After 4 years as a software development engineer in test I had the feeling that I needed a change. I was driven into testing because of my passion for customers and high quality software, time taught me that both can also be achieved from the program management perspective. My personal skills set and my preferences lead me to decide to give a try to program management, even if it is a risky move (I strongly believe that going out of your comfort zone is, more often than not, a good thing for your career and for your knowledge).
6 months ago, I decided to go “all in” in program management and started interviewing inside Microsoft to get a position. At the beginning, the interviews were quite epic… I quickly noticed that I had to change my perspectives on engineering. I was often told that I had the DNA of a PM but still I wasn’t offered any jobs L. Each interview I had was a great way for me to learn something and increase my awareness on the skills needed. If I recall correctly, I had more than 20 interviews setup during the last 6 month. I took me quite some personal work and lengthy night to gain all the skills necessary to be a PM.
Finally, I was able to find a good fit for me and I started this week. I joined the Bing Ads team (formerly known as AdCenter). This is an incredible opportunity for me and a business (ads) I am already familiar with.
I a future post, I will summarize tips and preparation steps to have a great interview loop (an interview loop is typically composed of 5 interviews) as a Program Manager at Microsoft.
hello, I am trying to switch career from test to program management. And I am all confused from where to start. Can you guide me a little? can you please email me @ smita4u@gmail.com