Let me start at the beginning. During the Fall 2018 semester, I saw a few posts on our career website about Microsoft recruiting events for their Devices sector. Initially I was a little confused because I thought Microsoft mostly worked on software, why would they be looking for Mechanical Engineers? I was curious so I went to a session with one of their Corporate Vice Presidents (CVP) (which is actually a big deal job up there) and learned all about their awesome company culture and values. After that session, I went to a few more events like How to Ace the Interview and even a case study on the design choices made on their Surface laptops. I was head over heels for this company at that point, so I submitted my resume for their internship program.
After a few weeks, I got back onto the grind of classes and forgot about this whole thing…. until I got an email saying I was offered a first round interview! It was to be on campus with one of their Project Managers for the Project Management internship. The interview was only 30 minutes long, and I thought it went really well but of course I was up against some tough competition so I didn’t get my hopes too high :,)
A week or two later, I received an email asking me to come up to their headquarters in Redmond, WA to attend their Super Day for the final round of interviews! I had to reschedule a midterm, which ended up being super easy, and I flew up there in November. The Super Day was super exciting and super taxing. They put all of us up in a very nice hotel and I even got a rental car! The first event was a mixer the night before the interview where we got to meet many of the interviewers and the other candidates on the campus. That event really made me a lot less nervous as I got to meet some of the people I would talk to the next day.
On interview day, we got to first tour the visitor center and interact with all of their devices including the Hololens, which was my first time wearing an AR headset, so wild. I also made some terrific artwork on the Studio, which you can see below![/cs_text][cs_element_image _id=”6″ ][/cs_column][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/5″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_custom_headline level=”h5″ looks_like=”h5″ accent=”false” class=”cs-ta-center” style=”color: hsl(0, 95%, 18%);”]About the Author[/x_custom_headline][x_image type=”circle” src=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Celeste-Goodwin-1_pp_web-1.jpg” alt=”” link=”true” href=”#https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/celeste/” title=”” target=”blank” info=”popover” info_place=”bottom” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=”Celeste Biomedical Engineering ’20”][cs_text class=”cs-ta-center”]Celeste is a junior studying Mechanical Engineering. She loves the beach, hanging out with kids, and listening to Bon Iver. Click above to find out more![/cs_text][cs_icon_list][cs_icon_list_item title=”@celestial_one” type=”instagram” icon_color=”hsla(0, 0%, 0%, 0.99)” link_enabled=”true” link_url=”https://www.instagram.com/celestial_one/” link_new_tab=”true” style=”font-size: 20px;”]@celestial_one[/cs_icon_list_item][/cs_icon_list][x_gap size=”100px”][x_custom_headline level=”h5″ looks_like=”h5″ accent=”true” class=”cs-ta-center” style=”color: hsl(0, 95%, 18%);”]Check it Out[/x_custom_headline][x_image type=”thumbnail” src=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/engineering_mechanical_3042380_cropped.jpg” alt=”” link=”true” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/study/aerospace-and-mechanical-engineering/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][x_button size=”mini” block=”true” circle=”false” icon_only=”false” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/study/aerospace-and-mechanical-engineering/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””]Mechanical Engineering[/x_button][x_gap size=”30px”][x_image type=”thumbnail” src=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/los-angeles_1.jpg” alt=”” link=”true” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/free-time/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][x_button size=”mini” block=”true” circle=”false” icon_only=”false” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/free-time/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””]LA Life[/x_button][x_gap size=”30px”][x_image type=”thumbnail” src=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/USC-campus-Hahn-plaza.jpg” alt=”” link=”true” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/orgs/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][x_button size=”mini” block=”true” circle=”false” icon_only=”false” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/orgs/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””]USC Campus Faves[/x_button][/cs_column][/cs_row][cs_row inner_container=”false” marginless_columns=”false” class=”cs-ta-left” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column bg_color=”hsla(0, 27%, 74%, 0.03)” fade=”true” fade_animation=”in-from-bottom” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]Then, I interviewed with 4 different managers, 45 minutes each. It was exhausting but also so fun to learn about all of their experiences at the company. I even met the woman who lead the team that made the first adaptive Xbox controller! After that, I flew back home to get back to classes. I was ecstatic when, a few days later, I received the email that I got the position!
After all of this, I will be working in Redmont, WA as a Program Management Intern in the New Product Introduction team, so let me know if any of you have any Seattle area recommendations! I hope this was helpful to see what its like the go through the internship process, and feel free to reach out on here or Instagram if you have any questions![/cs_text][x_custom_headline level=”h2″ looks_like=”h3″ accent=”true” class=”cs-ta-center” style=”color: hsl(0, 96%, 23%);”]More From Viterbi Students[/x_custom_headline][/cs_column][/cs_row][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_recent_posts type=”post” count=”2″ offset=”” category=”” orientation=”horizontal” no_sticky=”true” no_image=”false” fade=”true”][x_recent_posts type=”post” count=”2″ offset=”2″ category=”” orientation=”horizontal” no_sticky=”true” no_image=”false” fade=”true”][x_recent_posts type=”post” count=”2″ offset=”4″ category=”” orientation=”horizontal” no_sticky=”true” no_image=”false” fade=”true”][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]
