Category Management Review

I loved working for Microsoft. The company has an amazing culture and brilliant values. The intern programme was well structured and having a large intern community spread across the business meant that there were always other interns around to advise and teach me new skills and support on projects where we were lacking specific expertise.

My colleagues gave me real, interesting work, so that I was able to make a real contribution to them team. They always made sure to praise me when I had been successful at the given task, while raising my visibility with senior colleagues. I was always invited to work nights out and work events and felt that hard work was often awarded with exciting experiences, such as attending a cocktail making masterclass and receiving an invitation to the T3 awards.

My manager was excellent in inducting me and training me. Entering a business as large as Microsoft as an intern can be very intimidating, but I was fortunate enough to have a manager who was prepared to teach me everything I needed to know for the role. Throughout my placement I had formal quarterly reviews, where we would assess my progress so far and set clear goals for the next quarter, so that I had clear targets to work towards. In addition to this, we would regularly have lunch together and I

My role kept me busy and there was always more work to do. The rhythm of the business was the right balance between busy and quiet periods and I enjoyed

I was surprised by the amount of responsibility I was given during my placement and this only increased as time went on. My expectations of what my internship would involve were exceeded in every way. I never felt like an 'intern', but rather part of the team and I was treated like a colleague in every way. If it was thought that someone was giving me typical 'intern' work (i.e. work which they didn't want to do themselves), my manager would address this and explain that interns are capable of much more.

The skills I developed during my time at Microsoft were

The office was a great, collaborative, modern environment to work in. Employees chatted to each other regularly and as a relatively young team there was often banter. Having Xboxes, pool tables and foosball tables in the office, meant that it was easy to take a break with colleagues. In addition to this, there are 5 coffee shops (including Costa and Starbucks) and 2 canteens, so it is easy to get lunch/go for a coffee with colleagues. While the office is designed to allow for fun, many people are very busy and/or only come into the office to complete work that needs to be done in the office environment, choosing to work from home for anything else.

The work placement was nicely structured, with a welcome day prior to starting, allowing you to explore the offices, understand Microsoft's culture and be involved in some (genuinely) fun, ice-breaking sessions with other interns to get to know them (this is also where we chose who to live with). Upon starting your placement, there is a 3 day induction, giving you an overview of Microsoft and the placement program. This is followed by an induction to your team and role, from your manager and a handover period with a previous intern, which means you can ask lots of questions in the first few weeks of your role. There are also two intern off-sites a year, for us we had a day at an activity centre, taking part in a wide range of team-building tasks. We also had a day in the London offices, where we reviewed the first part of the year and had a workshop run by external guest speakers. The year culminates with a wrap up day, including a fun activity in the morning, career advice sessions and then intern awards, which were presented by the Managing Director of Microsoft UK. After this we all went out to celebrate a great year. The university recruitment do everything they can to set you up well at the start of your internship, but give you the freedom to work as if it is a real job, without too much hand-holding. This approach worked really nicely for me, as it meant that I never felt like a typical 'intern' within my department and made it easier for people to treat me as a real member of the team. As an intern you have the freedom to decide how regularly you want to check in with the university recruitment team, I had several catch up sessions throughout my internship and I found the guidance and mentoring that I received in these sessions to be invaluable, both in helping me to understand my progress to date and creating an plan for the remainder of my time at Microsoft.

There are opportunities to take Microsoft Office Specialist exams for free. There is a library with very helpful librarians who can help you find books on anything you'd like to learn, including languages. In terms of personal development, Microsoft is one of the best places to be as it fosters a culture of learning. Almost all employees are open to meeting for a coffee to share their wisdom and offer advice, the same goes for mentoring. While there are limited training opportunities through the internship itself, there are opportunities to develop, but you need to lead this yourself. I thought this was great as it gives you the opportunity to create your own personal development plan, choosing who you would like to meet and where you would like to shadow.

There is nothing I would love more than to return to Microsoft. Unfortunately, at the moment there are very few graduate opportunities and a large amount of interns interested in returning. While I have had a great year at Microsoft, I am leaving very unsure of what the future holds. While I am hopeful that there will be an opportunity for me to return to the MACH scheme, there is a lot of uncertainty around this, especially in comparison to many other organisations, who offer graduate places to interns who perform well. In some ways I am envious of those who are going into their final year of university with a graduate job secured, however I am also aware that Microsoft offers one of the best placement schemes available and had I been at another company, I may not have received as many fantastic opportunities and experienced quite so much, so for me it is worth it. While it is unfortunate that the transition from intern to graduate at Microsoft is more complicated, this is perhaps reflective of the competitive nature of the Technology industry and the quality of opportunities offered at Microsoft being so high. This is something that the university recruitment team is actively working on and over the coming years this should be much improved.

Having 50+ interns on the intern program, means that there is still a community of students around you. Most of us lived on the same road and met regularly for nights out and other trips, such as Ascot. This was brilliant as most of us were living away from home, so having this community and support network as a really nice aspect of undertaking a placement at Microsoft.

Rent was approx £350 - £400, for a 5/6 bedroom, 2 bathroom house shared with other interns. Reading offers food and drink to suit different budgets and as it is a university town there are many student offers available. On average, the cost for a night out on a Friday would be approximately £5 entry and £4.50 for a spirit and mixer, as I had moved from another southern student town, these prices were in-line with my expectations. Reading is a great town for shopping, with almost every high street shop imaginable located in the town centre/ Oracle shopping centre and Riverside offers a great location for a meal when friends/family come to visit, with a wide range of restaurant chains based there. Reading is also located near popular tourist locations such as Oxford, Ascot and it is only half hour into London Paddington by train, which means it is possible to branch out to other attractions.

The nightlife in Reading is great. There is a mix of popular chains, such as Lola Lo, Revolution, Pitcher and Piano, Be At One, All Bar One, Browns, Yates, Wetherspoon etc. In addition to this, there are also many local bars and clubs. The mix of students and young professionals in the area lends itself to a nice vibe on nights out.

Due to being such a large company, there are many opportunities to get involved in different areas outside of work, including sports teams, photography club, sailing, speakers club and many more, operating both in lunchtimes and after work. In addition to this, different departments will have their own social calendars, offering a range of activities including fundraising, for example my department are doing Tough Mudder as a team and nights out.