Worth dropping everything to take a temp to hire Microsoft job?

Looks like I may have an offer from an outsourcing company to fill a temp to hire position for Microsoft, working with SharePoint 2010. Would be an "escalation engineer", working with and finding flaws in SharePoint, creating Knowledge Base articles, etc. Not a perfect fit, but as long as I'm a quick learner with Powershell, IIS/metabase/web.config/etc. I've been told that "some get picked up within 6 months, and once the project is complete I'll have it made for any future job with Microsoft".

Pay would be ~18% increase, require me to move to a different state. I'd be leaving a (boring/stagnant) public sector IT job where I know I'll be employed thru fiscal year 2011. They always dangle that carrot that they're trying to convert me to a DoD Civilian.

Anyone else have experience with MS temp to hire positions? Any luck? Any horror stories? I'm thinking worst case I'll have spent a bunch of money to move and end up unemployed within a year. On the up side I'll be unemployed with a bunch more knowledge/experience working along side MS employees, making points of contact, etc.

Any help's appreciated!

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Comments

howiehandles

my .02.

Sounds like you're looking for a change, and the upside of working for Microsoft, or even having MS on your resume, even as a contractor, has far more benefit, than the status quo.

If you're a single person, the risk is much less than if you're married with kids IMO. With a family, everything is not only more risky, but expensive too.

If I was a single person, I'd jump on it. Bust your butt, make friends, show diligence, and good things will happen. Even if you don't get hired on perm, it won't hurt to show that a company such as MS employed you for a time as a contractor.

Cert Poor

Having Microsoft employment on your resume feels like it would help you get future jobs (move you to the top of the pile). It's more "rare" and feels more "prestigious" so it might help on a first impressions basis with HR. "Oh, interview Bob. He worked for Microsoft." A move to the mainland from Hawai`i is a big decision but it might be worth it.

Note: Just my .02 since I'm new to IT.

TheSweetness

You guys have good points. My main worry about moving from public to private sector is the volatility of the job market. Correct -- I am looking for something new. I'm just afraid to join the masses of unemployed within a year or so.

I am single. I am young. I have a final interview for the position this next week so we'll see if I get an offer or not.

Thanks again for the input.

Zartanasaurus

Do it.

za3bour

I am single. I am young.

well that is a phrase for saying "do it" it's Microsoft so you will have more connections and a chance to have a better job in addition to the experience from working with MS.

If you were married or older I would say don't do it but in your situation I don't see the harm.

kiki1579

I've known a few people that I have worked for MS in the past before. All I can say to you is be prepared to bust your butt there. The environment is pretty hard core from what I understand, so if you screw up, you might be on that unemployment line faster than you think. But it's also very rewarding and good for the resume if you do get a chance to work there as a perm MS employee. Its also a good thing to be single and doing that cause having a family can make it really difficult.

I do understand the whole "dangling the carrot" with the DoD Civ job. I was a contractor for 5 years, and got that speech multiple times. In the end, all I got was my clearance out of it and some experience. Took me 5 months to get a new job and got into a DoJ position.

What I would recommend if I were you is to MAKE sure you have a backup plan in case you don't get picked up. Contracting companies will tell you a LOT of BS just to get their cut of the money. I would ask the hiring manager @ MS about the possibility of getting picked up, and if there's any employees you can talk to about that, just so you get a better idea of what your thinking about doing. If you can't talk to anyone @ MS about it, then there's NO point in trying to move out there. What I'm saying is to get ALL of your questions answered before you do anything.

If you are moving out to the seattle area, you'll have plenty of opportunities to choose from since there's a lot of IT out on the west coast. Good Luck!

blargoe

If you want to work, getting in with MS can fast track you for sure.

The people that I've talked to that work for MS say that people rarely stay in the same position longer than a year or two, the company's needs change often, and people get burned out in the same position so they ask to switch around. People working in positions like what you described could end up in the future working as a field engineer, consulting, as an account manager, or working with a different technology altogether but doing the same kind of work.

