eXPerience Microsoft

On June 22, I received the long-awaited internship notice from Microsoft Global Technical Engineering Center (GTEC), and began my intern life at GTEC. Time flies — it’s already been over a month at GTEC. Let me share some thoughts and experiences with you.

As an intern at the Global Technical Center, I should first talk about technology. But during my days at GTEC, what impressed me most wasn’t the engineers’ technical skills, but their attitude toward customers and the professionalism they showed in handling customer relationships. There’s a popular term inside Microsoft: CFC, short for Customer Focused Culture. This phrase is the core of all work at Microsoft GTEC. Here’s what a CFC Star-rated engineer said:

Our job is to provide technical answers for our customers who have problems with our products. However, when we implement CFC into our work, we go beyond that. We not only address the technical problems but also take care of the customers. By doing that we make customers more satisfied, we aren”t just providing them with technical answers — we are communicating with them.

At Microsoft, every day I could feel the efforts engineers made to practice these words: work ends at 6 PM, but often after 10 PM, the GTEC floors were still brightly lit. On weekends, the GTEC floors were often bustling with people. For a seemingly simple customer problem, engineers often had to set up complex test environments, consult various materials and documentation, and even read source code. After solving a customer’s problem, engineers would often follow up with the customer to confirm. Here, you can’t help but be infected by the engineers’ attitude and spirit toward customers, and get involved in CFC.

Another thing I must mention is GTEC engineers’ understanding, mastery of, and dedication to Microsoft technologies. Some of them are experts in particular areas and can handle things independently in their field. Others are technical elites with broad knowledge, proficient in all kinds of skills. Some even wear multiple hats — excellent Support Engineers on a regular day, and when there’s a software project, they can immediately become Developers or Testers well-versed in software engineering practices.

Working with GTEC engineers, what benefited me most wasn’t any specific technology I learned from them, but their ability to learn quickly. The ocean of technology is vast and profound — it’s impossible to understand every detail deeply. When faced with problems or areas never encountered before, how to still fulfill CFC, how to still efficiently and correctly solve customers’ technical problems — this relies on a keen sense of technology and the ability to absorb quickly. It relies on finding materials and doing research yourself. At Microsoft, there’s another term called “Take ownership” — which perfectly reflects this.

Of course, CFC and technology aren’t the only topics at GTEC. The engineers also know how to snatch leisure from busy schedules. Every weekend, various clubs in the company become active. The GTEC Football Team is the most active club — every weekend, hardcore fans gear up and play against teams from other companies at the 80,000-person stadium. Other clubs like Basketball and Swimming are also very active. In short, whatever your personal interests, you can find like-minded people here.

Life at GTEC is full of anecdotes. Every Monday is their Uniform Day. As the name suggests, employees must dress formally — shirt and tie are unavoidable, and as the manager said, “It applies to everyone.” To “strictly implement the leadership’s instructions,” I, who had never worn a tie before, had to brace myself and dress up formally. Because engineers deal directly with customers from English-speaking countries, every Friday is English Friday. Everyone must speak English on that day, with fines for violators: 1 RMB per sentence of Chinese spoken. Engineers naturally behave differently on that day — some speak English “like an endless river,” while others “make a fortune in silence.” If they accidentally slip into Chinese, they can only accept their bad luck as the Money Collector’s bills grow.

In summary: intense, passionate, fulfilling, and lively — that’s my experience at Microsoft.