Students, your IT career is just around the corner. But you need to land that first job, right? An internship is a great option and can be one of the most important things you do before graduation. The experience can help you explore IT and, in many cases, position you for a full-time job offer. With these benefits and a challenging job market, you’ll want to differentiate yourself from the other candidates and guarantee that competitive advantage.
Here is some helpful advice:
Get Experience
School Organizations: Build and utilize your own professional network. Get involved with a school-affiliated organization that participates in real-world activities that relate to your major. This is a great way to get to know the students in your class, meet future contacts that will work in your industry, and diversify your college experience from other college graduates. It also looks great on a resume.
School Projects: What are you learning in school? Showcase it! You are doing projects related to your field every semester. Be sure to highlight that experience in your resume and showcase what you have learned. If you are at the top of your class, ask for a recommendation from your professor and post it on your LinkedIn profile or resume.
Use your resources
University Career Centers: Most universities have departments specifically dedicated to finding students internships and full time jobs. Be sure to take advantage of all their different services including resume building and workshops highlighting best practices for interviewing. Once you feel like your resume is solid and you have finely tuned your interviewing skills, check out different job postings on their website and apply early!
Career Fairs: Go to your school sponsored Career Fairs. These provide a great way to learn about companies in your area and find a company best suited for you. It’s a great way to apply to a number of places at once and build relationships by having conversations with the different recruiters at each booth. Don’t forget to dress professionally. See http://jobsearch.about.com/od/interviewattire/a/interviewdress.htm
Connections: You’ve heard it over and over that success is all about who you know. Well, it holds a lot of truth. Exhaust all your connections! The Born to Learn blog can help you. Get advice from the experts and be active on blogs like Born to Learn. If you know someone in the field, be persistent and find out everything you can about what they do. Show interest and pass along your resume for future consideration. What could it hurt?
Stand out
Resume and Cover Letter: Get advice from as many professionals as possible. Everyone has a different opinion on resumes. When applying for an IT position, wherever possible, quantify your experience. Mention numerically, time periods/efficiency improved, lines of code written/debugged, numbers of machines administered/fixed, etc. which demonstrate progress or accomplishments due directly to your work. Begin sentences with action verbs related to IT field. Show yourself as someone who is active, uses their brain, and gets things done. Stick with the past tense, even for descriptions of currently held positions, to avoid confusion. Make sure you can effectively sell yourself in one page. Employers will scan over these very quickly and you need something that will catch the eye. Many times, grammatical errors catch the eye so be careful and review it multiple times before sending it out! Some companies require you to send in a cover letter along with your resume. You can create a generic cover letter highlighting qualities that you think will benefit the company OR you can customize a cover letter for each company that you apply to. This will help you stand out among applicants that go generic!
You can also find some great advice from Microsoft/Student on resumes and cover letters.
Take classes and get certified: This time of year many college students will be competing for the best internships. Set yourself apart from everyone else by showcasing how hard you’ve worked. For example, if you have any interest in working for Microsoft, a great way to stand out from the crowd is to earn a Microsoft Certification. Being MS Certified shows that you not only got your degree in college, but you have worked hard to accomplish other goals. Check out My Intern Life 2 to see what life is like as a Microsoft intern.
Don’t wait to apply for internships! Start now! Most companies are already reviewing applications for summer internship spots. Use these tips to make sure you secure your internship spot!
Okay, so maybe it’s silly, but I got excited when I was hand-delivered my very own copy of the brand new shiny MOS 2010 Study Guide today. Fresh off the press, this latest MOS Study Guide was authored by two Office gurus, Joan Lambert and Joyce Cox. I’ve already put my name on it, because seriously, in our offices, these books grow legs and wander fast.
If you are planning to take a MOS 2010 exam on Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Outlook, this is the book for you. Check out this blog post for an excerpt about Excel formulas and functions… an area that regularly causes me headaches. Happy reading!
