Technology Solutions Professional Review

I enjoyed the vast amount of responsibilities and options I was given in exploring the wider Microsoft on my placement, it was a really memorable year with a friendly cohort.

Everyone got along really well in our intern cohort. I have worked in companies part time whilst at university and undertook other internships with a very classic ‘corporate’ culture but Microsoft is not one of those; it is market leading for being a flexible culture where everyone is welcome and gets along to work well.

Guidance was very clear in the form of quarterly performance reviews, very thorough. Managers were always supportive of any progression moves and supportive of me earning extra certifications and doing stretch projects. I felt valued as a colleague.

This really depends on how much work as an intern you can schedule in. It is up to the intern usually to decide how and when they want to carry out work and shadow, but I generally always had something to do as in free hours I focused on certifications from Microsoft and other development activities.

There were times when I launched my own sales campaign and went out to customers solo or with very little side - we were given as much responsibility as we could handle and wanted.

The countless Microsoft certifications that I was able to gain cost free at Microsoft will help me in my future career unquestionably, as a lot of them are very up to date and niche. It’s a great opportunity to learn and take back something solid and reliable for a future career.

The office was open plan and you could speak to anyone. Very casual but not stupidly so - conversations were kept sensible and everything flowed well. I never felt interrupted despite being in the office and there was always the option to work from home.

All interns were given a definitive role, department and manager from the word go. Everything was well structured and there were organised intern events.

Again, I was able to get as many Microsoft certifications as I could possibly handle - thousands of pounds worth actually and something that has opened up a lot of doors, whether I am successful in returning or not.

There are a lot of opportunities on Microsoft’s graduate scheme. I have yet to find out whether I am successful but regardless there was a lot of scope to apply for different roles on a fast track basis as an out-going intern.

The social scene was mostly inclusive and everyone was invited to the official socials.

For an area near to london, it wasn’t too bad, but it’s still rather expensive to live in Reading.

This leaves a lot to be desired - coming from Sheffield there isn’t a great scene in Reading for nightlife truthfully - a handful of clubs and bars in a small town. However - we mostly did activities as an intern group so it was OK.

There was a fair amount of scope for getting involved in various activities such as Dragon Boat racing and etc, but I would have definitely liked to have been offered more in this area.