Microsoft

Business Planning

May - August 2018 • Redmond, WA

What I liked

Loved the culture, the project, and my team.

What I wish was different

It's a large company that can be very overwhelming at times and can be hard to get things accomplished

Advice

Don't be scared to reach out and ask everyone questions about anything, even people who are senior leaders in other positions or teams, everyone is very willing to meet with you and chat.

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Production intern

May - August 2018 • Redmond, WA

What I liked

Meeting people in the field and getting real world corporate experience.

What I wish was different

I wish it would have been more structured and I had more responsibilities.

Advice

Always say yes.

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Program Manager Intern

May - August 2018 • Redmond, WA

What I liked

Strong, well-thought out internship program, got to work on a project that had impact on the team and was actually shipped

What I wish was different

More communication in the beginning of internship

Advice

Reach out to full time employees throughout the summer for advice, people are willing to help

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Explorer Intern

May - August 2018 • Redmond, WA

What I liked

The location was cool. Seattle is a cool place

What I wish was different

Advice

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Software Engineering Intern

June - August 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

Lots of interns around, really good events put on my Microsoft, and good nightlife scene. Return offers are very likely, which is a huge plus!

What I wish was different

Onboarding was rough, and organization wasn't great throughout the internship

Advice

Don't stress too much, your performance isn't scrutinized a ton. Enjoy the summer!

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Explore intern

June - September 2018 • Bellevue, WA

What I liked

People are accessible and kind, and they made Microsoft a welcoming learning environment for interns.

What I wish was different

I could have talked to different people more so that I can learn what they’re doing and branch out more.

Advice

Try things that you hesitate about, you never know how much you earn and learn.

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Software Engineer

May - August 2018 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

The company really made an effort to let their interns know they were valued. I also got to work on a real project that will be used by my team!

What I wish was different

Advice

You definitely need to build a strong network of people if you are going to move to a completely new place for 3 months. Also take advantage of all the opportunities you find during your internship.

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Software Engineering Intern

June - November 2018 • Berlin, Germany

What I liked

-location -working on a consumer-facing product

What I wish was different

-messy, ineffective culture

Advice

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Software engineer intern

June - September 2017 • Bellevue, WA

What I liked

A very good place to learn good coding practices. Very large internship program and good location and gives you a good social mixture. Good place to learn many technologies.

What I wish was different

I wished I was given more work to do.

Advice

You will get as much out of a Microsoft internship as you put in. There are many research videocasts, opportunities to learn about different teams, and as much work as you want to do. Take advantage of everything.

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Treasury and Capital Markets Summer Analyst

May - August 2017 • Redmond, WA

What I liked

The company culture. It's absolutely unmatched. Subsidised food was also amazing ($7 Filet that can be cut with a fork and 2 sides). Intern activities were unbelievable (Private Chainsmokers concert, free xbox one, bubble soccer, river tubing, lunch with CFO, etc..). Free rental car and hotel for the whole summer.

What I wish was different

Because trading markets started on east coast time, the day started really early.

Advice

Make a strong first impression.

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SWE

June - September 2017 • Redmond, WA

What I liked

Tons of intern events to keep you busy; Seattle is an awesome city and there's tons of great hiking areas between 1 and 5 hours away; Intern Signature Event is crazy fun; because there were so many inters I always felt like there were more people to meet and more fun experiences to share as well as a close support network if ever needed.

What I wish was different

I wish I had more say in which project i got. I did not particularly enjoy my project, and I told my manager after a few weeks and he was happy to give me something else to work on.

Advice

Network within the company! If you want to return as an intern or full time, you should tell your recruiter by week 6 which team you've been talking with.

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Explorer Intern

May - August 2017 • Mountain View, CA

What I liked

I was able to gain hands on experience and learn about the industrial side of computer science that I otherwise wouldn't have gained from school.

What I wish was different

I can't think of anything that I would change.

Advice

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Rather than wasting time being stuck it is better to ask for help (after some reasonable amount of time trying by yourself of course).

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Program Manager Intern

June - September 2017 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

Well-structured intern program, say in my project

What I wish was different

More Stanford intern events

Advice

Don't forget to use your vision insurance!

