Getting Hired by Microsoft

In the spring of 1993 I was still in Chicago working in a job I wasn't exactly thrilled with.  I was also hanging around with my friend and former classmate Peter.  Peter was a Visual Basic afficionado and I was a C++ bigot.  (We were still friends, though.)

Peter had the idea to apply for a job at Microsoft Consulting Services in Chicago and suggested that I go along as well.  On a whim, I did.  We both ended up interviewing at Microsoft but he got the job and I didn't.  When they gave me the news, they told me that I met their technical bar but they didn't see me as a consultant.  In addition, they were looking for people with VB/Access skills and I had no experience with either of those products (and no real desire to learn, either).

When they told me that, I aked them if they had any need for someone with C++ skills.  The recruiter told me they did but all those postitions were in Washington state.  They told me if I wanted to apply for them I would have to relocate.  I replied that I would be interested and willing to move to Redmond.  They said they would forward my resume on to the recruiters in Redmond.  I anxiously awaited for communication from Microsoft but heard nothing.  Little by little I gave up hope that I would be hired by Microsoft and I resumed my search for a new job with different companies.

In the summer of 1994 I interviewed for a promising position with a company in the northern suburbs of Chicago that was just starting up.  They were going to make software for medical equipment.  A few days before my scheduled interview with that company and more than a year after my interview at MCS Chicago I got a call from a Microsoft recruiter in Redmond.  "Hi, this is Megan from Microsoft.  Do you have time to answer some questions over the phone?"

Of course I did!  I still remember the first question: Explain the difference between writing programs for DOS and writing programs for Windows.  I thought I did pretty well on the questions.  Megan told me that a real engineer would be calling me in a day or so for another Q&A session over the phone.  A few days later, a guy named Phil called up and did the real phone screen.  I must have done OK there too because they sent me a plane ticket to come out to Redmond for a real interview.

In the mean time, I did the interview with the medical equipment company.  I thought I did well and they told me they would get back to me.  In the mean time, I flew out to Washington for my Microsoft interview.  Things went well there too and after the interview I flew back to Chicago in a hopeful frame of mind.

When I got back, the medical equipment company made me an offer.  I really didn't want to accept it until I found out one way or another how things went with Microsoft.  On the other hand, I didn't want to turn it down in case I didn't get an offer from Microsoft.  So I asked for a week to think about the offer.  That was OK with them.

A few days later, I got a call from recruiting at Microsoft.  There was an issue with a couple of the references I gave.  One of my former bosses gave me a less than stellar recommendation (he was upset when I left) and another former boss could not be reached at the phone number I gave (he had moved since I worked for him).  After a bit of scambling, I got the second boss's new phone number and apparently his recommendation outweighed the first boss's since I got an offer a few days later.

So now I had to choose between two job offers, a medical equipment company in Chicago or Microsoft.  They were both good offers but I picked Microsoft.  It was one of the best decisions I ever made.

On October 17, 1994, I went through new employee orientation in building 21 of the Microsoft campus.  At lunch time, they told us that we should walk over to building 25, which had a much nicer cafeteria than the one building 21.  There I surprised my friend Peter in the lunch line.  He had, a few months ago, moved from MCS Chicago to the VB group in Redmond (at that time, the VB and VC groups shared building 25).  I hadn't told him that I was interviewing at Microsoft so he was quite surprised to see me.