My name is Janelle Godfrey and I am a Technical Recruiter for Microsoft.  My job is great; I find college students (Undergrad, Masters and PhD)’s from a variety of locations and schools, and hire them for all types of positions (Developer, Testers, Finance, Marketing, Sales, etc).

Working at Microsoft has allowed me to fulfill my life-long dream of becoming a world traveler, and I have been to many exotic locations in the past year like Dallas, Orlando, Charlotte.. oh wait, those aren’t that exotic -- but at least they are locations!  Prior to that I worked at Expedia and also dabbled in education, working at the Career Services office for the MBA program at the University of Washington.

When I’m not in an airport or in a career center interviewing students, I can be found enjoying the view of the ship canal and water from my apartment in Seattle (while tiptoeing up the stairs so the grumpy lady below me won’t pound on the wall), playing the piano, watching reality TV shows, reciting movie quotes with friends, laughing, going to Vegas and continuing my quest to find the restaurant/bar with the best nachos in the country.  I am passionate about helping people reach their career potential, love a good debate and am excited to start posting! 

Thanks to the thousands/millions/billions of you who voted, Barbie’s next career is… drumroll please… a computer engineer!

So many engineers went viral with the campaign that she was the clear first choice in the popular vote - and will be on the shelves by Winter 2010.  Computer Engineer Barbie comes equipped with sassy pink glasses, a binary code-patterned tee shirt and, or course, a laptop.

Barbie, you’d better be running Windows 7 on that...

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Hello JobsBlog readers! I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season filled with good health, family and friends.

Speaking of holiday seasons, there may be another hot toy out there in 2010... so get ready. The Mattel company is currently holding a contest to determine Barbie’s next occupation and computer engineering is one of the options!

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Dear JobsBlog: I have a computer engineering degree and several awards, distinctions, and honors. However, I did not attend a bigger college on the east/west coast. How do I get a Microsoft recruiter to look at my resume?

-Under the Radar

I’ve asked Alicia, a fellow recruiter from our U.S. University Team, to help answer your question.
-Janelle

Dear Under the Radar: Microsoft has always made it their business to hire the best and brightest students, regardless of what university they attended. We know that students choose universities based on many factors like location, cost, size, urbanization, program standings and, of course, reputation. That means that incredibly smart people are everywhere, not just at the Ivies.

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Dear JobsBlog: I've never done a lunch interview before, but I've heard horror stories about candidates being so nervous they forget basic table manners or get a huge chunk of broccoli stuck in their teeth. How can I enjoy my meal and still impress a hiring manager? Any suggestions on what to order and how to avoid awkwardness?

-Apprehensive Appetite

Dear Apprehensive Appetite: You've probably seen us mention on this blog that answers to many questions we receive vary from recruiter to recruiter. That said, we decided to take some bites of advice from several JobsBloggers on this topic. Put your headphones on and get your elbows off the table for podcasts from Matt, Lisa and Janelle that will help improve your lunch interview techniques!

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Preparing for an interview can be daunting -- and James McNaul would know. The University of Miami senior came all the way from Florida to Washington for an internship interview at the Microsoft HQ last spring.

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Here on JobsBlog we talk a lot about getting a job at Microsoft and provide various tips for jumpstarting a career. But what about internships? For many students, this is the first step to getting on a career path and can give great insight into what lies ahead in the post-graduation world. Richard Bretschneider...

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Long time, no talk! Hello, readers! I send you my best wishes as I type this email with 2000 resumes on my desk. This is the busiest time of the year for college recruiting, and I love every second of it. I have been doing a lot of travelling to the east coast and will be there for the entire month of...

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If I hadn’t been there I never would have believed it. This past Friday the Microsoft intern program hosted a "Zoo-n Fest" Intern Picnic, which was sponsored by the Zune Team and held at the Woodland Park Zoo (cute name, huh?). Approximately 1000 interns were invited to the event along with 200 Microsoft...

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Hello Readers! Greetings from the middle of intern season. It's been really busy around the office this summer with a ton of fun and technical events going on. The weather has been a dream and the interns are having a wonderful time. Who could ask for anything more? A couple Saturdays ago, several hundred...

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Hello friends! It’s been a while since my last post, it feels good to be back! The college recruiting cycle is quickly coming to an end, the sun is starting to pop out (yay!) and we just had our first few batches of interns come out to the Redmond offices to start their 12 week internships. Our intern...

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Dear JobsBlog : I'm applying to jobs outside my local area, and I'm really interested in some of Microsoft's Redmond positions. Of course if I got the job, I'd have to move. Are Microsoft’s relocation benefits pretty thorough? What do they generally cover? From my experience, I think Microsoft has incredible...

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Dear Jobs Blog : All the internships I've seen posted in my area of interest appear to be for college students only, and I'm not a college student anymore. Are there any options for non-college students looking to get a little more experience in a specific area? It seems as though when you are in college...

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One of the number one questions I'm always asked is “ How can I stand out at a career fair? " It’s not about dressing in all Microsoft attire, or wearing a really tall hat (even though I like that one). It’s about being confident and knowing your message. That can be applied to any new business situation...

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Dear JobsBlog : How much impact does participation in student/volunteer organizations have on an application? Do recruiters ‘give credit’ for participating in, leading, or making significant contributions to student or volunteer organizations? Does it matter if the organization is not related to their...

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Dear JobsBlog : What advice do you have for sending a thank you note after an interview? The conventional wisdom is that a handwritten note is best and e-mail can come across as too casual. Is an e-mail thank you note considered acceptable in Microsoft’s e-mail heavy culture or would it send the wrong...

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Dear JobsBlog : How difficult is it to entirely change career paths at Microsoft? I'm talking a big change in roles, such as a Program Manager to Recruiter, for example. I get asked this question at least once a day! Of course, every person is different, and some changes might be easier than others....

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Dear JobsBlog : I’m following all of the great interviewing advice I’ve found here, so I’m sure I’ll be offered a job very soon! I’m a brand-new graduate, though. How do I know what a good offer looks like? Knowing what to expect in an offer is a tough question for a new graduate. It’s so exciting when...

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Dear JobsBlog: I know every candidate wants to hear from their recruiter as soon as possible after their interviews, but what if you've got an offer from another company or another deadline? If the recruiter doesn't get back to you within a week, should you just assume you didn't get the job? Those are...

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Hello readers! I wanted to share with you the success story of a Program Manager candidate who just recently started at Microsoft. Please meet Vishwac Sena Kannan, a college hire who now works as a Program Manager within the IE group! Vishwac has put together some great tips and tricks that will not...

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Don't treat each interview in your loop as a completely separate experience. They're all part of your overall interview, and you should consider them as pieces of the whole. An on-site interview is really a condensed version of the work environment. You are thrown into a new situation, given challenges...

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