Service Delivery Manager Review

I enjoyed every moment of my internship with Microsoft, the responsibility they give you from the outset is second to none and was vital in allowing me reach my full potential.

Each and every person i came into contact with at Micrsoft from my peers to my superiors cared deeply about my personal development. The business not only wants you to excel and have impact within your role, but also wants you to find an area of the business you enjoy and can see a long term career within.

At every step of my journey i was given full and thourough guidance by the management that i worked with. Across the year you work not only within your team but also with others on projects that scale the whole business, Microsoft gives you enough guidance to complete the task but does not spoonfeed their interns. For me the balance was perfect.

The way Microsoft organise the internship is great, 80% of your day is taken up with your day to day role where you have specific core responsibilities. Aside from this you have around 20% of your time to split across personal development and also project work, this is to give you exposure to areas of the business you wouldnt normally have had.

As an intern at Microsoft you are given great exposure and a lot of responsibility from the outset, this is to help you reach your potential and push what you thought was achieveable prior to the internship. You are given real responsibilty that has a genuine impact across the business, working at Microsoft is great when you see something you have worked on effect the business right in front of you on a day to day basis.

The skills i have acquired during my year at Microsoft were and will be vital to the rest of my degree studies, whilst on placement you learn many things, one of which is that business doesnt run how it says in a text book. Seeing such a huge company and how it operates allows you to put a real world perspective to your studies and helped me provide much needed context that i would not have been able to provide prior to my internship.

The atmosphere in the office was the best i have ever experienced, everyone was passionate about the products we have and all understood we were working towards the same goals. There were various social events organised throughout the year which resulted in a great sense of community.

The organisation of the internship was great, we had events put in our calender throughout the year where all interns are brought together on team building event etc. The on boarding experience to the company was great which took place in a hotel where we had talks from FTE's within different areas of Microsoft.

Microsoft genuinely care about their interns and the future of their interns, there were a variety of courses and seminars that interns could register for throughut the year. These ranged from general qualifications to more specific courses for more technical employees. There was also a librarian with a dedicated learning centre to provide employees with advice from your studies to identifying where you want to go with your Microsoft career. And finnaly the time people across the business invest in people is huge, not once did anyone at Microsoft say no to me when i wanted to meet for personal development/networking reasons.

I would love to come back and work at Microsoft as a graduate, i have not experienced a better working environment and i can think of nothing better than having a long term fulfilling career at Microsoft. However i understand the MACH graduate scheme is very competitive, hopefully i will be successful.

Microsoft create a strong community spirit amongst their interns, there were social events ornagised throughout the year by Microsoft, aside from this most of the interns live in walking distance of each other so the social life was great on a weekend.

The cost of living was quite expensive with the areas being so close to London, this is because i am from the north east of England so i maybe felt the pinch more than others, having said that the wages Microsoft pay were enough to live on.

The Nightlife in Reading was ok there are a handful of clubs and lots of pubs and restaurants to go to around the town centre. You are also close to London which has one of the best nightlifes in the world.

There were many opportunities to get involved in charity work outside of Microsoft through their partener Uk youth.