Lessons from 4 Epic Days at Microsoft's Intern Learning Week

This time last week, I had the pleasure of joining 50 other interns from 7 different countries across APAC, Australia and New Zealand for the much-anticipated Intern Learning Week. The Microsoft University Recruiting team (aka the Power Team) planned a stupendous week that was not only enriching but extremely insightful in every sense of the word (Thanks, y'll! :'))

A huge shout out and thank you to the incredible line up of speakers from the Microsoft Senior Leadership Team who took the time off their busy schedules to spend time investing into our professional growth and sharing the inspiration behind their Microsoft journey.

Not wanting to let those sessions go to waste, I tried as best as I could to capture some key learnings / take-aways from those conversations, sessions and discussions.

Hopefully you're also able to glean a nugget of wisdom (or two!) as well!

1.    Diego Rejtman (Head of Microsoft University Recruiting)

On staying curious: “Here at Microsoft, there is a huge emphasis that you can come as you are and do what you love. Stay curious, stay true to your passion. At the end of the day, an interested person becomes an interesting person.”

2.   Andrea Della Mattea (Area Vice President Microsoft APAC)

On making mistakes: “I really hope that we don’t always get it right. If we do, we are not making enough tough decision or risky choices. We learn more from the mistakes we make. Fail fast, correct fast and learn fast. Go all the way to the edge of the cliff and just jump. Embrace whatever opportunities that come your way. Challenge yourself to be uncomfortable. Nothing feels better thank stretching yourself. Love it, feel it, breathe it!”

3.   Andy Pickup (Senior Director of Communications, Microsoft)

On expectations: “Time is your mortal enemy. Find something that you love doing. Don’t waste your time living up to someone else’s expectation. If you do that, you will never work another day of your life. The basis of personal development is self-awareness - knowing about yourself.”

4.   Wendy Johnstone (Marketing and Operations Lead for Microsoft APAC)

On diversity and inclusion: “Inclusion is the process of leveraging the power of differences and similarities to effectively integrate everyone into the culture of the organization to achieve a common objective. If you don’t intentionally, deliberately, proactively include, you will intentionally exclude.”

5.   Anna Fourie (Microsoft APAC University Recruitment Lead)

On self awareness: “It’s so important to always be aware; constantly challenge your own assumptions. Be curious: include and seek input from people with a wide variety of background, make a habit of asking questions, ensure all voices are heard, understand each other’s contribution. More importantly, have the courage to take action to reduce stressful situations, address misunderstanding and resolve disagreement.”

6.   Astrid S. Tuminez (Regional Director, Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs at Microsoft Southeast Asia)

On grit and resilience: “Take the biggest job given to you in your youngest days. Take it! Find a support system and have a personal board of directors which can guide you through your personal and professional life. At the same time, while grit and resilience is about knowing when to persevere and stick it out, it’s just as important to know when to give up.”

7.   Sanjay Patel (Sales Director, Microsoft APAC Technology and Innovation Centre)

On commitment: “Never look back, whatever that you commit yourself to doing, do so with your head and your heart.”

8.   Alex Smith (Area Technical Lead, Cloud Architecture, Microsoft)

On competitors: “When you are selling our products, don’t worry about the competitors. Focus on why we are good as Microsoft, not why we think we are better than others.”

9.   David Tang (Senior ECM Manager), Nidhi Suresh (CSM Director), Pratima Amonkar, (Partner Development Director) and William Tay (Enterprise Cloud Lead)

On the Challenger Mindset: “When you seek to understand a customer, the empathy that you show, it will pay off. Treat sales like a courtship with your customer. As a salesman, you will be also known as a CAO: Chief Apologetic Officer. Remember, there is no substitute in humility.”

10. Lee Murphy (Senior Director Human Resources, Microsoft APAC)

On the red thread by which you make career decisions: “Life is not a straight line, it’s a series of zig zag. When you are making career decisions, look out for the compelling offer by which you find purpose in your job, the congruence between the external brand projection and your internal experience, people leaders, accelerated development and the workplace culture. Whatever role you take, make sure you have a guiding principle.”

11.  Heo Jihoon (Talent Acquisition Director, APJC University Recruitment)

On sponsorship: “When you reach out to the right person(s), the right person(s) will reach out to you and be willing to be your sponsor. Always find your philosophy which aligns to your personal values, even at work.”

Here’s to embracing the growth mindset and remembering that it’s more important to have a “learn it all” attitude, than a “know it all” attitude!

Fellow Microsoftie interns, what are some of your biggest take-aways from the Intern Learning Week? Let's share and keep the ball rollin'!

Photography by Adisorn Saovadee