Dear JobsBlog: I am having trouble defining whether I am a college candidate or an experienced candidate, as I only have 18 months of experience. I am not sure if I should be considered "experienced” when the pool of experienced candidates may have experience ranging from 13 months to 10+ years.

-In-Between Experience

Dear In-Between Experience: Yes, you are an experienced candidate. At Microsoft in the United States, we break out our candidate types into two categories: college or experienced. A college candidate is anyone currently enrolled in a university program regardless of professional experience or anyone who has received a degree within the last year. This not only includes full-time students pursuing their bachelor’s but also candidates who are pursuing their master’s or doctorate. An experienced candidate is anyone with one or more years of experience and is not currently enrolled in a full-time university program. 

I completely understand that you aren’t sure if you should be considered “experienced.” I felt the same way when I had 13 months of experience and was just past the cutoff. But we also have entry level positions for experienced candidates. And vice versa for college candidates with several years of experience. The reason we categorize undergraduate, graduate and PhD candidates (regardless of type or level of experience) into the students bucket is because our college recruiters build strong relationships with the colleges and universities and hire around the academic calendar. But don’t worry, we take all your previous experience into consideration, should you get hired.

So when applying, feel confident that you will be compared to the right pool for the right positions. And to save you an extra step, here’s a link to the career site for experienced candidates.

-Lisa