I've got good news for International job seekers interested in Microsoft software development opportunities, but not ready to relocate Stateside: we have jobs in the places you live!
 
This is the first in a series to showcase some of our global development centers and development teams. They are working on a wide variety of different technology and products with the team sizes range from big to small. The one thing that they all have in common is that they have huge impact on products that are used around the world. I'm looking forward to sharing the interviews and pictures from these places around the world.
 

So keep an eye on JobsBlog for my posts over the next months as we go around the world  - meeting the people who build the software we use. Our first stop next week will be in Oslo, Norway.
 
In the meantime, for a listing of all of our development opportunities – visit the below links.  There may not be openings right now in all of these locations, but join the Talent Network and get notified as opportunities become available within your location and technology interests.
 

Canada:  Click Here
China:  Click Here
Europe:  Click Here
India:  Click Here
Israel:  Click Here
Japan:  Click Here
For all other positions and locations:  Click Here
 
Thanks all – hope this helps you find that job you’ve been looking for….it is possibly closer to home then you thought!
 
-Anne

In my last post I mentioned that we would be touring the globe visiting some of our international development centers. Our first stop: Oslo, Norway. Take a moment to find out more about one of the 'Softies that works at this location and what he works on. Some pretty interesting stuff happens on our campuses around the world!

All the best - Anne

‘Softie in Question: Sveinar Rasmussen
Position at Microsoft: Principal SDE
Group: Search Foundation, IEG
Location: Oslo, Norway

Tell me more about the Microsoft offices in Oslo?
The offices here are nice. Last year (2011), a few areas in the offices here were refurbished. A sip of coffee in the new library is relaxing between the coding sessions – and there is a foosball table too, kicking back with games and consoles. The atmosphere is relaxed but with lively loud discussions sometimes. The cantina food is great with a huge selection of salads plus a hot dish every day. On most Fridays there are plenty of cakes to counter those healthy salads, too! It’s balanced.
 
What is it like to work at Microsoft in one of our subsidiary offices compared to working in the US Headquarters?
Despite its Redmond-centric past, I feel that Microsoft is embracing the subsidiary offices quite well. With extensive use of Lync, the practical difference isn´t huge. Being a subsidiary, I believe we are in on the action. Naturally, we cannot attend the yearly huge company meeting in person - but we do get the luxury of attending these meetings from the comfort of our chair. Another thing that I feel is very heartwarming and respectfully impressive: Redmondians happily suggest Lync outside their working hours. We get the same employee benefits like a fantastic free Windows Phone 7 device... and discounted Kinect sensors and games etc.
 
What was the reason you considered applying to Microsoft?  How did you find out about the specific role you are currently in right now?
I would claim that Microsoft is a company for us engineers. And with the focus on delivering quality software, I feel that one can truly be proud of what Microsoft is doing to stay relevant in the technology sector. The competition is fierce, but we are tenacious. But with certain innovative products in the market now like Office 2010, Windows 7, Xbox360, Kinect, Bing and Windows Phone 7, there is a huge customer base that follows. When you have so many users of our products, the impact of this great engineering playground offers a great place to work building the next version of Office.

I have been writing search engines for over a decade. Microsoft acquired our team here back in 2008. The role I have today is mostly the same as it has been all along - having fun, learning and building a platform to help people with finding stuff they need. Being a principal software engineer for enterprise search is rewarding. I blessed with skilled co-workers here with strong problem solving abilities, expertise in server side development with emphasis on scalability, reliability and security.

Any tips to job seekers around the world interested in relocating to Oslo and working at Microsoft?
Oslo is not a big city, the weather isn’t particularly warm during the Norwegian winters... but the working atmosphere that Microsoft offers, the friendly warm people in our distributed group coupled with the joy of tech = makes my day. Maybe it will do the same for you, too?

 I’m sure the enterprising reader has already read through this site and numerous others to piece together our interview process, however I don’t believe we’ve ever fully outlined it in one place. (Ginny did a great post on the college process– though it’s slightly different than what’s used for experienced candidates.)

So what’s going on from the experienced/industry candidate side? Here’s the general Microsoft interview process (from an industry recruiter’s perspective – mine!)

1. Application (via our Microsoft Careers website)
2. Recruiter review (See below for more details)
3. Recruiter interview (often by phone, sometimes email)
4. Technical Interview (phone, in person, email, or Live Meeting)
5. On-site interview (also in rare situations: Video Teleconference or Live Meeting)

Now, the details for each of these steps can vary slightly by recruiter and position. And each probably warrants its own topic within this blog. However, the one piece I want to focus on today is Recruiter Review, as this hasn't been discussed much previously.

"Recruiter Review" is the step during which the recruiter is reviewing the resumes for all the various applicants on a given position. To do this, the recruiter applies a search algorithm to pull a list of applicants which closely matches the requirements for that position. The recruiter then goes through that list of applicants, reading each individual resume to determine who to move forward and contact.

What does this mean for you? Well, remember this post from Gretchen way back when? What’s better than one recruiter attempting to read every resume submission that matches our profile? 200+ recruiters checking resume submissions and matching them against our profiles! :-). Keep in mind we’re only human, but we’re out there looking and matching every day!

So what’s the next step? Search our site, narrow your search to the right jobs, and apply online. Oh, and if you happen to come across anything that mentions Windows Live – click those first! ;-)

- Kenji (who also happens to recruit for Window Live ;-)

Dear JobsBlog: I've done it before, and I've seen it in virtually every resume that I come across. But let’s put the question to rest. What is your take on the famous "list of skills" like: "Programming lauguages: C#, Java, C++ Software Design: UML, Merise Services and Hosting: Web Services, WCF, OData, Windows Azure platform." Are they always good, always bad, or "it depends"? Should this list be included on a resume? If so, why? Thanks in advance!

