SEATTLE, Oct. 27, 1997 — Microsoft Corp. today announced a new tool to recruit top-quality talent nationwide for marketing, program management, training, sales, consulting and support positions with the company. Together with Ziff-Davis Publishing Co., one of the most respected publishers of high-tech magazines, Microsoft is launching the first recruitment-oriented Web site on ZDNet. Microsoft® Career Explorer will showcase the company’s job opportunities across the country during October and November.
“There is tremendous opportunity for a wide variety of qualified professionals to join Microsoft,” said Jeff Raikes, group vice president of sales and marketing at Microsoft. “I’m sure most people have heard by now that a recent Harris Poll found Microsoft to be the top-rated company in the United States. We are looking to find top-rated talent to work in my division, which is one of the fastest growing areas at Microsoft. My group works with businesses of all sizes in all different capacities. It’s an exciting division in which to develop a career.”
Microsoft Career Explorer was designed so job seekers can gain a perspective on the personal and professional culture at Microsoft.
“We also want to inform potential candidates that job opportunities aren’t limited to Seattle,” Raikes said. “Microsoft has office locations across the country in cities such as Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago, Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., the Bay Area and Washington, D.C.”
Kathy Weisfield, recruiting director for Microsoft’s sales and support group, said the reason for developing Career Explorer specifically with ZDNet was to capture the attention of high-tech professionals in key areas. “There are a lot of high-tech companies vying for candidates, and we’re always looking for the best of the best,” she said. “We wanted to be more creative in our recruiting approach. That’s why we are using ZDNet – it’s extremely targeted and reaches the type and quality of high-tech professionals we want to hire.”
Microsoft is using extensive Web technologies to present career opportunities: pull-down search options, and digitized video and audio. “As Microsoft has led the way for many of these innovations on the World Wide Web, it is fitting that we would incorporate these technologies into our recruiting efforts. We want to demonstrate this to ZDNet’s users,” Weisfield added.
Microsoft Career Explorer showcases the following:
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An interactive database so professionals can search for jobs by skill set and specific geographic locations
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An information section with video and audio that describes the culture and personality of Microsoft as viewed by employees
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Current employees giving personal perspectives about working at Microsoft in the areas of marketing, training, program management, sales, consulting and technical support
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Live chat sessions that will allow users to talk in real-time with current Microsoft recruiters and employees
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A direct online application process
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