Born to Learn readers are great at staying up to date on new training and certification announcements through the blog, and probably through the MCP or MCT Flash as well. We've recently introduced an additional option: do a deeper dive on these topics by signing up for the Microsoft Learning mailing list.
Sign up to get occasional, single-topic emails highlighting specific learning resources and find out how you can take advantage of the latest special offers. Emails will cover topics such as charting your career at the Career Portal, free e-book downloads, Career Factor developments, and more.
Join the mailing list today and get the full story on the resources we offer to help you make the most of your Microsoft technology.
Exam 70-595: TS: Developing Business Process and Integration Solutions by Using Microsoft BizTalk Server 2010 is now available in Prometric testing centers. Candidates for this exam typically work as a BizTalk developer in an organization that has a need to integrate multiple disparate systems, applications, and data as well as the need to automate business processes by using BizTalk Server.
Candidates should have a solid understanding of fundamental BizTalk concepts around the core messaging engine and building business processes using orchestrations. Candidates will have some exposure to larger-scale multi-server solutions and deployment/management familiarity. This core knowledge is required for BizTalk 2006 R2, 2009, and 2010. In addition, core knowledge of Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is also required.
Candidates should also have at least two years’ experience developing, deploying, testing, troubleshooting, and debugging BizTalk Server 2006 and later solutions across multiple projects and have experience using the Microsoft .NET Framework, XML, Microsoft Visual Studio, Microsoft SQL Server, Web services, and WCF while developing BizTalk integration solutions.
To schedule your exam, visit Prometric’s Web site.
Online tutorials are an interactive Web-based learning setting ideal for students who require maximum flexibility in their learning environment. Students learn by using a rich system of guided, hands-on exercises and self-assessment questions. The FAST University online library subscription complements our instructor-led (ILT) courses and is recommended as follow-on to all ILT courses.
FAST University Online Library Subscription (OLS) – unlimited access 24/7 to over 50+ online eLearning courses, covering Microsoft FAST Search Server 2010 for Internet Sites (FSIS), FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint and SharePoint Server 2010. New online courses are added each month to the online library subscription. Purchase of a subscription equates to substantial savings.
Please email fastuniv@microsoft.com or call toll free +877-304-2594 for details.
Today we're posting the complete Conquering Virtual Sprawl comic book for download. We're also putting up the eight remaining pages, so you can finish reading the story that way, too.
This is it! Find out how Zach and Leah defeat the Virtual Sprawl Monster.
Click here to download Conquering Virtual Sprawl.
Thank you for reading our earlier posts about Conquering Virtual Sprawl: our development process, the first 8 pages, and 8 more pages. If you like the comics and you want to see more visual content like this, please let us know. Please leave a comment or drop us a line.
Technology update: Since we created this comic, System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 Beta has been made available. It can be downloaded for native 64-bit, and also in a Hyper-V Virtual Hard Drive (VHD).
(Editor's Note: Lutz Ziob, General Manager of Microsoft Learning, was invited to attend the inaugural graduation of the NetHope Academy in Haiti. He spent some time in Port-au-Prince in mid-March and we asked him to write about his experience)
The contrast of hope and despair, optimism and anguish, faith and agony is a feeling that I experienced frequently during the four days of my recent visit to Haiti. In fact, it’s this contrast which characterized Haiti for me right now.
But, at the graduation ceremony, there is no place for gloom. It’s all about confidence, optimism, and high expectations for the future. These 39 computer science students have been selected out of almost 300 Haitian applications to participate in the first NetHope Academy, a collaboration of NetHope, Ecole Supérieure d’Infotronique d’Haiti (ESIH), Accenture, the Voila Foundation, Cisco, and Microsoft. The partnering companies sponsored their services and products, enabling a tuition-free attendance for the enrolled students. During the six months program, they received hands-on technical training on Microsoft, Cisco and other industry-leading technologies, combined with instructions and coaching on broader job enabling skills (often mislabeled as “soft skills”). They were also encouraged to achieve internationally-accepted IT certifications in high demand, like the Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician.
