Posts Tagged ‘Microsoft’

Job Recruiters Dish On What They Like About Their Careers, What They Don’t, And What They Get Asked In An Interview

Posted by • November 16th, 2009 • Leave a comment

According to Glassdoor interview reviews, 15% have acquired a job interview with the help of a recruiter and 3% get an interview by working with a staffing agency. Given these findings, we were curious to find out what it’s like to be a recruiter or staffing agency professional in this market. What does it take in this economy for recruiters to pair job seekers with companies hiring? What’s challenging about the job these days? And what type of questions does a recruiter get asked when they are being interviewed for a job?

Based on the company and interview reviews on Glassdoor, we did some digging around to give you a better picture of what it’s really like to be a recruiter today.

What recruiters don’t like about their jobs: In a nutshell, being a recruiter requires long hours, sometimes a low commission based salary, and a continual uphill climb given a tough job market.

Long hours, commission brackets are impossible to reach, once you reach then you still aren’t making that much money. – Aerotek Recruiter

Overall, the staffing industry isn’t a prime place to be. Go in wanting to learn about the job market and what you need to succeed, and get out ...

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Apple / Microsoft War is Back On: New Products and New Marketing Campaigns

Posted by • October 23rd, 2009 • Leave a comment
Jobs v. Ballmer 10.18.09

This was a big week for the computer industry – Apple continued to show strength with a favorable earnings report and new marketing campaign; Microsoft launched Windows 7 (in the hope of erasing Vista’s memory forever) and, while the company’s earnings fell 18% to $3.6 billion or 40 cents per share, they beat street estimates of 32 cents a share. This week also signaled a new battle between the two companies as they compete for user attention, and, as VentureBeat reporter Dean Takahashi pointed out, “The overall PC market is expected to grow just 2 percent in the third quarter. That means Apple is taking market share from Windows still.”

Apple has solidified its status as a media darling with its iPod and Mac products, but how do the companies really compare? And what about their respective leaders?

When looking at employee approval ratings of each CEO, Steve Jobs’ 90% approval helps solidify his iconic status, and he completely overshadows’ Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s rating of just 41%. In Glassdoor’s deeper analysis of 90-day trailing averages, Jobs’ has always held more than a 20 percentage point lead over Ballmer. Jobs’ rating took a dip in recent weeks, while Ballmer’s approval rating continued ...

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831 Things Yahoos Can Learn from Microsoft Employees

Posted by • August 5th, 2009 • Leave a comment

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released online Tuesday with details of the recent partnership agreement between Microsoft and Yahoo, it was announced that Microsoft would be hiring 400 Yahoo employees. The partnership is part of a plan to share revenue on Internet search advertising. In the Yahoo SEC filing, it also noted that Microsoft will hire 150 of Yahoo’s staff to assist with the transition.

But let’s face it: if you are making this transition from a Yahoo to a Microsoft employee, you want to know what you are getting into. And who best to show the opportunities and pitfalls at Microsoft other than existing employees? Here’s just a taste of advice from the 831 Microsoft employees who have rated the company on Glassdoor.com that can provide insight to transferring Yahoo team members:

“Your performance rating is decided how well others in your group performed (relative or stack ranking still takes place under the new performance system) even if you have delivered all your tasks satisfactorily” – Program Manager (Redmond, WA)

“The compensation is not the greatest in the world. If you have a family the health benefit will compensate for it otherwise for sure you will ...

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Microsoft and Yahoo Announce Partnership; What Could this Mean for Employees?

Posted by • July 29th, 2009 • 2 Comments

News today broke of a 10-year partnership agreement between Microsoft and Yahoo!, after years of discussions between the two companies attempting to work together in some capacity.  As part of the deal, Microsoft will provide backend technology for Yahoo! search functionality, giving Bing, Microsoft’s newly minted search engine, additional inquiries to work with. In addition, Yahoo!’s sales force will begin selling premium advertising for both companies.

There has been some speculation about what this will mean for employees of the two companies, including potential lay-offs at Yahoo! and some job opportunities for employees to move from Yahoo! to new roles at Microsoft.

Based on reviews on both companies, Yahoo! employees  may actually be happier at Microsoft, with approval ratings at the company a full .4 points higher than at Yahoo!. More than half of employees (54%) do, however, approve of the work that Carol Bartz is doing at Yahoo!, in comparison to the job that Steve Ballmer is doing at Microsoft (42%).

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Update: Laid off Microsoft Employees to Keep Extra Payouts

Posted by • February 23rd, 2009 • 1 Comment

UPDATE: Microsoft has quickly rectified the administrative glitch regarding several severance packages – The company said the laid off workers could keep the extra payouts.

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Microsoft Layoffs Do Not Compute?

Posted by • January 13th, 2009 • 1 Comment

The rumor mill is alive and well with Microsoft layoffs expected to be as high as 15% of their workforce which is approximately 15,000 employees. As you’ll see in some of the employee comments below, some believe this is a necessary change that was only a matter of time whereas other employees view the company’s reputation for not laying off its staff as one the company’s greatest assets.

The Microsoft layoff announcement only worsens the fact that Wall Street’s optimistic Q1 projections were off the mark. According to an AP article, “The week’s economic news, including the Federal Reserve’s region-by-region assessment of business conditions, will be more worrisome after word Friday that the unemployment rate soared to a 16-year high of 7.2 percent during December.”

What’s ironic about this speculation over mass layoffs at Microsoft is their aggressive investment in new technologies. As TechCrunch just reported, Microsoft led a $24 million investment round for Israeli startup Intrig. Is this aggressive spending part of their strategy to stay ahead in hopes of carrying it out till the market improves?

And are Microsoft executives coming to the realization that the previous attitude of “we don’t do layoffs” is not good for business?  As you’ll read ...

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