Sales Excellence Manager Review

Overall I loved the intern year, the variation of skillset and knowledge I have gained has been invaluable. The responsibility and opportunity to learn at Microsoft is infinite, as well as gaining a support system and network of stakeholders who will remain both colleagues and friends.

My colleagues do value my input to team decisions as well as with customers. Once you build trust with your colleagues it is easier to gain more responsibility. If you do not feel valued, have an open conversation with the stakeholder and they will usually listen with an open-mind then perhaps give you more attention if needed.

Microsoft provides an open, inclusive, and caring environment, if you are stressed there are many different people you can reach out and talk to. It is casual because people create a trusting environment, if you do need support, there is an open-door policy – no question is too small.

At the start of my internship I was less busy than I was at the end. If you feel too busy or overloaded, it is easy to have an open conversation to explain your struggles. Work is not handed to you; you must network and gain opportunities through getting to know people in your team and wider business.

At Microsoft you must seek responsibility, by doing smaller jobs, you will gain trust for more work. Generally, throughout your year you will gain more and more responsibility, however this does vary drastically role to role and depending if you are customer-facing or not.

Microsoft has an open learning culture, there is no hierarchy of “who knows more” and people’s differential skillsets are valued. I have definitely learnt a lot - from learning about how to be more inclusive in the workplace, to sharing my passions in sustainability and helping our business succeed.

An open, inclusive, and caring environment, if you are stressed there are many different people you can reach out and talk to. It is casual because people create a trusting environment, there is no judgement on how you dress or present yourself – “come as you are, do what you love”.

Overall, there was a good structure to the year, however there could be better communication to the interns. Some teams were more organized than others and interns in less organized teams were unluckily left to their own devices compared to great support for some.

There were a lot of compulsory HR-led sessions for development and learning about corporate culture. Sometimes the tone of delivery could have been better but overall there was good investment into our growth. Plenty of “self-starting” resources for your own learning and upskill in technology too.

From an intern to graduate, if you have made significant impact and shown your worth in the year, the graduate prospects are very promising, they give everyone the chance to apply, but it does depend on specific manager-intern relationship too. It is very competitive from intern to graduate as the opportunity to come back is highly regarded.

Everyone is very friendly, and you can create/organize your own fun. All the interns were inclusive, and we had a great time together outside of work – I have definitely formed long-term friendships. Colleagues it is easy to integrate with team bonding and events.

I commuted from home, however lots of interns stayed in Reading and were able to secure houses or flats together. Cost of living is average, and it is easy to get around (transport to and from city to work is free).

Microsoft HQ is based in Reading; it is a safe city and has a lot of connections through the main train station. Nightlife is good, but easy to make fun with your colleagues and friends yourself.

On this front, I would say the main one is men’s football, it is difficult to get involved in much else outside of work. Obviously free will to go out for a drink or dinner after work with colleagues but in terms of organized activities, it is not advertised much.