Partner Marketing Advisor Review

My intern year at Microsoft was one of the biggest and most valuable professional learning experiences. Despite moving far away from home to a place with no friends or family, the intern community was well connected which meant it was easy to get to know people and build new relationships.

Relationships obviously take time to build but, at Microsoft, my team tried to get me included from the get go. I was invited to lots of their meetings to help me gain a deeper insight into how our team fitted into the business and was trusted with projects to lead and manage within a few months.

At Microsoft, you are encouraged to seek out a mentor(s) who you meet up with on a weekly basis to talk about more personal matters if you wish to. I also had a weekly 121 with my manager to catch up on my progress in the team or to ask for help if needed.

Some days were busier than others, usually depending on the time of year (e.g. end of each financial quarter). It was up to you how you wanted to balance your workload a lot of the time. If you wanted to get involved in other projects you could ask and almost always you would be allowed, as long as you were up to date with your own 'core-role' tasks.

A massive amount of responsibility is given to you at Microsoft. For the first three months you are thoroughly onboarded to understand Microsoft processes. In the next 6-9 months you get to dive into projects and I had the opportunity to lead my very own project and manage my own partners on behalf of Microsoft which was pretty cool!

Placement year has taught me invaluable skills such as Time Management, Organisation, Teamwork, Partner Relationship Management etc. Microsoft also give you the opportunity to sit the Microsoft Suite of Exams (Certified) for free, which is great for your CV and helps you learn more about Microsoft technology.

The offices at Microsoft are very relaxed. There is a connection area with bean bags and swings, where you can go to relax during breaks or lunch. It is also easy to ask someone for a coffee and a chat if you want to get to know someone better or learn about their role - everyone is keen to help you learn more about the business and how you can succeed in your career.

My personal experience of the overall internship set up was that it was very organised. I was able to get in contact with my manager before I started placement so I had a level of expectation and certainty of what I was coming into. The HR team also held onboarding days for us in the first week to help us meet other interns and to learn more about the company, which was fun!

Microsoft are great at investing on their employees development. As an intern cohort we had day-long courses from external companies who would come in and help us learn more about our strengths/weaknesses and how to improve these etc. There is also Learning Days where you are encouraged to join free courses run by Microsoft or you can use these days to study for Microsoft Certified Exams.

Future Employment Prospects within the organisation are good as far as I know. After your intern year, there is a graduate hiring opportunity for internal interns. Even if you are not successful during this process, you can also apply during the external candidate process. Apparently, once you have worked at Microsoft, you remain in their "system" so you can also be scouted in future if an opportunity comes up and HR think you might be a good fit.

Yes - the intern year have all been very sociable and have made an effort to organise events to get to know one another. We had an intern committee who would organise socials one every few months and we also have organised some virtual quizzes during COVID - 19 to keep connected as a cohort.

The cost of living and socialising in the area we worked (Reading) was quite high due to the fact it is just outside London. As a student with working-class parents, I did struggle a bit financially - however, it was only for a year and the placement experience was worth it!

The nightlife was very average in my opinion. There are a few pubs and clubs in Reading but they weren't really my scene! The main high street/riverside area of Reading however, was very nice and has good bars and restaurants. Also, Purple Turtle is a fun bar to go to for intern social gatherings as it is very casual and sells cheap drinks.

There wasn't loads but there were sports teams that you could join. I was in the Microsoft Women's football team which met every second Tuesday for training. There are also other sports teams you can join that ranges from rowing to netball and beyond. Microsoft also encourage you to do 'volunteering days' with your team. These are days outside of work where you can volunteer to help a charity or organisation of your choice - for example, a homeless shelter.