If you are OK with a very dynamic work situation, most people that I have talked that work for MS are glad they work there. Turnover rate is pretty high... obviously it's not for everyone.

Mike-Mike

yeah, if you are not married and have no kids, I would jump on it

Bl8ckr0uter

Zartanasaurus wrote: »

Do it.

To me, this is a no brainer.

Sharepoint is hot. I see sharepoint developer/admin jobs pulling in 80K (and I am in the midewest). Not only having sharepoint but actually working for Microsoft would be killer. I am not an MS guy but if I could work there I probably would just because of the namesake on your resume. I am sure there are sharepoint jobs out there in Seattle as well. Network while you are there, get some certs, gain knowledge and most importantly save your money. If you can pick you some good skills and .net/silverlight/sharepoint certs you could really take you career to the next level. There is a guy here named Robert you should PM regarding good study material.

rogue2shadow

Definitely go for it. A very good friend of mine used to work for M$ in Redmond and the vast networking and educational links and opportunities are infinite.

DevilWAH

my advice would be,

Do you have any kids or partner to worry about???

if yes then think careful what you would do it it fell apart!

If not go for it, at the end of the day like you say there is a small chance you may end up unemployed with more skills at the end of it, but the IT market is bouncing back, and yes you might struggle for a few months to find your feet again but that not so bad when its only you you have to worry about.

Personaly with a wife, house and 5month old, its not something I would do now, but 3 years ago I was all for selling up and moving to the US from the UK because of a nice offer (however I then meet my now wife and lets say she had some even better offers

) so I ended up staying.

1MeanAdmin

I don't know about working for MS, but I do know how understaffed MS is when it comes to Sharepoint. My team is currently understaffed itself to migrate from Sharepoint 2007 to 2010 so we are paying MS to do it. We had to wait 6 months because the few MS Sharepoint engineers were booked for the year. If we are not ready with the hardware next week, we'll have to wait another 6-12 months for them to come.

it_consultant

You might find that the pace and flexibility of working in the private sector is invigorating. I will NEVER go back to doing anything related to the government.

ssampier

That's a pretty big move, grasshopper, from the islands to the mainland.

I would be inclined to say take it, but have your ducks in a row (in case of a worst-case scenario).

Of course you can always stay where you are and quietly look for work elsewhere, close to home. I am assuming Honolulu has some decent employment outside of travel/tourism and government work, however.

If not, pack up stakes and don't look back

Paul Boz

Heck yeah, do it.

Xcluziv

Mike-Mike wrote: »

yeah, if you are not married and have no kids, I would jump on it

Ditto this way, If I got an offer with Microsoft and everything checked out to be okay it would be full steam ahead for me

. In the end though, do what you want to do because it's you who will be moving and getting accustomed to everthing.....great opportunity though!!!!

snadam

What an awesome opportunity. As long as you have a 'Plan B', I say go for it.

blargoe

1MeanAdmin wrote: »

I don't know about working for MS, but I do know how understaffed MS is when it comes to Sharepoint. My team is currently understaffed itself to migrate from Sharepoint 2007 to 2010 so we are paying MS to do it. We had to wait 6 months because the few MS Sharepoint engineers were booked for the year. If we are not ready with the hardware next week, we'll have to wait another 6-12 months for them to come.

Ditto that. It is damn near impossible to get a SharePoint engineer from Microsoft for anything besides break-fix. We had to wait 2 months just to get a PFE to meet us for a 1/2 day to validate a design that we had come up with on our own.

SephStorm

OMG, you get to work with JILLIAN VENTERS! (Sorry, I just found out that she works for MS.)

TheSweetness

I've been checking this thread every day or so and want to say thanks for all the positive responses. Sounds like there isn't a reason to turn this down -- if the opportunity presents itself.

Playing phone tag to get the technical interview setup for this SharePoint Escalation Engineer position, and have a second interview setup for a different MS position, Federal SharePoint Consultant this coming Saturday.

Been trying my best to compartmentalize what I need to get done, and when, to be prepped for everything coming up. Honestly has my mind running a bit just because I think this might be such a good opportunity.

