on: Academic Record Relevant Project/Work Experience Leadership skills

M I C R O S O F T S O F T W A R E R O A D M A P An elevator pitch is a short statement which will tell a concise and clear story about you in a very short space of time Choose 2 or 3 key things that you believe are your key selling points Make sure your pitch is relevant What do you want them to remember? How could you describe your unique potential value to the company What is the goal of your pitch Ask for the desired outcome

M I C R O S O F T S O F T W A R E R O A D M A P Research Do your homework about the company, read their website Do your homework about the position…at the very least by the night before. Check out blogs, facebook groups, wikipedia, ask friends, former interns, alums, professors and your career center Have well-thought out questions for each interviewer…write them down. Asking questions shows you’re passionate/interested in the position Practice Utilize your career center. Go through mock interviews & have them review your resume. Be able to talk about your past projects…this is key. Be clear and talk about what you did, not what the team did. Practice answering standard questions but don’t have too much of a ‘canned’ response. Practice answering out loud Use interviews to your advantage... In the end, even if you don’t get the job, it’s a great learning experience for the next one!

M I C R O S O F T S O F T W A R E R O A D M A P Four Main Things We’re looking for: Smart and Driven Passion Problem Solving Skills Technical Skills

M I C R O S O F T S O F T W A R E R O A D M A P We don’t want one without the other How do you show you’re smart? Ability to apply your knowledge to make things better Ability to comprehend complex ideas Can learn quickly Ways to show drive Go above and beyond, ask for more work Be a self starter, work hard Do projects outside of the classroom

M I C R O S O F T S O F T W A R E R O A D M A P Passion for the Specific Company Have a great answer for, “Why do you want to work for Microsoft?” Passion for the position “Why do you want to be a software developer?” Passion for the general concept “Why do you want to work in the field of technology?” “Why did you choose CS/CE/EE as your major?”

M I C R O S O F T S O F T W A R E R O A D M A P This is one of the most important areas, but it’s also the toughest area to give tips on Sometimes they seem like trick questions but they’re not Clarify the problem, Ask questions Take your time to think about it Analyze/approach it from different angles, show creativity Think out loud…if you get stuck, we’ll know and can give hints Don’t give up Sample question: Tell me about the most difficult problem that you had to solve in the last year

M I C R O S O F T S O F T W A R E R O A D M A P Practice implementing code Teach yourself new languages Really know C and C++…very impressive The words of one of our top hiring managers: What I noticed that separated the better candidates was that they: 1. Diagrammed the problem 2. Asked tons of questions before writing a line of code 3. Considered the consequences of every line 4. ***Checked their work*** without being prompted <-- this was the big one 5. Proved that their code was correct by trying a few different inputs 6. Knew how to self-test their code (OK, 4, 5, and 6 are all the same thing, sort of, but so few people did it that it really stands out)

M I C R O S O F T S O F T W A R E R O A D M A P Tell me about the project you’re the most proud of Give me an example of when you had to show good leadership skills. How did the situation turn out? Describe a situation where you disagreed with a decision your group made. What happened, and what did you do? Describe a situation where you were not able to meet a deadline. What have you done to improve your knowledge in the past year? Is there anything I’ve missed? (Tell them about a big accomplishment)

M I C R O S O F T S O F T W A R E R O A D M A P  Write the question on the board. Verify assumptions and ask questions  Write a few samples inputs and what you would expect the outputs to be  Pseudo-code  Code!

M I C R O S O F T S O F T W A R E R O A D M A P  Clarify the question/need?  Clarify assumptions  Prioritize test cases  Understand the customer  Be creative, and don’t stop  Say what you are thinking  Example- Mock Interview with testers

M I C R O S O F T S O F T W A R E R O A D M A P  Clarify the problem you are trying to solve, this involves understanding your audience  Identify the goals  Run through some scenarios  Gather the requirements  State the detailed design  Evaluate whether your detailed design fulfilled the requirements to enable scenarios that meet your goals to solve the problem (phew!) Example- Mock Interview with PM

M I C R O S O F T S O F T W A R E R O A D M A P  You didn’t prepare  You don’t get sleep  You show up late (duh!)  You give the ever dreaded one word answers  You lack details (give them the how)  You lie  You give up  You don’t ask questions  You don’t apply what you’ve learned during the day  You make assumptions

M I C R O S O F T S O F T W A R E R O A D M A P “Programming Interviews Exposed” Relax and have fun (easier said than done) Keep trying! Sometimes it takes more than one time to get an offer!

M I C R O S O F T S O F T W A R E R O A D M A P 1.) IMPRESS them 2.) Exceed your goals 3.) Ask Questions 4.) To us an Internship = One Long Interview 5) Know where you ‘rank’ 6.) Remember this is your ONE chance

M I C R O S O F T S O F T W A R E R O A D M A P Learn Something New, Broaden your skill set Meet with your manager to set clear goals Network, Network, Network Participate in all the events Get to know the hiring manager & recruiter Explore the area…think long term Have fun...its a new experience Think long term

M I C R O S O F T S O F T W A R E R O A D M A P Projects, Projects, Projects Create an app…notepad, iphone app, mobile apps, open source projects like codeplex.com, ask your profs have projects they need completed Participate in Competitions : Imaginecup, Topcoder Volunteer: IT at a non-profit, lead a drive or project Take Classes: learn a new tech skill, or something unrelated to broaden your perspective…marketing, finance Learn Something New: experience.com, S2B: Use free software and become an expert Find Industry Certified Solutions online : StackOverFlow.com, MSDN.com, etc.

M I C R O S O F T S O F T W A R E R O A D M A P