It seems most questions or topic requests I’ve received the last few weeks have revolved around Microsoft’s support of our employees’ career development.  I’m not sure why it’s suddenly become a hot query, but I’m certainly happy to address is.  My disclaimer is this though … I am not involved with any groups at Microsoft who develop programs or manage resources around career development or internal transfers.  Instead, I write as an employee who has experienced first-hand myself and heard second-hand from friends and colleagues about career development experiences with the company.

Today ….

The Mid-Year Discussion

The Mid-Year Discussion is a basically our off-cycle review period.  Microsoft used to issue formal reviews of each employee twice per year – once in the summer and again in the winter.  A few years ago, this process changed so that the formal review now occurs in the summer, and the winter review has become a less formal review and is more focused on where the employee wants to go as a next career step – not necessarily where he or she has been or how he or she can improve performance in the current job.

During the Mid-Year Discussion (MYD), the employee fills out a briefer version of the summer review template.  At this 6 month check-in, the employee discusses her progress against the year-long goals she and her manager agreed upon during the summer review. 

But the bulk of the MYD focuses on the future.  The actual questions vary from year to year, but in short, the MYD template asks the employee to describe where she would like to be in her career in 2-3 years and then provides an area to identify the “core competencies” (that’s our name for the same qualities we interview against … like communication skills, problem solving, passion, etc) she feels she’s strongest in and the “core competencies” she thinks she most needs to develop to reach her 2-3 year plan.  We have several core comps so there are plenty to choose from.

This core comp question can be taken different ways.  The section is written vaguely to purposely allow the employee to interept it in the way she sees most fit.  And employees do take this question in different directions.  In the “need to develop” section, most employees list out their three weakest core comps.  I used to do this, too.

However, other employees take a different spin with the answer.  In the “need to develop” section, they focus on core comps which they believe are already strong but need to become that much stronger in order to get them to their 2-3 year plans.  Josh is one of these employees, and he’s converting me, too.  Josh believes (as we often say in interviewer training) that core comps are inherent qualities someone either has or doesn’t have. Either you are creative or you aren’t.  Either you have base-line negotiation skills or you don’t.  It’s ok if you don’t, but if negotiation skills aren’t something you possess or need to develop, then let it go.  Get your weaknesses to a point where they are no longer a detriment, and stop focusing on them.  Instead, develop your natural talents.

For this reason, Josh always focuses this section on strengths that he needs to continue developing, and I’m convinced now that I like his way of thinking.  (I think he gets all of this from the book Now Discover Your Strengths.)

In case anyone is curious, here are the core comps I listed this past winter in my MYD:

Strengths:
1. Creativity
2. Drive for Results
3. Planning, Organizing, and Coordinating

Areas for Development
1. Strategic Leadership
2. Cross-group Collaboration
3. Representing Microsoft

I wouldn’t say Strategic Leadership is something I currently possess, but it doesn’t mean I don’t have it … I’ve never really had to “go there” in my previous roles at Microsoft.  But Cross-group Collaboration and Representing Microsoft may seem like odd choices.  They are both things I do fairly well (and used to include in my top section), but they are also areas that if I could improve, I feel I could really knock my performance up a notch.

The last section is reserved for the development plan.  You’ve identified where you want to be in 2-3 years, and you’ve pin-pointed your strengths and areas for development.  Now how do you plan to enhance your skills to get one step closer to your goal?

In this section, you list three actionable activities you will complete in the next 12 months.  These activities should be tied to your “areas for development” section and should put you on the road toward your 2-3 year plan.

Here’s what I wrote this year:

1. Establish a relationship with a mentor (preferably a leader in the Staffing organization) who can help me develop my strategic leadership skills.
2. Read two books related to cross-group collaboration and negotiation skills.
3. Continue to look for opportunities where I can speak, write, or contribute to efforts in a public forum and in which I can represent the company, and take a presentation skills class.

I now have a mentor who is a Staffing Director for another group.  I still haven’t read those books.  However, I did take a presentation class, and today I gave my first industry conference presentation!  (It went well … except for my coughing and runny nose … I was pretty darn sick but I did fine presentation-wise.)

So that’s the gist of the MYD.  You discuss these items with your manager and make edits or additions where appropriate.  Your manager now knows more about your goals and can assist you in getting there.  She’ll probably also suggest more specific ways to reach these goals.  For instance, my manager connected me with my mentor.

So management and the company as a whole strongly encourage career development.  The idea is that there are so many different types of jobs at Microsoft that you can move from career to career without leaving the company.  And Microsoft wants to ensure it keeps the good employees around as long as they’d like to be here. 

That said, the ownership to actually drive and complete these plans is given to the employee.  We are all big boys and girls around here, and our managers won’t hold our hands to make sure we help ourselves.  My manager will free up my schedule (to a reasonable degree) and give me stretch opportunities, but if, as an employee, I never try to push myself, no one will get behind me and give me shove.

However, since Microsoft typically hires self-starting, type A personalities, most employees are eager to push themselves to the next step in their career. The MYD just gives us the structure to think and talk about that next move.

I hope this begins to answer some questions.  Next time, I'll write about the internal interview process.  (Scary!)

gretchen