How to get nominated as a Microsoft Most Valued Professional (MVP)- The insider's view

Find out the inside secrets on how to get nominated for MVP status, and the pros and cons of what it involves.

So, what is an MVP?

The MVP Award gives Microsoft the unique opportunity to celebrate, honour and say thank you to top-notch technology experts who make outstanding contributions to their communities https://mvp.microsoft.com/.

We spoke with two of Curo’s Associate Consultants, congratulating them on recently acquiring MVP status. They kindly agreed to be interviewed. Here is their insight into what it really takes to become an MVP, and once you are an MVP, what it involves.

Get valuable inside tips and understand how to stand out from the crowd when it comes to gaining an MVP award and once obtained, what happens next?_____________________________________________________________________

Peter Laker - Awarded Azure Microsoft Valuable Professional in 2016

MVP Profile: https://mvp.microsoft.com/it-it/PublicProfile/5001916?fullName=Peter%20%20Laker

1.     “What were your motivations for becoming an MVP?”

“My main interest was in community building. Building tools and developing groups within the TechNet and MSDN communities. I made good friends in the growing circles of interest I was developing, like the TechNet Wiki Top Contributors weekly competition and the monthly TechNet Guru competition. So, in that respect, I was gaining as much as I was giving. I was gaining the attention of people within Microsoft. Making a name for myself. Just helping out, being useful and making friends. I was also a regular contributor and answered on whatever forums related to my current skill set. This was also very rewarding, as it gave me a chance to gain a deeper understanding of the technology, see how others worked and solved issues, and again made many friends and developed a local group reputation. My motivations were simply to bring like-minded intellectuals together around the subjects I like to learn more about.”

2.     “How did you become an MVP? What did you do to stand out from the crowd?”

 “Work tirelessly for whatever your technical interest is. Sacrifice valuable spare time for the cause. Make regular contributions over a long period. Make yourself known, stand out and truly make a difference. Really care for what you do, sometimes to the point of obsessive. You can't fake it forever, you really must be that type of person to make a difference and build a reputation.”

3.     “How has it effected your career and life?”

“New contacts from all over the world! We meet once a year in Seattle for the Global MVP Conference. An amazing experience I will never forget, where some of the most passionate community members come together to help shape the coming year. I have had offers come out of the blue from companies requiring IoT advice because I am truly riding the wave of bleeding-edge technologies and the very latest developments. I have also now joined many new groups, as an MVP. We get a lot of things from partner companies too, like free software, free SSL certificate, training courses, the chance to unlock and contribute to some of Microsoft's most secret core code, and a whole host of regular NDA MVP-only presentations and skype calls about what is coming next. We have private chat groups and private forums, where Microsoft product developers talk candidly with their most passionate developers. And of course, there is a year's supply of full open-access MSDN downloads & keys! Everything Microsoft has to offer for any budding small company. It is basically a great big springboard to your career! Did you know you get a great big glass trophy too, plus a bumper pack of win!”

 4.     “What are the pros and cons so far?”

“Pros are all the free stuff, new contacts! I haven't found any cons yet! You could lose it after a year if you don't continue to contribute value.”

5.     “What tips would you give to someone who wants to become an MVP?”

 “Don't TRY to be an MVP, try to make a real noticeable difference to an area of technology that is important to Microsoft. Get noticed. Make friends and get nominated. If you nominate yourself, you're doing something wrong! :)”

6.     “So, what’s next in relation to making the most of being an MVP (using your MVP power!)?”

“I hadn't really thought that far ahead to be honest. I am still incredibly busy every day right now and slitting my time as best I can between my work, my community and of course my family! All three are very demanding!”

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Neil Parkhurst – Awarded Business Solutions Microsoft Valuable Professional in 2016

MVP Profile: https://mvp.microsoft.com/en-us/PublicProfile/5002171?fullName=Neil%20%20Parkhurst

1.     “What were your motivations for becoming an MVP?”

