How to Get
a Job at Microsoft
Hiring Process, Careers, and Job Search FAQs
Microsoft is one of the biggest computer software companies in the world, with over 180,000 employees worldwide. If you’re curious about how to get a job at Microsoft to propel your career forward, we’ve prepared this article just for you. It includes everything you need about Microsoft’s company culture, hiring process, salaries and more.
About Microsoft: Company Profile
Microsoft was founded in Redmond, Washington, in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Since then, the company has expanded throughout the world and now operates in more than 190 countries. Microsoft specializes in developing software, services, devices, and cloud computing tools to help individuals and businesses increase their productivity.
What It’s Like Working for Microsoft?
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Working at Microsoft can be challenging but also rewarding. The company offers great salaries and benefits competitive with other tech giants, and encourages employees to collaborate with each other and approach their work creatively.
However, it faces some challenges common to large companies in the tech industry, such as delays due to bureaucracy, excessive competitiveness amongst employees, and occasionally demanding schedules.
Life at Microsoft: Microsoft Company Culture
Microsoft offers employees a unique working environment where they can develop rock-solid skills. They encourage staff to put in their best and think creatively. It also fosters a healthy work-life balance amongst employees to prevent burnout.
Thanks to a company culture focused on learning and improvement, employees are encouraged to learn from each other and take advantage of being in an environment where they can build a personal connection with experts in their field.
What do Employees Say About Microsoft?
According to reviews on Indeed, employees are generally satisfied and recommend working at Microsoft. There is generally positive feedback regarding salary and benefits, opportunities for advancement, and perks such as flexible schedules and access to a gym.
A few of the downsides mentioned by employers include difficulties with management, long hours, and a sense that work never stops or that there is a need to put in extra hours. However, the overall perception of the company is positive.
Applying for a Job at Microsoft: Overview
1
The best way to apply for a job at Microsoft is through their careers website. Make sure to search for the right opportunity according to your interests and skill level.
2
In order to apply, you’ll have to submit a detailed resume and cover letter tailored for the position. Your information will then be added to their database and may be considered for future roles.
3
If they are interested in your application materials, the next part of the process is a quick call with the recruiter in order to confirm all your information is correct.
4
After the screening, you will be contacted by the hiring manager or someone from the team to conduct a phone interview focused on the specific role.
5
If your first interview is successful, you will be called back for a more extensive behavioral and technical interview with several members of the team. This can take several hours and will cover your programming experience.
6
If all goes well, you will receive an offer. If you accept it, you’ll be walked through the intake and orientation process and you can begin your journey as a Microsoft employee.
Microsoft Hiring Process
If Microsoft is your dream company, read below to gain a more thorough understanding of what their application and interview process entails before you start to browse their job listings.
Microsoft Job Application
As stated above, the best way to apply for a job at Microsoft is to do it directly through their careers website. This site is updated constantly to reflect job opportunities across a variety of locations and for a variety of expertise levels, ranging from beginner to senior roles. Most job opportunities are full-time, although they occasionally list part-time opportunities as well.
When you apply, make sure to highlight your accomplishments in your previous roles, and not just list your responsibilities and duties to show you have the required experience. You can have a resume that is longer than one page if needed, but try to be concise and put the most relevant information on the first page. You can apply to several positions at once.
Microsoft Interview Process
If a recruiter finds your resume convincing, you will receive a screening call to make sure your information is correct and you were truthful when filling out the application. If successful, you will move to a second phone interview where your skills will be assessed in greater depth.
If you are successful with the steps above, you will be invited for an on-site interview. Typically, you will meet with several managers or team members in a series of meetings, so make sure to clear your schedule and prepare to answer thoughtful questions. If this stage of the process goes well, you will be sent a formal offer to join the Microsoft ranks.
Microsoft Salaries, Employment Benefits, and Perks
Like most top tech companies, Microsoft offers its employees numerous employment benefits and perks. This is one of the main reasons people opt to work for this company. Read below to learn more about some of these benefits.
How Much Do Microsoft Employees Make?
According to Indeed, the average annual salary of a Microsoft employee ranges from $109,568 to $146,273 per year. However, as with any other job, your salary will vary depending on your experience, skillset, and role.
Microsoft Employment Benefits and Perks
Numerous benefits await you if you land your dream job at Microsoft. These include a flexible work schedule so you can have time for your family, as well as a variety of family support programs.
Employees at Microsoft also get financial support for their education and tuition assistance. The aim is to help their employees expand their knowledge and stay on top of their field. Microsoft employees also receive world-class health care benefits.
Tech Jobs at Microsoft: Job Requirements and Description
Microsoft is constantly recruiting professionals for a variety of roles. Below you will find some of the jobs posted on their website at the time of writing this article. You’ll also find the basic requirements and location for each role to help you find the one that’s best suited for your skills, experience, and career goals.
Software Engineer
Minimum Education Qualification: BS or MS degree in engineering or computer science, or equivalent in years of work experience
Experience Qualification: 2 plus years of industry experience developing high impact software
Skill requirements: Web services, along with a range of technical tools and methodologies
Location: Redmond, Washington
As a software engineer at Microsoft, your responsibilities involve designing and developing an amazing multi-platform SDK to improve the adoption of Azure Communication Services. Software engineers often work in teams especially to build UI SDK.
