Azure Specialist Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Microsoft. I've had the full support of my manager and peers and learnt about the wider Microsoft community such as it's Partner ecosystem. Coming from a non technical background into a tech company they've been great at providing resources to help skill up technical knowledge. I've learnt an incredible amount in my time here.

I felt incredibly valued. I've had weekly syncs with my colleagues to discuss my progress in the internship and any questions and queries I've had. For exams, my colleagues have helped me with tough concepts, such as Cloud, through explaining them. The wider intern community has been great as we've all been supportive and encouraging one another ot be the best we can be.

I have monthly syncs with my direct manager and weekly syncs with a different manager. We've discussed the progress I've been making - tracking the impact I've made directly in my team and the wider organisation. We have syncs every 3 months to formally track this and look back at the progress and impact I've made through the year.

I have had the flexibility and freedom to manage my workload. I've pushed for customer meetings and projects to work on, as well as having the time dedicated to my own learnings. Being in charge of my diary I am work in the way most suited to me and my learning style.

I have been given a considerable amount of responsibility during my placement year! I was able to create apps for customers and present them at Executive Briefing Centres, present and demo the work I'd done to my team of 100 - and was awarded an award for this too! I've been involved in proving the business value of the products to Microsoft's customers.

I developed an incredible amount of skills. I've come in, knowing nothing about technology, to leaving with 4 technical certifications. I've improved on soft skills such as presenting and demoing. I've learnt the skills needed for a Growth Mindset and continuously use these to improve. The trainings we've been given in topics such as "Inner Confidence & Self Belief", "Handling Difficult Conversations and People effectively", and "Building Resilience and Managing Adversity" having given me learnings which I will with me in my future career.

Great atmosphere. We had an open floor plan and people were allowed to sit where they wanted. As it was open, it was easier to get to know people in our department and across sectors. Everyone was friendly and willing to help where they could. We were also given free drinks!

We were given a few set tasks to work on through the year but then had to find other projects to work on. This gave me the flexibility to learn about the company and the technology in greater depth. As there was lots going on there was plenty for me to get involved with.

Microsoft has invested a lot in terms of personal training and development. The University Support team organised training days for us where we learnt skills which would benefit us in at University and our future careers. There's a plethora of resources for technical upskilling and we could take exams and certifications for free.

Extremely. I came in not knowing much about the possibility of careers in technology and have now come out hoping for a career in Tech and more specifically Microsoft. The University team has explained the process to us and kept us in the loop. My manager has supported me in this process too.

Extremely good social scenes. Everyone is friendly and willing to help out and we have an 'Intern Committee' who organise socials and send out newsletters of everyone's achievements over the last month. The first week of onboarding allowed us to bond as a cohort and get to know everyone. It's been great having that!

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Yes - there were many opportunities to get involved with volunteering at schools and charity events - and are given 3 days to volunteer during working hours. Additionally there are Sports activities organised and trips too. The 'Intern Committee' was very good at organising events which everyone was invited too.