Microsoft and CareerBuilder.com Collaborate to Help People Find Jobs

REDMOND, Wash. — June 20, 2006 — Microsoft Corp. and CareerBuilder.com today announced a new collaboration that will provide job seekers and those who want to change careers with tools and resources to get started in the growing field of Web and application development. Microsoft will provide visitors to CareerBuilder.com with access to the Visual Studio® Express and SQL Server™ Express editions, as well as additional career development resources from Microsoft® Learning. CareerBuilder.com will offer exclusive service discounts to Visual Studio Express users.

The demand for Web and Windows® application development is quickly gaining momentum across a variety of industries. In the last year alone, CareerBuilder.com experienced a 30 percent increase in the number of posted jobs that require expertise in Microsoft .NET Framework-based development. The learning resources and easy-to-use development tools available through the collaboration between CareerBuilder.com and Microsoft will help job seekers learn critical skills for jump-starting a new career in the software development industry.

“Approximately 60 percent of Visual Studio Express users are new to .NET development. By joining with CareerBuilder.com, Microsoft is taking another step toward bringing the power of programming to new and existing developers who are looking to realize their potential and find a challenging and fulfilling career in application development,” said Steve Guggenheimer, general manager of application platform and development marketing at Microsoft. “Although Visual Studio Express is a great choice for hobbyist and recreational programmers, it’s also a natural starting point for people who want to make a career out of developing .NET-based applications for Windows, the Web and devices.”

“Over the past few years, we’ve seen a significant spike in both the amount of IT-related job searches and postings,” said Brent Rasmussen, chief operating officer for CareerBuilder.com. “By providing these job seekers with access to Microsoft’s entry-level application development tool, we’re opening the door to new career opportunities in application development and giving them the resources to find a job.”

The programming resources and content offered to CareerBuilder.com visitors and Visual Studio Express users through the collaboration include the following:

  • Access to Visual Studio Express and SQL Server Express Edition directly from CareerBuilder.com’s Web site

  • Exclusive CareerBuilder.com job-search tool discounts to help registered Visual Studio Express users jump-start their job search. Discounts will apply to résumé upgrades, and résumé distribution and background check services.

  • Access to career development resources from Microsoft Learning, including portions of e-books, e-learning content and vouchers for discounted exams (http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/career/default.asp)

Microsoft and CareerBuilder.com are also planning to provide visitors to CareerBuilder.com with unique learning content, providing them with an additional level of information to help advance their skills.

Visual Studio Express Builds Skills for Career Success

The Visual Studio Express editions are a collection of lightweight, easy-to-learn and easy-to-use software development tools Microsoft created to lower the barriers of entry for the next generation of developers. It is providing visitors to CareerBuilder.com with access to these resources to help them get started programming and learn skills that will translate to a career in .NET-based application development. The Microsoft Visual Studio Express product line consists of Visual Web Developer™ Express, Visual Basic® Express, Visual C#® Express, Visual C++® Express and Visual J#® Express. These products can also be used with SQL Server 2005 Express Edition, which provides a free and lightweight database solution for applications created with Visual Studio Express.

Availability and Additional Information

Specific information about the offerings for visitors to CareerBuilder.com is available on http://www.careerbuilder.com/express. More information about the Visual Studio Express editions is available at http://www.msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express.

About CareerBuilder.com

CareerBuilder.com is the U.S.’s largest online job site, with more than 20 million unique visitors and over 1 million jobs. Owned by Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB) and Knight Ridder Inc. (NYSE:KRI), the company offers a vast online and print network to help job seekers connect with employers. CareerBuilder.com powers the career centers for more than 800 partners that reach national, local, industry and niche audiences. These include more than 170 newspapers and leading portals such as America Online and MSN®. More than 250,000 employers take advantage of CareerBuilder.com’s easy job postings, 18 million-plus resumes, Diversity Channel and more. Millions of job seekers visit the site every month to search for opportunities by industry, location, company and job type, sign up for automatic email job alerts, and get advice on job hunting and career management. For more information about CareerBuilder.com products and services, visit http://www.careerbuilder.com.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Microsoft, Visual Studio, Windows, Visual Web Developer, Visual Basic, Visual C#, Visual C++, Visual J# and MSN are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

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