CSS Delivery Excellence Intern Review

I had the best year of my life at Microsoft. It was an incredible learning experience and I met so many like-minded people who will now be friends for life. Unlike other placements, they aren’t afraid to give you a lot of responsibility so you really feel valued as an employee.

My core team were great and would invite me onto various projects - at Microsoft interns are very much valued in teams because they often provide a fresh perspective. I was treated equally to more experienced employees and I felt that my opinion was respected. I always felt comfortable sharing my ideas.

My manager was really supportive whilst also trusting me to make my own decisions and work independently, which is how I work best! If ever I had an issue he was available to talk to, and we had regularly ‘Connects’ where we went over my progress and my goals for the upcoming quarter.

I was usually busy, but the intensity varied throughout the year depending on what projects I was working on/what events were happening. During the times where I did have extra capacity I would proactively find something new to get involved with (not hard as there’s opportunities everywhere!) I still managed to consistently make time for personal development

I was given a lot of responsibility from the start so I could challenge myself and learn very quickly. I was trusted to manage a global team of people and lead a website development project for one of our partners, which were exceptional opportunities for me and taught me many new skills.

My Microsoft internship was the best training ground for any full time position I go into in future. I felt more challenged during the year at Microsoft than I did whilst studying for my degree, so it has been hugely valuable. My confidence has also grown a lot which will be key for what I want to do in the future!

My department was relatively quiet and less sociable than other areas of the company, however the overall culture at Microsoft is fantastic and the company values are evident through how people treat each other and work together. Everyone is really kind and always ready and willing to help others if needed.

We had an amazing early in career team who were really supportive of all the interns throughout the year and organised various development opportunities for us. We also had an intern committee, who organised lots of social events for the interns to get together and get to know each other.

We had access to loads of free personal development resources online, a library, we went on a team building course, were able to do MOS exams, and other courses to expand our knowledge. It was encouraged to put time in your calendar for personal development activities every week. 70% core role 20% extra projects 10% personal development

I’m hoping to get onto the graduate programme for a sales role. I would love to go back to Microsoft as the environment is brilliant and the work is really fulfilling. I also believe there are great opportunities for advancement within the company, as well as the chance to work abroad!

I had the most amazing year with all the interns and many are now really good friends. We were always meeting up and doing things together, especially as a lot of us lived really close together. As well as meeting up outside of work, we would have work events and parties!

I was based in the Reading HQ, and the area is quite expensive to live in. A huge benefit was that there is free bus travel into work so that saved us a lot of money! The cost of socialising was pretty standard, luckily there are lots of places you can go that vary on price

We made the best of it, a few more good clubs would’ve been nice but on the whole there are lots of bars, restaurants, clubs and different vibes you can go for. I recommend SMASH (ping pong bar) Purple Turtle and Lola Lo’s for a night out. The nightlife was good because we had such a big group of us!

There were a number of sports clubs you could join, and I think some societies as well. We had a gym on campus so a lot of people would go there after work, and that was a good opportunity to socialise. I imagine there are lots of other activities in Reading you can get involved in too