So what do you know...

[Triton.Deep]

...after a year away, coming back to the states to a less than positive economic situation, wondering how things were going to turn out, who comes calling at my door? Microsoft.

I recieved the offer last night, accepted it this morning and so ends a lot of anxieties about how things are going to turn out. It was a long process with lots of 'I wonder if I'm blowing it' moments, but ended up turning out really well.

Just thought I'd share, I'm pretty pumped about it. That doesn't mean I have to change my name to MicrosoftTD or anything does it? :P

All the best everyone,

J.

[Robert M.]

Let me be the first to congratulate you on the job!!!!

Yes, this is a less than ideal economy, but there are still some jobs out there for people who have the right qualifications.

What will you be doing there???

[Treebeard]

Congratulations, as per Robert's question what role will you be taking up there?

[BosonMichael]

Major congrats, bro!

[Triton.Deep]

Well, I've been doing Active Directory and Exchange for a long time and so applied for a Premier Field Engineering role doing Exchange work. PFE - Exchange is how I see it listed most often. PFE - Messaging, or something like that. So in a nut shell, I'll be doing tons of Microsoft Exchange work.

The actual process of how you end up settling on the position and location is pretty dynamic. At any rate, after the HR screen, the tech screen, and a flurry of emails; they finally flew me up to interview. Met with 8 people total; 4 other PFE's, one Consulting Services fellow, and 3 program managers whom most of the other 5 reported to. That was on a Friday, flew back Saturday morning and then about Wed. they let me know I'd be getting an offer, and then the next day I actually got it. Was a real nice deal for me and my family.

Definitely the most thorough in-depth interview process I've ever been through. I was sort of half thinking of doing a couple posts just stepping through my own experience on it and offering my own little bits of advice, but wasn't sure if anyone actually wants to know about it all. What do you guys think?

J.

[BosonMichael]

If you don't think Microsoft would mind, go for it!

[jaynonymous]

I think it'd be interesting to hear.

[Tinus1959]

Congrats on the new job.

[richardsbd]

Good stuff Mr. PFE!

I'd be curious as to your experinces, having gone through the process here on the East Coast myself a little over a year ago (was ultimately not offered a PFE job).

[Triton.Deep]

Well. Now that I'm trying to write something, I'm finding it's tougher than I thought cause I'm not sure what to share exactly. I'll just dive in and try to get something down.

Just over a year ago, I was initially contacted by Microsoft concerning a position in Dallas Texas. The conversation broke down for the next year I casually kept in touch with that recruiter and eventually her replacement until a few months ago. At that point in time, I reached out to them and so began the process of seeing if we could find a match. We talked about Tampa FL, Phoenix AZ, Washington DC, and Chicago before we finally felt like we had both a location and a position that we could move forward with. In my case, I was able to pass both an PFE Platforms screen (Active Directory), and a PFE Messaging screen (Exchange), I opted for pursuing something in PFE Messaging.

The actual initial "real"(done by an actual engineer) screen was a very thorough process. My interviewer was well prepared and very systematic, however; I felt he was also very fair to me. When i say fair, I mean it is not hard in a large product field to pick little used features and hammer someone at a point of weakness. I felt like he did a good job of diversifying the lines of questioning so that we ended up covering a few different topics and one topic was covered to a pretty good depth.

After I passed the initial screen by that engineer, my HR contact got back in touch and we set up a face to face interview. Microsoft flew me up early one day, I interviewed all day the next, then flew me back early on the following day. I highly recommend going up early on the day before. I took the time to map out my route, make absolutely sure I knew exactly where to go, where to park, how long it would take even in morning rush hour traffic and all.

The actual day of interviewing was enjoyable for the most part. They had lunch delivered to the building and we continued the interview through about half of lunch which I don't think was a specific part of any plan. It was just how it worked out in the flow of people arriving to talk. As for the actual interviews, I mentioned above that I spoke with four other PFE's in Exchange, one Microsoft Consulting services consultant, and three program managers.

The PFE's were interested in one thing primarily, how deep can you go in Exchange with a tremendous focus on troubleshooting? They were well prepared, there questions were systematic, and often times naturally lent themselves to further questioning and answering. When I was preparing for this part of the interview, I just focused on brushing up on Exchange core functionality like mail transport, calendaring, and design/architecture. The Program Managers were focused on soft skills. People skills, conflict resolution, how those situations can sometimes be unique for a Microsoft employee verses outside integrators/professionals. They wanted a lot of real experiences as well as personal ideology concerning those matters. So, better have those experiences from your past fresh in your mind.

By the end of the day, I can honestly say that I was 100% content with it all. I knew I had done well, I also knew that they were interviewing a lot of other candidates and that i very well might not be one of the ones they extended an offer too. I was OK with that, no matter which way it went, it was a pretty good experience to go through.

At any rate..I did eventually get an offer and I start in about a month. I can't help but be pretty excited. I started talking with them about a year ago, and they proved to be an incredibly professional team of individuals from top to bottom. A factor that wasn't lost on me at all when it came time to decided where I'd like to be working in the future.

And there you have it. Not quite as informative as I thought it would be, but that was my experience in a nut shell. Just drop me a line if there is anything more specific and if can comment, I will.

All the best,

J.