The unique value NetHope brought to the table were the internships that all students received at other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Haiti. On-the-job experience helped the students to build up the crucial real-life skills and knowledge necessary to gain employability. Hence, I was very excited – but not surprised - to learn that almost all of them had already secured a full-time, family-wage position even before their graduation day! Clearly, these graduates and their families had all the reason to be confident and optimistic about their future. Frank Schott, NetHope’s Global Program Director and founding father of the NetHope Academy in Haiti, has written a wonderful blog about the program and the graduation ceremony that I think you will enjoy reading.
For me, the NetHope Academy program is proof that Haiti can indeed be “built back better,” as former President Clinton encouraged the country and the global community of nations to do. Yes, it can be hard at times to imagine a better Haiti while experiencing the devastation, the suffering, the poverty, the deeply rooted social and economic problems, the political instability. But, we all know that hope and vision can overcome the biggest challenges. Time and again we have seen the “power of a dream” transforming lives and changing nations.
I had the pleasure of meeting such a “dreamer” in person during my visit: Mathias Pierre, author of the book “The Power of a Dream - One Man's Determination to Pursue his Ideals”, is a native of Port-au-Prince and an ambitious, successful business person. But he is not only the President of GaMa, a leading IT services and distribution company in Haiti, but also the Chairman of the Haitian IT Professional Association, and a visionary educator and philanthropist. Through his Fondation ETREayisyen, Mathias is using education and training to promote societal change and to encourage local business development and entrepreneurship amongst the youth in Haiti. Mathis is passionate, determined, and energetic – and has no time to waste. Right at the beginning of our meeting, he let me know: “I probably would not have had time for you today, if it were not for you wanting to talk to me about education.” So, here we are, the IT company owner and the Microsoft representative not wanting to waste time talking just about technology, we had more important things to discuss!
Mathias’ comment really opened my eyes for what’s at stake in Haiti and what’s badly needed: To build a better Haiti, new solid and robust foundations have to be put in place. This is certainly true for the way that buildings, streets, bridges and cities are constructed in Haiti. I was shocked to learn that the 9.0 earthquake in Japan (which actually happened as I left for Haiti) was estimated to have been 1,000 times stronger in force than the 7.0 quake in Haiti, but the latter one claimed over 300,000 lives, mostly because of the devastating impact of collapsing buildings and other construction.
The second element that will be critical to re-building Haiti better is a robust, scalable foundation for education in the nation. The earthquake destroyed some 4,000 schools in Haiti, about 90% of the educational institutions in the country. And this catastrophic destruction hit an education system that already ranked at the very bottom in any global comparison. For example, only 5% of Haitians gain a high school diploma, a mere 1% attend college and over 80% of the College graduates leave the country upon graduation; and two thirds of all teachers in Haiti have never received any teacher training.
I feel that all of the people I met clearly understand the importance of education and training moving forward. This vibrant interest in learning was apparent amongst students, educators and teachers, government officials, NGO representatives, global help organizations, parents, entrepreneurs, journalists, etc. Literally each and every discussion pretty quickly turned to the question: how can better education be brought to more people, or more accurately: how can we provide a much higher quality of education to all citizens in Haiti, especially the younger generations?
These were probably the most encouraging, most rewarding moments during my stay in Haiti: when I realized that modern technology can indeed make a substantial contribution to helping this bold dream come true. Clearly, IT does not provide the answer to all of the pressing educational questions that the country struggles with today. But providing training for information technology and using modern, highly scalable technologies in education are powerful solutions that will be cornerstones in the new education foundation for Haiti.
