What it was really like interning at Microsoft
and the stuff i wish i knew before starting...
This is a deeper look into my remote internship experience at Microsoft and sharing the lessons I’ve learned.
”Don’t rush through the experiences that have the most capacity to transform you”
My Project
It was really cool how I had a say in what kind of project I can do. My manager and mentor reached out to me before the internship even started so we can learn more about each other and so they can figure out what I’m interested in
Note: I won’t be going into details of my project due to confidentiality
On week 2, I was given two projects to choose from. One was described to be a smaller scope and easier project with the general solution already in mind. The second one was ambiguous and required complex subject matter expertise. This was a difficult decision. The first project felt like it was easier to land a return offer. But the second one was enticing because even if I fail, I can see myself growing more.
Leaning into my value of growth, I went with the second one. I was given a problem which was good. As a PM, you should never be given the solution, and my manager told me that I have the freedom to come up with the solution that best solves the problem. I was given a lot of autonomy during my internship. It was scary and exciting.
Before getting into my project. I spent a lot of time understanding the context of how my project plays into the bigger picture. Answering questions like:
What is the mission of our organization? How do we live up to our mission?
What are the goals of our team? What is the strategy to meet the goals?
How are we defining success? What metrics are we using?
How is the organization structured? Who works with who?
What is the current process for building products in this org?
What kind of meetings are there? What’s the purpose of these meetings?
Who decides the problems we’re going to solve? Why focus on these problems?
I will explain my internship project into two parts: Discovery and Delivery.
Insight: Live into your values for hard decisions. For me, it was growth. I also wanted to make a bigger impact.
Discovery
The purpose is to choose the right problem to solve, dig deep and understand the underlying issue, get alignment on the scope of the problem and define what success looks like.
I did a bunch of interviews with Microsoft software engineers. I went to understand their thought process with how they respond to incidents on the services and identify their pain points.
I also did data analysis by learning Kusto, a query language to help me go through the data to find patterns and the impact of the problem I was discovering. There was also a dashboard already made to see the data I needed.
I used the design thinking process to help me scope down what problems I should focus on and figure out a solution for that problem.
Once I conducted these interviews, I defined the problem statements and categorized problems that are similar to one another. This process was challenging as I came across a wide variety of problems that my users experienced. I learned to prioritize and choose the most impactful problem to solve.
I focused on making a better dashboard for my users. I prototyped some using Figma and tested the designed dashboard with them. After some iterations, I learned that my solution wasn’t as effective as I thought.
I’ll be honest, it hurt to pivot like this. It felt like all my previous work was for nothing. That I made no progress and I was starting over to build a good product for developers. But, I realized that is a part of the process of building a PM. You get to learn from your failures and apply that to the next iteration of your product.
The Pivot
I continued to do more interviews and data analysis and found a better problem that my users faced. I stepped away from the dashboard solution and looked towards an alerting solution. I wrote specs that outlined the context of the problem, success metrics, functional requirements, and more.
Insight: An underrated skill as a PM is learning to step away from an invested solution and changing directions based on new information
Delivery
I had weekly meetings with my team of developers to get alignment on the problem I’d like to focus on. Next, figure out possible solutions to solve the problem. We had multiple ideas and had to balance the feasibility and scalability of the solution because we hoped to get something finished before my internship ended. There were times where I felt lost at this stage, trying to understand my value and what I bring to the table now that we’ve figured out a solution. However, I learned that my ability to bring people together, create clarity, and make decisions throughout this time was valuable.
At this stage, I was working with developers in our weekly sprints making sure they are unblocked. Sometimes they would need certain info and it was my job to meet with the right people and get them that info so they can keep developing the product. We were able to build a solution and do a final handoff to the team that will use our solution.
Insight: Understand the purpose of the meeting. Bring in the people that will contribute and help make progress towards that purpose.
Culture
This was one of my favorite parts of working at Microsoft. Honestly, it made my whole experience that much better to know that the people around you want you to succeed and care about your growth during the internship.
I have told my mentor in advance that I’m sorry if I ask too many questions or ask “dumb” questions, and he has always reassured me that won’t be an issue saying my success is his success. It was very comforting to know that I had people supporting my journey throughout my internship.
Team Culture
I was able to help plan two team socials so we were able to know and learn more about each other. I would say the social aspect was lacking and understandably so since we are all working from home, that is why I took the initiative to plan these socials so I can bond with my team.
Throughout team meetings, it was also very cool to see managers take responsibility for their mistakes in front of their team and seeing that they are always looking for feedback in everything that they do. There’s the balance of respect for leadership but also pushback and keeping them accountable which was amazing. I felt like my opinions mattered in team meetings even though I’m an intern.
Company Culture
I’ve met over 50+ employees/interns and everyone I met was passionately curious and smart and kind and empathetic. It’s impressive how Microsoft is able to recruit top talent with amazing character. Many of the people I met also have stayed at the company for very long as they mentioned it’s hard for them to leave because Microsoft also does a good job of taking care of their employees.
I joined AsianERG (Asian Employee Resource Group) at Microsoft. I also became an AsianERG leader to host events with other interns which were very fun. However, it wasn’t very structured or strict so it was really up to the interns to make the best out of the experience of being an AsianERG leader. I was able to help a couple host a couple of game nights and a Bob Ross paint night.
Insight: It’s clear that the growth mindset, empathy, and customer obsession were essential to the Microsoft culture.
Product Learnings
Question why things are done the way they are. Ask why.
I’ve made the mistake of trying to solve a superficial problem, but I was able to figure out that there’s another layer underneath and we needed to focus on solving that instead. Also, understand that you are a new set of eyes to the organization, so your feedback on how things are done is valuable and you shouldn’t shy away from questioning their current process.
Create clarity and ensure shared understanding
Throughout the whole internship, you have people you work with and it’s your responsibility to make sure those people understand clearly the problem you’re solving and how you’re going to solve it. Even if you think you said it as clear as possible, you have to understand how your message was received by those on the other end. I say that communication is one of the most valuable skills you need as a PM. Verbal and Written.
Fall in love with the problem, not the solution
This is something I always valued before the internship but really was able to execute in my project. The pivot to a different solution was scary as it seemed like I wasted a lot of time on the old solution but I truly fell in love with the problem and was able to make that pivot to a better solution that ended up having a better impact.
Don’t be afraid to fail, support is always given at Microsoft
I’m still learning this as I was given feedback that they wished I asked for help sooner towards the end of my summer since they could tell I was a little lost (I was lol). It’s because my attitude was to figure things out for myself but being a PM isn’t a solo job and you have to understand that support is given by the people around you at Microsoft.
Other cool stuff:
Want to know how I landed my internship at Microsoft
My list of resources that helped me learn about product management
I want you to trust that you are exactly where you are supposed to be right now
Thank you for reading!
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To whoever stole my copy of Microsoft Office, I will find you. You have my Word.