Stand Out From The Crowd

Recently had an article published in the UK Student Zine, thought I'd share it with you lot too if you want, the original's to be found on the Mint Source Blog, and in a few thousand inboxes too.

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Standing Out from the Crowd

By Ian MacGillivray, Microsoft Student Partner

I really feel sorry for employers these days – it seems everyone’s coming out of university with a 2:1 in their field, and when you’re faced with a hundred applicants, all with the same degree, it can’t be an easy job working out which one is best for the company. Sure, applicant AAA spent an hour a week for an entire month helping out a local charity, but what about applicant BBB, who was secretary of their university’s table-tennis society? It can seem a nightmare, until applicant MSP comes along – after that there’s not really much of a choice to be made.


You see, being a Microsoft Student Partner (MSP) isn’t just something to brag about to your friends, or a way to get your hands on the latest goodies first, it’s the sort of thing that will make you stand out above the crowd, wherever you go and whatever you want to do. I’ve been out speaking to these employers, looking for somewhere to work on placement, and by the time I’d finished telling them about everything I’ve done on the MSP programme, it wasn’t them left wondering who to hire, it was me left wondering which of the companies to pick.


While you’re learning a lot of theory at university, the MSP programme will give you practical, hands on experience of the latest technologies actually being used in industry today. Admittedly, the learning is going to be biased towards Microsoft’s own technologies and solutions – but hey, if you’re reading this article, then you already know how cool some of those are. The opportunities and support here are phenomenal; you can literally become expert in .NET, in ASP.NET or even in XNA, with the Microsoft team behind you.


It’s not all about getting your hands dirty at a computer screen though – when you get out of university there’s going to be a roomful of applicants going for that top job, and they’ll all be able to write code. What people really want nowadays is someone with a talent – and with a set of ‘softer’ skills too. The Student Partner scheme is a unique opportunity to develop your presentation, marketing and interaction skills, something you might never do at university. Again, don’t be scared, you’ll have the full weight of the Microsoft team behind you, with years of experience and tons of handy tips. They also lend a hand with actually getting people to your events too, by throwing in some food and swag to hand out to attendees – and naturally, you’ll need to test the quality of the pizza you’re handing out too.


All this is well and good, I hear you saying, but who really wants people skills and technological proficiency? They’re no fun, you can’t invite them to the pub for a drink, or wear them, or play with them in your room. Well, I think you’re being very greedy, but fortunately Microsoft does not seem to agree with me. There’s three or four events hosted during the year for the MSPs, and believe you me they’re good.


The first will be a trip to Microsoft Reading, the second a trip to Microsoft London, and the third a trip to Microsoft Research, Cambridge. They’re all interesting places, and a good day out in themselves. The contacts you can make in these various places are wonderful, and you get treated in great style when you’re a guest at Microsoft. There’s always a fun social evening, with drinks all paid for, and then a nice hotel to stay in. There may, if you’re lucky, even be a fourth purely social trip, just to say thanks for all the hard work you’ve been doing.


You're also privy to all the latest advances before the masses, and get tons of free things thrown at you (I got Windows Vista Ultimate, Microsoft Office 2007 System, various Xbox accessories and a lot more this year, for example).


By now, assuming you haven’t gotten bored by my over-enthusiasm and stopped reading, I hope you’re pretty excited and ready to go off and apply, but before you do that, I want to answer one of the most common questions I get about people who are thinking about joining the scheme – what does a Student Partner actually do?


Well, there’s a big range of suggestions provided for you, but one of the key skills you need for, and develop from the scheme, is that of initiative. This year I’ve run workshops to teach my friends new tech, I’ve organised trips around the UK for my university’s computing society to launch days for Microsoft products – and even presented my own launch day for Vista and Office 2007! From little things, like putting up some posters and sitting down with someone in a pub and telling them about the new tech, to big flashy events, presentations and trips, the programme is what you make of it, and if you’re willing to put in the time and effort, you could end up with one of the best years of your life.


For more information, and to apply to the scheme, visit:
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/academia/students/student-partners/default.mspx
Feel free to contact me with any questions – ian@student-partners.com (yes, you even get a snazzy email address too).


Oh, and, in case it needed saying. It was Microsoft I picked – I’ll be there on placement next year, I hope to see you down there at one of the wonderful MSP events!