The Microsoft Intern- A Window Into The Virtual Work Life

Last week marked the end of my first month at Microsoft for my summer work term. Considering the state of affairs over the past few months, I had assumed that time would move a bit slower at my internship. However, this is not the case and the month has seemed to go by even quicker than normal!

Over a short period of time, Microsoft and many other organizations have had to pivot their company strategies to overcome the obstacles of the pandemic. With that being said, many industries have seen immense growth and innovation as a result of this unpredictable circumstance. This has shown me and the rest of the world the true resiliency of society.

These past few weeks have been about me and fellow interns being able to adjust and transition into a workforce going through large transformations. Microsoft has provided an environment that has been extremely conducive to the growth and learning of students regardless of the challenges we have encountered as a result of the pandemic.

Here is my experience and my learning journey at Microsoft over the past month.

Disclaimer: This is based entirely on my experiences and is not officially endorsed by Microsoft Canada.

The Culture and Ecosystem

With COVID-19 affecting the format of the internship, Microsoft made the choice to move their summer internship program online for those in North America. As a result of the internship being virtual this summer, I have had the great opportunity to meet interns from all across North America which wouldn’t have been as feasible previously.

Microsoft as an organization is incredibly passionate about diversity and inclusion and it has been very evident during my time here. With all the conversations I have been having with people across the organization, I have taken away so much knowledge from their experiences. The diverse conversations I have partaken in have really challenged me to stretch my thinking beyond what I already am aware of.

The drive for building a community at Microsoft is strong and that has been a game changer for me! During my time here, I have been able to join several Microsoft communities, like Technical Women at Microsoft, that allow for me to immerse myself in a holistic experience at the organization. These communities have also arranged several events which have allowed for better interaction during the work-from-home phase. Even during my short time here, I have become cognizant of the fact that we push for “One Microsoft” because we value community so strongly.

Something that I deeply admire about Microsoft as an organization is our push for ongoing learning. During my first week, I had several introductory conversations with my team members and one thing that they all emphasized was that we are all learning together during this uncertain period. This has been extremely comforting for myself and other new employees because it shows that the organization is willing to be agile and adaptable.

On top of this, the intern program has been fundamental to my growth at my internship. Microsoft has provided interns with the opportunity to submit co-creation proposals which allow interns to spearhead an initiative in collaboration with the organization during the summer. I took advantage of this opportunity and started Lightning Talks, a new series in collaboration with Patrick Lyons, a Mechanical Sourcing Engineer who previously headed Treehouse Talks. The intent of this talk series is to provide interns with the opportunity to share their passions, experiences and interests with others at Microsoft to bring their whole selves to work. Within a day of releasing the talk series, we had over a 100 interested interns and over 50 unique topics that people wanted to speak about! Not only will this allow students to interact on a closer basis, it will also help replace some interactions that we may miss out on as a result of a virtual internship format. This initiative will build a community while enabling learning and generating empowerment.

The Virtual Work

When I first started at Microsoft, it honestly felt like I was thrown into the deep end so I can learn to swim quicker. This wasn’t necessarily a decision on the organization’s part. It was in fact an outcome of having to change the internship format in an unprecedented amount of time due to the pandemic. This was made more difficult because Microsoft is incredibly complex in its organizational structure.   

Although this may be seen as a detriment for some individuals, I learned a lot faster as a result of this. This made me want to take the initiative to identify what I wanted to have as clear takeaways from the internship and how I can make the most out of my summer.  By identifying these core priorities, it has been easier for me to navigate the intricacies and complexities of an organization as large and impactful as Microsoft is.

Over the past month, I have had the opportunity to connect with several individuals from across the organization including Cloud Solution Architects, Partner Technology Managers and the general Leadership team. Getting to know how their career has progressed, their experience in the industry and what they currently do at Microsoft has allowed me to see the diverse career trajectories people have. Almost of all of them mentioned that their love for Microsoft starts with our values of being customer obsessed and diversity & inclusion. The insights and the tips that I was able to take away from these conversations have been instrumental to my learning journey at the organization.

