Here I am Bill Gates - hire me!

There aren’t enough good techs to go around.  Just ask Bill Gates.  He wants to bring more in from outside the US.  I’ll tell you what.  I’m an American and I think I’m a pretty good tech.  Why don’t I apply for a job at Microsoft?  I’ve got a couple of things going for me that Bill might like.  I’m already an MCSE - a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer.  I’ve been using and supporting Microsoft products since 1978.  I buy lots of Microsoft products and licenses at work.

It was easy enough to find the web site for Microsoft careers.  Oh, they want me to register.  No problem.  I’ve already registered for so many Microsoft sites maybe it will already recognize me.  No luck.  I know I already have a Microsoft Passport but it wants me to sign up for a Windows Live ID.  I’ll work with the system.  It only takes a minute.  There, that’s done.  What’s the next step?  Oh, they want me to upload a resume.  My resume is everywhere but why not?

Say, that was a fairly painless process.  They wanted the resume in text-only format.  No, it would not accept a MS Word file.  It looks good too.  It’s a little different from other online job databases like Dice.  They only seem to want my most recent employment and will only accept one school in the education section.  Does this all sound familiar?  Have you gone through this process before?  I have - dozens of times.  Anybody who has been unemployed has done this.

Now they want to know what made me decide to apply for a job at Microsoft.  Hmmm…I don’t see an entry for “Bill Gates said he needed me,” so I click on “other” and submit.  Now they want to know my gender and race.  Yes, they allow “Decline to state” as an option but I have no problem with this so I click the buttons.  They send me a nice e-mail saying that my resume has been submitted and I will be contacted if there is a match to my background.  Great!

Anybody who has applied for a job before knows that submitting a resume is nothing.  I might as well have filed it in the big electronic trash can in the sky.  The real way to get a job is through networking.  OK, we’ve got the biggest tech network in the world right here.  I’m looking for some inside help.  Anybody out there work at Microsoft?  Give me some clues.  What would you suggest I do next?  My website is here and I am listed on Linked-In.  Let’s connect!