MICROSOFT is an American company that needs no introduction. Known for its Windows operating system, Office software, and other IT products and services, the company, which is based in Redmond, Washington, also has a reputation as a great place to work for those with a love of technology and the talent to match.

But, for even the brightest computing MSc students, getting in is a tough challenge. So what exactly does it take, to become an employee? Computing MSc students who want to join will most likely do so via the company’s Microsoft Academy for College Hires (Mach) scheme, says Nikki Wakefield, its UK Talent acquisition manager.

“It is a global programme that allows people to get a good view of Microsoft as a whole, to build up a network, and to get the support they need during the first couple of years working for a global organisation,” she says.

Winning a place on the programme is highly competitive. Computing MSc students are up against graduate and postgraduate students from a range of disciplines. The scheme was launched in 2005, and now attracts more than 1,000 applications for between 30 and 35 places, of which 20 are technical.

After the initial application stage and the prescreening telephone interview, comes the first assessment, a verbal, numerical, and abstract-reasoning aptitude test. Successful candidates are called back to a second assessment conducted by Microsoft hiring managers, a lucky few are then recruited.

Wakefield says: “The successful applicants come in and take on a specific role. They may come in as an associate consultant, or working with the developer team, or as a technical account manager, or in a pretechnical sales role.”

As well as the day to day job, they are encouraged to network with fellow Mach employees across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and also with other graduates worldwide.

She adds that Microsoft recruiters seek specific skills and attributes. “We look for a passion for technology, how it works and how you use it; people with drive who want to get things done and have energy and enthusiasm; customer focus and awareness. In the UK most roles, technical or not, will have a customer element to them.”

Other skills are very generic. Wakefield says: “They include being comfortable with ambiguity – it is a matrix organisation, being able to think quickly and creatively, and having a willingness to challenge the status quo to a certain degree, and show how things might be done differently.”

Candidates should also think about balancing specialist knowledge acquired on an MSc with relevant practical work experience of some sort. Finally, a good fit with Microsoft’s culture is essential and that would mean sharing its core values, such as believing in an open and honest environment, being respectful of individuals and taking on responsibility.

While masters students may opt for the Mach programme as an entry point into Microsoft, there are other options. One would be for postgraduates to extend their computing studies and take a PhD.

Andrew Herbert runs the Microsoft research laboratory in Cambridge, one of the computer giant’s network around the world. He says: “It is our job to invent the future technologies that will deliver Microsoft products and services five to ten years from now. It is long range, experimental, leading-edge, work.”

To be a part of shaping Microsoft’s future in this way you will probably need a doctorate. The Microsoft team in Cambridge is composed almost exclusively of PhDs and it recruits into two-year postdoctoral positions.

Although an excellent academic track record is important, candidates require that little bit extra. “We operate much as an academic research laboratory does, and expect people to publish papers, go to conferences, and to make research results available,” Herbert adds.

“But we also expect them to have a passion to see their research make an impact – whether through technology transfer into products, or persuading Microsoft that it could be the basis of a new business. In fact, the defining factor of most of the people we hire is that, as well as doing great research, they really want to see their research change the world.”