For a bit of background, I'm currently working towards a comp sci BS. (2nd year coming up. :)) I'm the type that likes to have at least somewhat of an idea where they're going, so I started looking up job postings at companies I had an interest in to see what they're looking for. I'm sure we're all aware of Google and Facebook recruiting the cream of the crop before they even graduate. That being said, I don't expect to graduate with a 4.0 and 7-10 top notch projects under my belt, so I don't expect anything like that, but I DO want to know how possible it'd be for someone to work their way to a position like that and I definitely have the determination to at least make a 3.6-3.7 by the end of all this. However, it seems like, in order to have the opportunity to participate in such high profile organizations you have to be seriously gifted and pretty much a genius. I was hoping someone could give me some insight into what it really takes to land a Microsoft internship. I'm very interested in Xbox Live, specifically and the transition to consoles as a more complete entertainment center with a gaming focus. It'd be great to know if I even stand a chance at getting my foot in the door to work on things like that. Thanks for any responses.

I didn't know Facebook were talked about in the same way as Google. Certainly not from the quality of their product.

yeah, I'll try to find the article about them. It's rather recent, but I can imagine it being a very difficult job, regardless of the actual results. Can you imagine keeping up with millions of users with hundreds of methods of interaction, thousands of user-created apps, the responsibility to personal information privacy, keeping such an impossibly huge database running 24/7, keeping something like that FAST? Even though it IS facebook, it really boggles my mind the scale of that project...

Heck, they sometimes start people at nearly 6 figures for entry level in highly technical positions, according to the article if I remember correctly. Seems quite a bit insane, to me.

All you have to do is apply for an internship on their website. If they accept you, then you'll have to temporarily relocate, unless they have offices near your area.

If you want to know what is "just enough" to get in, then here's your answer: nothing is enough.

My advice to you is to apply and be proud of what you have done (I'm sure you have some qualifications). I've reviewed applicants before who were, to be honest, unqualified, but I could see their passion and love for what they do. I'm sure that Microsoft will see your potential, regardless of your ability level. That is their passion (according to their slogan) and they will foster it and help interns make the most of it. Just apply, you have nothing to lose.

Quote:Original post by kibokun...

While it's a biggish database, that's hardly unusual or special. They store loads of data but that's nor unusual either. And it's not even that big a DB, when you compare it to things like search engines or even WoW.

Google have to do huge amounts of work in virtually no time when you enter a search. FaceBook is much more static... if you don't get to know about Jane's new photo until 5 min after she posts it, big deal.

Quote:Original post by Promit
When I got an internship with them, I did the following:
1) Gave the local recruiter my resume.
2) Was invited to, and went out to, an interview in Redmond/Bellevue.
3) Impressed them and got an offer.

They may ask what your interests are in terms of what you want to do, but you don't generally get to be too specific about what you want.

If you don't mind me asking, when you interviewed, how much experience did you have?

Thanks especially for the reply, LmT. I'm not trying to set a benchmark for myself becuase that seems limiting. I want to know what kind of people have a shot. But, that doesn't matter because I'll find out next summer when I apply if I'm up to snuff. Between then and now I will have learned a lot, anyway. (A full year of Java, data structures, discrete math and vectors/matrices. Fun semesters ahead :)) It just makes me anxious to not be able to find out if I'm not doing enough right now.

Quote:Original post by kibokun
It just makes me anxious to not be able to find out if I'm not doing enough right now.

You're welcome. If you have free time, you could always be doing more. Just make sure that your side projects do not interfere with your classes, they seem challenging yet fun (discrete mathematics was fun for me). As long as you're doing something, you should be in good shape.

P.S. Find a good job around campus that would have you doing simple work for a local company or the school. Filing papers, working customer service, or even washing floors will be a pain, but if you do such work for a computer store or office, you'll have some leverage. Combine an entry level job with your education in the upcoming semesters and they might be able to offer a better job more related to your field.

I also landed an internship at Microsoft (Promit was on my Communicator contacts list but for some reason we never met?)

I was told by a teacher's assistant in my first semester to send my resume to them. My professional experience included no programming just a few math tutor jobs, a few Rent-A-Coder projects, and a brief internship at a company that works with satellites. Due to scheduling conflicts I was unable to do an in-person interview and had a phone interview instead. I completely failed it. I was asked some brain-teaser (which they're not allowed to do any more) and was unable to solve it.

I wasnt asked for a second interview.

The next year they contacted me again to see if I was still interested, I had a campus interview, apparently impressed the interviewer with my programming skill and was sent to Redmond for the second round. I interviewed with two teams while there and they both liked me and I got to pick which internship offer I would take. After two internships, I'm returning in a few weeks as a full-time employee.

My experience is that how much programming you've done professionally isnt really important to them since you are still a college student. You can expect to have a huge number of successful projects under your belt because it's not necessarily true that you've been programming for that long. They're much more interested in your problem solving and reasoning ability.

Your resume is there to get them interested in you - put things on it that will show them that you have experience with computers but also put things on it (not necessarily programming-related) which allow you to talk about your more abstract skills. Nobody ever asked me about my experience with programming languages. Almost everyone asked me about the Rent-A-Coder jobs. They never cared about what I wrote or what programming problems I encountered, they wanted to know about what problems I encountered dealing with clients, with time-management, etc. When it came to the programming questions part of the interview there were times when I got stuck and they pressed me to describe how I was thinking about the problem and to describe how I was working to become unstuck.

As some final advice: I wouldnt worry too much about your GPA when trying to get an internship at MS. I had a 3.3 or some such when I got my first internship but I'm not sure if anyone cared or knew since I was never asked about school and I dont remember ever giving them a transcript.