How an average programmer secured a job at Microsoft Xbox

Shruthi — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 17:48:54 +0000

A new day and a new series, but this time instead of just writing for fun, I actually want to make it informative enough to hopefully help you get that new, lucrative job that you’ve been eyeing for a long time.

Hello! If you don’t know me (yet), my name is Shruthi. I’m a developer at Microsoft, working specifically in the gaming sector. I started this new series to answer a question that I get asked frequently: how I landed a job at Microsoft. True to the spirit of not gatekeeping, I’m here to share my journey with you!

About two years ago, I went through a major setback in life (I like being dramatic), and I started working on personal projects to keep myself occupied. This included solving problems on Leetcode for fun (a healthy outlet to relieve my frustration?) and working on building a stock market predictor. Since I was learning a ton of new tech on the go, I decided to start posting my progress on LinkedIn. It was also a nice way to hold myself accountable and at some point, I was posting consistently enough that it generated a lot of traction. Before long, even though I wasn’t looking to switch jobs back then (I was working as a developer for a cool neurotech company that was working on tech for the early detection of Alzheimer’s 😊), a recruiter from Microsoft reached out to me for a role at Microsoft Xbox!

So what advice would I give you?

Network extensively, and form genuine connections. Do not just message someone on LinkedIn and ask for their referral, they do need to know a little about you and the work you have done in the past to think about referring you to a role.
Post consistently on LinkedIn. Make sure its some form of meaningful content. Also try to squeeze some original content from time to time, and don’t limit your contributions to just reposts and comments.
Maintain a simple portfolio about yourself and the projects you’ve worked on in the past. In the tech industry, it’s pretty cool to maintain a simple portfolio about yourself and the projects you’ve worked on in the past. As an example, my portfolio can be found here. Remember, it doesn’t need to be complicated, I’m not a frontend engineer, I just used a HTML template and hosted my website on GitHub.
Code passively. You probably don’t want to sit and code after a whole day of work/school, but for some reason a lot of companies out there focus a lot on Leetcode style problems so getting that extra practice in everyday doesn’t hurt.

If you’re ever curious about my personal interview experience at Microsoft, keep your eyes peeled for my next article in this series! Happy coding!

Forem: Shruthi

How an average programmer secured a job at Microsoft Xbox