This is one of the reasons why Microsoft has engaged to quickly and broadly in the rebuilding efforts of Haiti (check out this article if you are interested). And we in Microsoft Learning will continue to contribute in ways that are specific to our core capabilities and programs. Naturally, we will again support the NetHope Academy with training materials and certifications moving forward (the overall founding in Haiti was secured for at least two more years). I had a lot of discussions about the Microsoft IT Academy program, the Microsoft Certified Trainer certification, other Microsoft certification programs, offerings like Digital Literacy, DreamSpark, BizSpark, and Live@Edu, etc. We are now putting concrete steps in place to ensure that we can train and certify a number of MCTs, to enroll a number of schools and colleges into the ITA program and to set up at least one commercial Microsoft Learning Partner in the country. In that way, we hope that we can provide support for a strong education foundation in Haiti.
As I left the country on Saturday - the very next day after exiled former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide returned to Haiti - I felt that hope and optimism is prevailing over despair and anguish. Haiti can indeed be re-built better and stronger! And technology, together with technology education, will be one of the core building blocks. A NetHope Academy graduating student captures the mood really well when he wrote to the organizers:
“This is to thank for all you've been doing for Haitian people, especially for me. Yesterday was on the nicest days of my life, I was so excited. Now I am more than ever confident and I don't worry anymore about my future. From the bottom of my heart, many thanks once more. Keep up the good work and I hope this program will continue and give opportunities to other young Haitian people. With your support a brighter day is possible for Haiti”.
-Lutz
Hi All, For those who received an e-mail from me yesterday regarding the 71-599 Beta, my hugest apologies. I sent out the wrong promo code. Check your mail as the correct promo code was just sent a few minutes ago. And do not hesitate to contact me at amandaw@microsoft.com with any questions/concerns/etc. you may have.
Eddie thanks the people who helped him get hired, Kevin regroups for a second shot at Microsoft Certification, and Rabeb meets a a role model. Catch up on Career Factor for these stories and more.
Bojan – The Aspiring Microsoft Certified Master, UKGoal: Take the MCM course and pass the Exchange 2010 MCM examThis week: It's official--Bojan is a Microsoft Certified Master in Exchange 2010! Catch up on his path to certification on his blog, and learn more about the training experience on his video page.
Kevin – The Student, TexasGoal: Find a post-college job as an IT ProfessionalThis week: Kevin’s first attempt at a certification exam didn’t go well, but he’s recharging for a second try. He also looked back on past freelance projects and wondered what opportunities his followers have found helpful.
Caroline – The Office Competition Contender, CanadaGoal: Compete at the 2011 Certiport Worldwide Competition on OfficeThis week: Caroline’s school event went well, and she had the opportunity to discuss her training program with Certiport.
Eddie – The Do-It-Yourself IT Pro, California Goal: Transition back into the IT industry, obtain TS and PRO level certificationsThis week: Eddie gave a shout-out to his local training center, which not only helped him pass his first certification exam but also went above and beyond to help him land his IT job!
In case you missed our Live Meeting for Managers on Virtual Training, you can now view the recording on demand.
Moving to the Cloud
Tynan Fischer introduces the various remote training options that are available and shares some of the best practices for planning and executing a successful remote training initiative. Virtual training helps organizations leverage technology and smart planning to reduce cost and increase training efficiency and effectiveness.
Watch Now.
Visit the IT Manager Portal for the full schedule of upcoming Live Meetings for Managers, to download meeting materials, and to view previous meetings on demand.
Last week, Erika Cravens posted a blog describing some forthcoming changes to the transcripts and certificates. She noted that the addition of the certificate number is specifically required to maintain the ISO 17024 accreditation that we hold for three of our certifications (Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Administrator; Windows Server 2008 Server Administrator; MCSA Security Specialization), and one commenter asked that we provide more information about the changes required by ISO 17024. I thought I'd take a slightly broader approach to this topic and talk about what is required to earn and maintain accreditation in general because we actually have several.
First, the requirements for accreditation vary based on the accrediting body. For example, the requirements to accredited to ISO 17024 are different from those required by the American Counsel of Education (based in the United States) and Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC; based in Ireland); however, the requirements for earning ISO 17024 accreditation are, by far, the most rigorous of any accreditation that we've earned, so let's focus on those requirements. If we meet those requirements, odds are good that we'll meet the requirements of other accreditation standards.
