Hello. My name's Marie. I've worked in staffing since 1995 and for Microsoft since 2006. Since joining Microsoft, I've supported the Online Services Division as a Staffing Consultant hiring core tech talent for MS Advertising.  

I live in Southern California with my husband and daughter. In my spare time, I volunteer with an educational theatre company that provides Arts education to children as participants and as audience members. When not working, I relax with my family by cooking a great meal and watching movies – but sometimes I like to just sit back and watch the seasons change on the mountains behind my house. 

During a recent work trip to Washington, DC, I found myself admiring the beauty of the US Capitol Building: the paintings on the ceiling, the frieze around the dome and more. It is an impressive intersection of engineering, history and art.

I wondered aloud if – with all of the cuts to arts education – future generations would have the context to fully appreciate and understand such a monument.

A gentleman on my tour replied curtly, “Arts no longer matter. There are more critical things to teach in schools.”

Unfortunately, this assumption is all too common. People believe that our businesses and economy can thrive solely on engineering and hard sciences.

As a recruiter for Microsoft, I must disagree – strongly. For starters, the arts teach creative problem-solving, teamwork and the ability to view things from different perspectives. These are key skills for success in a diverse workplace like Microsoft.

Moreover, Microsoft is so much more than just a technology company with engineering jobs.

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Hi, I'm Marie Watkins, a new JobsBlogger, and I'm so excited to be part of this! 

Ever heard of DigiGirlz?

DigiGirlz offers technology programs to get high school girls hands-on with technology, to connect them with Microsoft employees and to help dispel stereotypes about working in the high-tech industry. I recently worked with the DigiGirlz team in Southern California when they held events in San Diego and in Orange County.   

At DigiGirlz, I had the opportunity to talk 1-on-1 with many of the teens and I found that there was a common tension permeating the conversations. One girl expressed this eloquently when she told me about the balance she is trying to find between her mom (the artist) and her dad (the computer scientist). Both parents are trying to get her to go into their disciplines. The teen is artsy, but loves technology, and is trying to live up to both of her parents' expectations. She also called it an "anxiety" and, after hearing from her and the others I spoke with, it seemed like many of the girls were struggling with the same art vs. science conflict when considering what they want to do for a career. Their anxiety was rooted in the fear they wouldn't have a "good job" (high pay, high prestige) if they follow their passion.

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