-List of Skills

Dear List: As a Developer or Engineer, your main skill or trade is your ability to code, build, ship, optimize, test, and solve problems.  As recruiters we review a lot of resumes and  appreciate it when you include the arsenal of technical skills you have with regards to specific programming languages, database experience, and other tools/technologies.  So yes, you should include this information. With one caveat: what we don’t want to see are technologies listed you barely have experience with.  If you’ve used XML once and aren’t well versed in it, it is better to leave it off your resume. Anything you list is fair game to call out during a technical interview/screen.  It doesn’t bode well to list things you aren’t very familiar with. We know you have a lot to offer and that you have broad technical ability but we want it to be clear to us what you have done and what your areas of strengths are technically. For example, by your skills list alone we can tell if you’re a hard core Microsoft technologies engineer, someone who fully immersed in the mobile world, a UI Developer, or someone who is focused on the LAMP stack. 

Beyond technical skills, if you have a strong ability or domain expertise in an area please call that out.  Without clearly listing this, we won’t know what your expertise is in, what jobs might best suited for you, and better yet what your technical background looks like.  Also if you have special skills such as experience with R, machine learning, data mining, Hadoop, or MapReduce to name a few, we would love to be able to see these skills listed clearly.  Writing a resume is not an easy or quick task however erring on the side of simplicity, getting straight to the point about what your contribution was for each job, and clearly citing your strong ability in certain technical areas is probably your safest bet. A resume is supposed to summarize your skills and experience on paper, it’s job is to get you that phone screen and interview.  Help us understand you on paper and get you to the next step in finding your new career.

Good luck!
Eugenia

‎‎Microsoft's renowned social media researcher danah boyd (yes, the lower case is intentional) is in the news again since Fortune magazine announced her as One to Watch.

danah is currently off doing fieldwork, so we decided to run our Microspotting interview with her from early 2009 - shortly after she started working for Microsoft.

How's it going getting settled into NERD, aka Microsoft's New England Research & Development center?
I haven't done enough nesting yet, but so far, so good. mostly, it's a crash course in setting up computers, balancing meetings, figuring out hierarchies, learning the intranet … a radical change from the last six months of never leaving my couch just writing, writing, writing. ‎

Right: you're not only transitioning into a new job and new city -- but also out of dissertation mode. How's that going?
Yup. New city, new job, far far far far far more human interaction. I mean, in the last six months of my dissertation, i really didn't see anyone but my partner. I was a COMPLETE hermit. Mandatory isolation is required training to be an academic. That said, I'm loving the people at NERD, so it’s a welcome re-intro into civilization. I mean, they’re just as geeky as I am!

So, give me a glimpse into the range of researchers on your team.
Well, we have 7 full-timers including physicists, a mathematician, a cryptographer, a game theorist and a theoretical computer scientist — or at least I think that's what they are. They label me a sociologist which always makes me giggle, so i can't imagine how badly i'm doing labeling them. ‎‎

You research social interactions on the web, but aren't a sociologist. Do you identify more with information systems?
Scholarly labels come with a lot of baggage -- they mean specific things about method, theory, framing. I'm pretty darn interdisciplinary in my approach to scholarship. My work in the last few years would be closest to anthropology, but most anthropologists wouldn't count me in their club. Rick Rashid calls me a computer scientist which just makes me ROFL. Honestly, i avoid those labels like the plague, but here, it’s kinda tricky.

I'm super curious about your decision to come to Microsoft -- especially given the fact that some in the social media industry have been known to hate on Microsoft ...
I wrote a rant on my blog about why i chose this lab. I don't really care about what the industry has to say about MSFT. I’m here because it’s the most interesting place i could be at.

Which was rougher: defending your dissertation or defending your choice to work for Microsoft?
Honestly, I can't even compare my dissertation or job. . . both pale in comparison to defending the Enhancing Child Safety and Online Technologies Task Force Report that I put out. It’s been complete hell trying to get politicians to accept data that doesn’t match their worldview. It made everything else feel like cake.

What do you like about working here?
What I really care about is that the company values research. Microsoft Research is hands down the most impressive research institution i’ve seen. Even though my research has product implications, i’m not a product person, but i love being in a place where my work funnels into products. I also think a lot of folks underestimate the role that MSFT plays in shaping policy, both explicitly and implicitly. I hope my research also shapes policy going forward.

Interesting. What policies are you most curious about impacting?
Well, right now, the policies related to youth and the internet … but in general, policies and practices that involve information sharing and communication. There's always an interaction between companies and policy. At the most mundane, companies have to figure out how to implement policies that are put into place. But companies also shape how those policies are formed, how they are thought about, and how they are implemented. MSFT has played a major role in many different policies and it's been shaped by them too.

So, once you get settled in, what are you must excited about sinking your teeth into, research wise?
Mostly, i've been puzzling about boundaries, especially around the notions of public/private and how people manage tensions of audiences online. Everyone's up in arms saying that the kids don't get privacy. And of course there's the old battle cry that privacy is dead. But i think that both are dead wrong. I think that privacy is playing out in new ways that are connected to the dynamics of social media. So, i want to explore that. In the short-term, it'll mostly mean looking at things like Twitter and Facebook Status Updates and whatnot, but i’m more into the bigger issues than those particular technologies.

LINKS: • a longer interview with danah: research.microsoft.com • danah's website: danah.org • danah's blog: zephoria.org/thoughts • danah's research: danah.org/papers • danah's twitter: twitter.com/zephoria