The ISO 17024 standard is lengthy and is broken into four key components that are relevant to our readers. I can certainly go into much more detail about the specifics of the standard (if anyone is interested, let me know), but I'm simply hitting the highlights below.
1. Certification body and organizational structure.The most important aspect of the related clauses in this section is that exam development must be conducted independently of training development. In other words, the exam must be an independent evaluation of the candidate's skills and abilities, and training cannot be required to earn the certification. Because of this requirement, we have implemented a stronger firewall between exam and training development; specifically, if you assist us with certain exam development activities, you cannot create training content that is considered part of the learning path for that exam, and vice versa (if you create training content designed to prepare candidates for a specific exam, you cannot assist with certain exam development activities for that exam). I recently posted a blog about these rules on the MS Press blog.
2. Certification and exam development and maintenance. We must follow industry accepted standards when designing, developing, and maintaining our exams to ensure their ongoing validity and reliability over the life of the certification, and document, document, document every phase of this process. We have always been good at the former...and less good at the latter.
3. Certification Process.Recertification of some sort is required because skills atrophy over time, and stakeholders must have some level of confidence that someone holding the certification continues to possess those skills. This is why we created a recertification exam (70-699) for the MCSA Security Specialization certification. Recertification for the accredited Windows Server 2008 certifications will be covered when we release of the next version of the software's certifications (the availability of the Windows Server v-Next Enterprise Administrator and Server Administrator certifications in conjunction with the inactive date associated with 2008 Windows Server certifications meet the recertification requirement).
4. Certificate Content. Oddly enough, the standard, while general in the implementation of many of its requirements, is very specific about what must be included on the certificate itself. Because of its specificity, I'm using the wording provided in the standard; my editorial comments are in italics:
a) the name of the certified person and a unique certification number;
b) the name of the certification body (in our case, Microsoft);
c) a reference to the competence standard on which the certification is based (in our case, this is passing the associated exam(s));
d) the scope of the certification (in our case, this is the specific technology and version), including validity conditions and limitations (a statement that the certificate holder has met all the requirements to be considered certified as X);
e) the effective date of certification (when earned) and date of expiry.
What else would you like to know?
Are you an Exchange Administrator? Do you want to become one? Take this opportunity to prepare for your Exchange Server 2010 TS and IT Pro Exams by attending our free Cram 4 Exam with Microsoft Certified Trainer, Chris Rhodes. An MCT since 1996, Chris is an expert on Exchange Server and Windows Server and has been selected as a Microsoft Learning Ambassador for TechEd Europe 2010 and TechEd North America 2011. During this Live Meeting session, Chris will walk you through the exam objectives and give you some tips on preparing for and taking your exam.
In his "spare" time, Chris blogs and teaches weekend Masterclasses at the University of York IT Academy. Here is how he wants you to envision his professional demeanor:
In his additional spare time, he also likes to keep busy by helping me manage beer mugs at TechEd Europe:
Learn from the multi-talented Chris Rhodes on Monday, April 4, 2011 Start Time: 8am Pacific Time (What time is this in my region?). Register Now!
If you’ve earned a Microsoft Certification, you may have initially prepared by reviewing an exam preparation guide. These guides provide an overview of the focus of an exam, what certification(s) it counts towards, and candidates’ level of expertise, along with the skills measured and suggested preparation materials.
To help IT professionals and developers further prepare to take an exam, we’ve recently introduced exam coaching sessions. Taught by Microsoft Certified Trainers (MCT), these sessions elaborate on what you can expect on an exam along with tips for how to prepare.
Browse exam coaching sessions for:
On Friday afternoon I heard about AppMkr and how easy it now was to create an app. I gave it a try and all of a sudden I found myself getting into that old 'garage project' state of mind. Exciting stuff! Yes, this was easy, and it was fun, and it was something I could do.