“I don’t think anybody can set out to become an MVP. The award is based on 12 months’ effort you simply can’t keep up the required effort with only the award in mind. In fact, when I first started my blog I didn’t really understand what an MVP was. I started to think seriously about the award after my blog had been running for almost a year.  I contacted an MVP to ask him what he thought my blog. I was simply looking for his views on what improvements, his response was to nominate me.”

2.     “How did you become an MVP? What did you do to stand out from the crowd?”

“MVPs, are technology experts who passionately share their knowledge with the community. Firstly, you need to demonstrate technical excellence but then additionally you need to support “your” community by sharing knowledge. This can be done in so many ways. Including contributing on forums, writing blogs posts, speaking at events etc. It is hard to know how I stood out specifically, as Microsoft don’t share that information. But I am a prolific blogger and often write about subject’s others aren’t covering. Rather than having a blog which randomly covered all aspects of Dynamics CRM, I decided very early on to focus on Unified Service Desk (USD). I do still often blog about USD but now I’ve gained recognition I have started to widen the scope of my blog to include guides to help people pass certifications, Field Service etc.”

3.     “How has it effected your career and life?”

“I’ll turn 50 next year! So, I’ve worked in IT for quite a few years, even so becoming an MVP is without a doubt the highlight of my career. Getting this type of recognition is an amazing buzz that really has made a difference to me. Since becoming an MVP I’ve met some amazing people, some are fellow MVPs whilst others are senior people at Microsoft. They all have been inspirational to me. Being an MVP has given me a real confidence boost.”

4.     “What are the pros and cons so far?”

“The biggest pro, so far, was attending the MVP Summit in Redmond, Seattle. Being at Microsoft HQ, engaging with the product teams face to face and mixing with loads of other MVPs was simply amazing.

The con of being an MVP is the effort it takes. Most of my MVP “work” happens in my time, meaning I spend most weekends learning new skills and writing blog posts.” 

5.     “What tips would you give to someone who wants to be an MVP?”

“As I have said, don’t try to be an MVP! Try to focus on your chosen subject and help as many people as possible. Eventually, your passion will show and you might get recognised. For me, writing my blog and contributing to the Dynamics Community have really helped me learn more. My goal always was to learn things by sharing my knowledge. For example, when I publish a blog post people ask questions. Answering these questions forces me to dive deeper into the subject and helps enhance my skills.”

6.     “So, what’s next in relation to making the most of being an MVP (using your MVP power!)?”

“Someone at work describes my MVP “power” as my “MVP-ness”. My MVP-ness is already meaning I am being invited to get involved in some interesting events. I am working with a couple of guys to set-up a local CRMUG group, I’ve also been asked to present at the EMEA Summit in Amsterdam.

An important point here is that you only keep the MVP award for 12 months. To keep it next year I need to keep contributing to the technical community. I have no guarantee of gaining the award next year but my thoughts are obviously very much focused on it.”

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The key message? To become an MVP, your steps to success will be:

• Start making a real noticeable difference to an area of technology that is important to Microsoft, then find your niche subject in that area
• Apply all your focus on your niche subject and study it as much as you can in your spare time
• Start to build a strong reputation in this area by creating a blog, contributing to existing forums and offering to speak at events
• Build a following and a community, you want to help support and advise this community with any questions they may have. If you don’t know the answer, make it your mission to find it out
• Widen the scope of your blog by including guides for your followers to help them pass certifications or to gain a deeper insight of the niche technology
• Connect with other MVP’s in your field and ask them for feedback or advice on your blog You can also ask them about events to attend to greater your network in that technology

We hope this blog has clarified what being an MVP involves, your steps to get there and the pros and cons when you are awarded. A big thank you goes out to both Pete and Neil for answering our questions and sharing their experiences.

If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below or contact us directly, we have a large supportive Microsoft community and are always happy to help.

Over and out,

Laura Tejada [email protected] Website: www.curotalent.com