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software engineering intern

May - August 2017 • Seattle, WA

What I liked

Lots of great people and beautiful campus.

What I wish was different

More challenging work, better project.

Advice

Learn more about the team you work on before you decide.

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program manager intern

May - August 2017 • Redmond, WA

What I liked

ability to learn

What I wish was different

more coding

Advice

meet deadlines

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Software Engineering Intern

May - July 2017 • Bellevue, WA

What I liked

Microsoft is a giant company with a wealth of extremely interesting opportunities. This size and the well-established nature of their intern program make it an excellent place to experiment, learn, and grow over the course of a summer.

What I wish was different

I wish their had been more opportunity to learn about the company strategic plans as a whole and network with more executive people. Aside from frequent Q/A sessions, conversations are pretty much limited to your team members.

Advice

Communicate with those around you, even if you're shy. The only interns I saw not receive return offers were the ones who tried to do everything themselves and were resistant to asking for help.

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Intern

May - August 2017 • Redmond, WA

What I liked

Got to work on a real project, really cool people

What I wish was different

Felt not very important to the team

Advice

meet as many people as you can

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Software Engineer

June - August 2018 • Cambridge, MA

What I liked

This was an incredible experience as part of the Microsoft Garage program.

What I wish was different

Advice

Apply early! And make sure to leverage the people you know at Brown, even if its just to get you through the front door. In my case, all it did was secure me a phone interview, but eight interviews later and I was in :)

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Campus Rep

August 2017 • Tallahassee, FL

What I liked

It's been so amazing to be a campus rep for Microsoft! Not only do you get your own Microsoft Device along with a set of tech accessories, but you get clothes with the campus rep logo. They provide you with everything you need to succeed, such as trainings for what ever task is needed, and allow you to get creative with how you'd like to market the Microsoft brand throughout your social media platforms as well as on campus.

What I wish was different

As of now, I don't wish anything would be different. The program keeps getting better, and incentives for campus reps/ perks are awesome. The program is designed to give Microsoft a better name to consumers and does a fantastic job at succeeding, if the campus rep does what is needed of them, of course.

Advice

Communicate effectively with your "manager." Things get rough, school takes over and sometimes you feel overwhelmed with both the internship and school- They'll understand if you give them a heads up and work hard overall!

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Explorer Intern

May - August 2017 • Redmond, WA

What I liked

Interns were treated extremely well. Even though the company employees over 2,000 interns every Summer, each individual is treated with the upmost importance with each intern given many mentors, buddies, counselors, recruiters, and various other resources to maximize your time there. I was able to learn a great deal about the company and what it means to be a member of the community through collaborating alongside full time employees from various teams, attending presentations given by people from all levels of leadership and other global leaders such as Al Gore, and working on interesting and meaningful projects. The intern events were pretty amazing as well, these including sailing trips, boat parties, entire workdays of games and activities, hiking trips, game nights, and of course the Signature Event which is a private concert for all 2,000 interns (whom, by the way, are flown out from where ever they're working) at a completely reserved location followed by the giving of a gift. This year, the event had the Chainsmokers perform at the Boeing Renton Factory, after which we were given Xbox One S's with additional free content. Yeah, this experience was unlike any other.

What I wish was different

Although the project I had been working on was interesting and valuable to the team of which I was a part, I wish that I had the opportunity to utilize my skills with more than just that project and its specific technologies so that I could demonstrate skill in various areas as well as experience what it is like to work on various projects at Microsoft.

Advice

Make the most of your time there. I mean this in terms of both exploring Microsoft (ha, get it) and the area around you. The company offers so much transparency and allows its employees to know what is happening in the company, where it is headed, and why it does what it does - this last point I believe being the most important part. In terms of the area, Seattle, Redmond and all the neighboring cities (even those a bit further out like Vancouver and Portland) are dense with activity and beauty. Commuting everyday from Seattle to Redmond (I stayed at an apartment in downtown Seattle) was never a bore because of getting to see Mt. Reiner in the skyline every time. Interning at Microsoft provides you with so many opportunities and a plethora of experiences, so much so I keep having to add content to the "What did you life?" question. Make the most of it, for you'll only get as much as you give.

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