So on Saturday morning I created an App called 'Born to Learn Reader' which is out NOW on Droid and you can get it here. It is a basic but handy reader that enables you read Born to Learn on the go. I added loads of tabs so it's really easy to keep track of our news, our events, our Career Factor show, offers and I even threw in some other great blogs. Yes, I added advertising; a man can dream and my dream is that this app makes some money. If it does, we'll put whatever money it earns us towards building a school in a developing country. It would be awesome if that actually worked, so don't be shy and click an ad or two for the good cause :-).
Out now on Droid, coming soon on Windows Phone and iPhone. To see how easy it is to create apps, read the below announcement and have fun creating!! Oh, and don't miss the 'free Marketplace registration' at the very end of this blog post, if you don't have an account yet this may allow you to upload your apps at no cost :-)
Imagine developing an app in less than 30 minutes, with no coding required and no cost to you!
Creating a Windows Phone App has never been easier! Microsoft is excited to announce the partnership with AppMakr.
AppMakr is a browser-based platform, that makes developing Windows Phone 7 Apps quick and easy. No coding required. Anyone with existing content can use it and build Windows Phone 7 apps for free― bloggers/writers, business owners, website owners, musicians, sports figures and more….
Why Use AppMakr?
• Push-Notifications for Direct Alert Messaging to Your Users
• Social Network Sharing and Mobile Ad Network Integration for Monetizing Content.
Microsoft Limited Free Offer! Microsoft is offering free Marketplace registration ($99 Value) to developers who install the Ad Control SDK into their Windows Phone 7 Apps via AppMakr. First 500 to qualify will receive! Take advantage of this special incentive today by contacting adsinapp@microsoft.com
If you’re a frequent reader of this blog, you’re probably well aware of NetHope. Microsoft has been a long-time supporter (our team in particular), helping to restore communication and IT infrastructure following disasters and helping to build capacity in developing countries. Most recently, we supported the NetHope Academy program in Haiti (more on recent developments there in a near-future post).
As you might expect, NetHope sprung immediately into action following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and as always, they can really use the help and support of those of us in the IT community. Here’s an excerpt from a newsletter I just received… if you can help, I know it’ll make a difference.
“Teams in the field are telling us that communications and electricity are very limited in the affected areas. As more information about the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami become available, our member organizations plan to increase their work in the country as well as support their partner organizations in improving their capacity to deal with the consequences of these terrible natural disasters in the months to come.
“We cannot understate the urgency of this appeal; communications capabilities and efficient information sharing are the lifeblood of every rescue and relief effort, and the task ahead in Japan is daunting. We need financial support now to provide our member organizations with the essential tools they need to speed the delivery of food, water, shelter, health care and family reunification services to the victims of this disaster.
“Based on the initial feedback from our member organizations, we expect to require funding for coordinating the ICT aspects of the response for at least the next six weeks. We expect there will be a need for communication equipment, laptops and software. Although we will try to procure as much of that equipment from local sources as possible, there will also be a need for funding the transportation costs for equipment donated in-kind from other countries.
“In the past your generous donations have made our work possible; they are a crucial piece in our collaborative efforts. It is though donors like you. the invaluable technical and cash support from your companies and your employee matches that give us the resources we need to deliver our important work. Everything we are doing is designed to provide urgently needed communications and information sharing capabilities right now to allow NetHope's member organizations to provide help to the people of Japan.”
Here are a few ways you can support NetHope's services to those on the front lines of relief in Japan:
We are currently gathering information for exams 70-243 and 70-242. These exams cover System Center Configuration Manager 2012 and System Center Operations Manager 2012.
If you are a System Center subject matter expert, we would like to get your input. The questions will be about experience, primary use, and tasks that the qualified candidate should be able to perform.
We have two online surveys available:
System Center Configuration Manager:
http://microsoftlearning.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_d1gDjZPYJv1SHyI
System Center Operations Manager:
http://microsoftlearning.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_50gGKfVbKaMqjLS
Thanks!