I'm originally from the PNW so getting a job in Redmond would be awesome. Fall back would be moving back in with the fam

I've been trying to get back to the mainland for 6+ months now; hard to get the attention of many businesses (I assume partially due to the job market, partially due to being so far away).

"IT_Consultant" hit it on the head, working for the DoD is booooooooooooooooooooooooring. Has me question why I went into the field almost every week. Maybe once I'm older, have a fam and am content with the stability it'll be worth it. For now I just want to work my butt off and see what I can do.

Thanks again.

za3bour

Redmond is cool and the whole Seattle area is pretty nice indeed, I've been there good luck for you.

TheSweetness

Had my first technical interview over the weekend. It kicked my ass. Was over the phone and lasted just under an hour. At the end I was told the purpose of the interview is to stump/stress the applicant and see how they can work through certain problems. Was told at the end of the day, it's more about the "person", and if I can make a positive impression on the right person/people, they will find something that fits. I like that. Right now I'm sitting in limbo to find out if any other people on the consulting team want to interview me. Best case they fly me out to do an all day event -- which I've heard is pretty stressful.

Have telephone tech interview for Escalation Engineer position tomorrow at 5am. Takes a lot of work to get your brain moving that early in the morning. I hope something works out.

Thanks again for all the input.

rogue2shadow

Nice update. I'm sure all will go well

TheSweetness

Got an e-mail from the recruiter -- looks like I was passed on for both positions. Pretty deflating.

I don't know why the recruiters get you all amped up about how well qualified you are for the position when the questions you get asked pertain to nothing on your resume.

A bit discouraged at the moment. Been trying to get a job back on the mainland for 6+ months now.

shampy_garg

Hi There!!!

Just want to share my experience with you which i had with Microsoft. Last to last year i was getting married so had to resigned from my job, and had to visit back home to get marry. But when i came back during the time of recession, i did not find any single job for 6 months but had bad experience with Microsoft.

Had 5 interviews with them face to face with 10 people but at last no luck:P So screw Microsoft ..

I know all of guys whoever working at microsoft all of them they resigned and they are working in same company where i am working now..

snokerpoker

Personally, I don't care what company it is I don't care for "temp to hire" positions. I know they have worked out for many, but I would not leave a full time position to go to a temp to hire position. Being that it is M$, it does sound promising in some regard, but for me personally I would never do it. Best of luck.

TheSweetness

Well -- was given, and bombed a 3rd interview, again for a SharePoint consultant. Have it pretty much cemented SharePoint isn't my bag. Relayed that with my recruiter, expressing interest in other available positions and why they may be a better fit and got a positive response. Was told to apply for the positions (5 of them ranging from field service tech to accounts manager), and follow up with the recruiter on what position I had applied. If they do not fall under her, she will ensure my resume gets on the desk of the recruiter who's responsible for filling the position. A glimpse of hope. Just trying to stay positive, showing the recruiter I'm thankful and motivated to make something happen.

Other then that, I've re-worked my resume once again. Going from 5 page paragraph filled acronym filled propaganda to 3 pages, primarily bulleted. Transition from applying primarily on usajobs and other public sector sites to ALL private sector. Either by job boards like indeed.com, or directly on the employers career web site. Came up with a pretty good cover letter as well.

We'll see. At the end of the day I know applying blindly online is the least likely way to get hired. In another week or so I'm looking at initiating cold calls to other branches of my current employer, as well as to companies of interest.

Cheers.

TheSweetness

Guess I'll continue to use you guys as an e-blog.

Still working with MS recuiter who's supposedly going to set up another interview, though I've been putting in more efford elsewhere.

Currently going to see if I can get any hits with other large private sector companies that are known for career growth, applying for jobs that most closely match my current skill set.

Have applied....
Microsoft
Google
Facebook
Intel
Amazon.com
FedEx
REI
Publix Supermarkets
Expedia/Trip Advisor
Starbucks
Qwest

I'm sure there's more.

Have a tech screening set up for Amazon.com next week. We'll see what happnes.

Cheers.

PsychoFin

so how did it go? Found a job yet?