Lifetime Experience @ Microsoft – “Be What’s Next”

After working for more than 2 years in one of the India’s largest IT service Provider Company I always had a dream of working for a product based IT Company.

The dream began to take a concrete shape on 3-May-2012 late in the evening when I found a mail in my inbox from my Training and Placement Officer asking for resume urgently for an internship opportunity in Microsoft. Initially I was a bit hesitant in sending my resume. I felt that I may not be able to make it through the selection process comprised of resume shortlisting, telephonic interview and then personal interview in the Microsoft campus in Gurgaon scheduled for the very next day.

Somehow a thought came to my mind from a famous Bollywood movie which said “Koshish karne waale log kabhi nahi haarte”. The thought triggered me to press the SEND button of the mail containing my attached resume to my Training and Placement Officer.

Things started falling into place thereafter and finally on 14-May-2012 I joined Microsoft Corporation as an intern in the Security and Privacy Division under Deepak Rout (Director Privacy, Microsoft India). He has distinguished experience of more than 20 years in the area of technology management and leadership roles. He has rich experience of 16 years in Military intelligence and is known for his outstanding contribution to the nation in the areas of Intelligence, Security and Technology. He has also been a part of different corporate organizations as Chief Information Security Officer and has been awarded CIO-100 Awards for 2010, 2011 and also Top 100 CISO Awards for 2011. Apart from this he also has a strong inclination towards teaching and has been associated with various educational institutions of national importance (like IIIT-Delhi) in the country. There has been a strong bonding between IIIT-Delhi faculty and Deepak. PK and Deepak have been interacting for the last couple of years.

Amazing co-incidence was that I was also joined by another trainee from Symbiosis Institute of Information Technology-Pune, this guy happened to work with me for almost 2 years in my previous company before joining M.Tech in Information Security at IIIT-Delhi.

It was very impressive to find that on the day one itself we were issued laptops (with Windows 8 OS) along with login id’s and password in addition to the full training plan chalked out on a week by week basis. Day 1 did not end here itself; it was also followed by a training session on Microsoft Privacy Standards and the Privacy laws in India. All these things transformed this wonderful experience from better to the best.

In the week#1 itself we went for a work and fun filled team outing to Manesar ITC resort (about 25 Km from Gurgaon) where we spent almost full day. The outing was comprised of games, meeting on Microsoft’s FY13 targets followed by dance and party. It was yet another awesome experience.

In the week#2 I got another wonderful opportunity to meet and hear Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer who was on a visit to Microsoft Gurgaon.
Every week in Microsoft is characterized by a unique learning experience giving rich insights into the future technology and research areas. Credit also goes to Microsoft and its lively and enthusiastic employees.

I have been handed over independent charge of a number of excellent projects with full authority from planning to execution. It involves interacting with Microsoft partners, development teams, marketing teams and the list goes on…

There has not been even a single moment in my internship tenure till date when I have not lived that moment to the fullest both in terms of work and fun. I will cherish the memories of the time spent at Microsoft throughout my life and hopefully I am blessed with more of such opportunities going ahead in life 🙂

Thanks to the almighty, entire faculty of IIIT-Delhi with whom I got a chance to learn and interact till now, my reporting manager and team mates at Microsoft, my parents and my friends. My selection and internship would not have been possible without their support and teachings.

Below is a pic of mine at Microsoft!