| "I've drawn interest from MS recruiters" I'm sorry to burst your bubble but that's not how it works. If a firm contacts you and they specifically want to get you set up for a phone interview, then that's interest. But what you're describing is basically spray-and-pray email campaigns from recruiters. Amazon does the same thing. Don't waste your time. By the way, if they want to set you up with an "online programming test", that's also complete B.S. in my opinion. But that's just me. "they just keep failing to reply to my messages via email and LinkedIn" One follow-up email, maybe two max. Then move on. My last bit of advice? Don't put any company up on a pedestal. Edit: To soften my response a bit: don't take the recruiting process personally (nor what HNers say either!). Lots of companies do this now, and internal recruiting departments within companies have become almost as obnoxious as agency recruiters these days. Be savvy with how much energy you expend interacting with recruiters. |
What's interesting to me, though is that I've had far better experiences with Amazon's recruiting staff. They were very responsive, usually replying to my questions in the same day, and have gotten in the running for interviews twice with them. I have been as far as being selected for the on-site interview round, but made the mistake of saying I am not yet prepared to travel there at the time.
MSFT did not set me up with a programming test, just something to fill out. The pre-screening document was a questionnaire asking various background-related things like, what is your expected salary, have you worked for mS before, what project or accomplishment are you most proud of, etc. I guess they just didn't like my answers, and am more likely to be considered by Amazon than MS. In any case, I become a "cold" candidate very quickly in the MS recruiting radar.