Our workplace environment at Microsoft is driven by our major push for a growth mindset. This focus on continuous learning was championed by Satya Nadella during a cultural transformation a few years ago. This has brought a ton of positive reinforcement within the organization as we have weaved in this mindset into all facets of our business. Everyone around me including senior team members are continuing to up-skill on a daily basis and that has been a great motivator for me. I have had a lot of fun immersing myself in the company’s three solution areas and doing hands-on workshops/trainings. In fact, I ended up getting the Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals Certification within my first month. This goes to say that Microsoft always supports and encourages employees in continuous learning and in contributing to the success of others.

During my first month, I have been working on three different projects that have allowed me to get a more holistic understanding of Microsoft’s products and the Partners that we engage with. The first project that I am working on is an assessment framework that enables Microsoft to understand Partners and their technical strategy for the upcoming fiscal year. Through this framework, the team and I can develop Partner Business Plans that maximize the value of our Partner Relationships. Alongside this, I am working with a full time Partner Technology Strategist on building out a baseline for this initiative to be expanded across the organization. My second project is the development of an internal framework that allows us to evaluate our processes and get insights on what our focuses internally and externally with our partners should be for the future. This process involves data cleaning to eliminate any inconsistencies, data analysis and data visualizations for results interpretation. My third project is the development of an application for Partner Management internally. This application’s main focus is the automation of the business process flow and streamlining for consistency. All these projects will tie into our team’s focus for partner enablement and growing partner capacity.

Over these past few weeks, it has been evident that Microsoft drives innovation within the industry and focuses on helping people and organizations recognize their full potential. As a result of the pandemic, Microsoft Build 2020 was held virtually this year in May and free for everyone to attend. It was a remarkable opportunity that I would have not gotten if it wasn’t for a shift to the virtual environment. I was inspired by the countless initiatives that Microsoft is currently collaborating with people, organizations and the community on! Specifically, one that resonated with me was an introduction on how Microsoft’s services are being leveraged for Genomics analysis and the use case at Seattle Children’s Hospital for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. If you would like to find out more about this initiative, click here for a short video. Not only have I attended Build 2020, I have also attended several internal and Partner-facing events that have enabled my learning and given me a deeper understanding of Microsoft as an organization.

What’s Next?

It feels like time is moving at the speed of light during my internship! Having spent one month already at Microsoft, I am 25% done my internship. This puts into perspective how I am tracking towards the priorities that I set out for myself at the beginning and what narrative I want to outline for the rest of my internship.

For the next three months, my focus will be to work on understanding Microsoft’s priorities for our next fiscal year starting in July 2020. As an individual who is working in a Partner-facing role, it is crucial that my team and I are able to align our work efforts with the vision and strategy that our organization has for this upcoming year. Heading into a new fiscal year that has seen rapid transformation due to COVID-19, it is safe to presume that this will definitely be a new era for all organizations. This is not to say that organizations will not see positive growth. In fact, Microsoft Teams now has 75 million active daily users which is a 70% growth in usage and Microsoft has seen a 775% increase in cloud users. This goes to show that not only does Microsoft pivot quickly and adapt to unprecedented changes, the organization as a whole is still able to excel in the provision of our services during these times.

On top of all of this, I will be continuing to foster my growth through continuous learning. I will do this by working on more certifications that will allow me to get a deeper dive into Microsoft’s offerings. Alongside this, I will continue to work on my current projects and come to end of job on them. I plan to discuss with my team members and take on new projects that will drive some form of impact in the organization, whether its small or large. I have also made it a goal to expand my knowledge by connecting with more individuals at the organization and learning from their diverse experiences. I believe doing all of this will enable me in having an immersive and impactful internship experience.

I want to end this by thanking everyone who has been supportive of my journey and for my colleagues at Microsoft for making my first month memorable!