Visual Designer 2
Minimum Education Qualification: Bachelor’s Degree in Design or years of equivalent experience
Experience Qualification: 2 years of experience in interactive or visual design
Skill requirements: Technical skills in visual design, graphic design, and user experience
Location: Redmond, Washington
As a visual designer for Microsoft, you will have a chance to collaborate with your team in the creation of content experiences for users. You’ll use your creative talent to grow and evolve the Microsoft employee experience brand.
Senior Software Engineer
Minimum Education Qualification: Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or an equivalent technical degree
Experience Qualification: 3 years experience in high-level programming languages like C++ or Java
Skill requirements: Software development, coding expertise
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
In this role, you will be working to make the data of Microsoft 365’s customers secure. You’ll become familiar with all the technologies and code involved with M365, and work on actively preventing and solving common issues in collaboration with other members of your team.
Program Manager 2
Minimum Education Qualification: Bachelor’s degree or higher in computer science or related field or equivalent industry experience.
Experience Qualification: 3 years of experience in handling technical roles with exposure to customer side troubleshooting
Skill requirements: Data analytics tools, programming, communication, collaboration, and negotiation skills
Location: Redmond, Washington
This role involves understanding customer requirements to define products and initiatives. You’ll be in charge of managing the creation and delivery of new offerings, working with customers to pilot products, and delivering highly effective and repeatable processes with continual improvement.
Data Scientist
Minimum Education Qualification: Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or equivalent years of relevant experience
Experience Qualification: 2 years experience in programming in C++, Python, or Java.
Skill requirements: Machine language, data modeling
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Your primary duty as a data scientist at Microsoft is to design, prototype, and test analytic models. In addition, you will be required to create reports and dashboards that support the growth of Microsoft. Analyzing business opportunities that Microsoft can take advantage of is also part of the role.
Azure Networking Support Engineer
Minimum Education Qualification: Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering or Engineering, or equivalent work experience
Experience Qualification: 3 years technical experience in VPN, DNS, or IP address
Skill requirements: Customer service and support, coding expertise
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, United States
At YouTube, database engineers are responsible for designing, implementing, maintaining, and troubleshooting relational database issues. The most important skill for this position is knowing how to code using C or C++. You should also have extensive analytical thinking skills to identify issues before they cause irreparable damage to the company’s data.
Cloud Solutions Architect – Data & AI
Minimum Education Qualification: Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science
Experience Qualification: 4 years project management experience
Skill requirements: Information technology and cloud management
Location: Melbourne, Victoria
As a Cloud solution architect at Microsoft, your job requires gathering customer or partner insights, especially feedback regarding technical preferences and business needs. Your job as a cloud solution architect requires a clear grasp of customers’ preferences.
Senior Technical Program Manager - Xbox Studios
Minimum Education Qualification: Bachelor’s degree or higher in computer science, a related field, or equivalent relevant experience
Experience Qualification: 5+ years of professional program management
Skill requirements: Strong technical aptitude and analytical skills, understanding of cloud technologies and web services
Location: Redmond, Washington
If you’re interested in gaming, this is a great opportunity for you. In this role, you will be in charge of driving various Core Services features across the board. You’ll work with a range of teams and disciplines and foster collaboration between the engineers and partner teams to distill specific and actionable work.
Principal Software Engineer
Minimum Education Qualification: Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in a quantitative or computational field
Experience Qualification: 8+ years of industry software engineering experience and 2+ years of industry or academic experience in prototyping and building Knowledge Graphs
Skill requirements: Able to develop and maintain ontologies, experience with temporal knowledge graphs and a wide variety of Natural Language Processing techniques, and an entrepreneurial spirit
Location: Redmond, Washington
This role requires you to be passionate in the areas of database storage, indexing and graph databases. You will have the opportunity to build and shape the future of a knowledge graph offering over Cosmos DB and build technology from the ground up.
Digital Technical Specialist
Minimum Education Qualification: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in computer science, information technology, or related fields
Experience Qualification: 3 years experience in technical consulting roles
Skill requirements: IT solutions, Data, and AI
Location: Las Colinas, Texas, United States
You will be instrumental in helping customers make the best technical decisions to build their business depending on Microsoft’s online products and services. You will also have the opportunity to develop deep technical expertise regarding cloud technologies.
How Hard is it to Get a Job at Microsoft?
It is not that difficult to get a job at Microsoft if you have the necessary skills and are prepared for the hiring process. However, there are usually a lot of qualified applicants, so if it’s your dream to land a job as a software engineer at a tech giant like Microsoft, you will need an outstanding resume that highlights your skills and past job successes.
How to Get a Job at Microsoft FAQ
Yes, getting a job at Microsoft with no college degree is achievable. In most cases, Microsoft requires candidates to have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience. With a coding bootcamp, you can gain knowledge and experience in most of the skills required to get a job at Microsoft.
Yes, Microsoft offers competitive salaries to its employees, in addition to great benefits.
The employees at Microsoft that earn the highest are software engineers, program managers, business analysts, computer system analysts, and coding experts. People who work in other sectors like finance, legal department, enjoy great salaries as well.
On average, the hiring process can take up to two months from the time you submit an application to the time you receive an offer.
