Microsoft Community Contributor Award

Fabio Franco

Thank you!!

Pete OHanlon

First of all, well done on the award. That's fantastic, and I am pleased for you. Now for the bad news; as an employer, this award wouldn't mean much to me - I've never heard of it; if you had an MVP then that would be different. Now, this award was obviously given to you for some reason. This would be more attractive to me because it shows you are doing things in your own time, so I would be more impressed by examples of your contributions because this would give me a chance to view your attitude to others through the history of your interactions, as well as how knowledgeable you are and how open you are to new ideas. That would impress me a whole lot more. Disclaimer: These views are mine, and mine alone. They may not reflect the opinions of other interviewers, so you should evaluate for yourself how useful my comments are.

I'm not a stalker, I just know things. Oh by the way, you're out of milk.

Forgive your enemies - it messes with their heads

My blog | My articles | MoXAML PowerToys | Onyx

Mike Hankey

Congrats. Do I think it would help? Yes, I would think that any award from MS is worth promoting.

If you are cross-eyed and have dyslexia, can you read all right? http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] JaxCoder.com[^]WinHeist - Windows Electronic Inventory SysTem

Dan Neely

Fabio Franco wrote:

Now I wonder, do you guys think this recognition would help me on my career? I mean, you employer, would you be more willing to give a better position to someone if they had this award? What's your feeling about this.

probably depends on how bureaucratic your employer is. At the level of a small startup it ultimately comes down to how much your boss likes you/what they can afford/etc. At the opposite extreme with MegaCongoloCorp it probably wouldn't do any good either since their raise system doesn't have any room for free form input at all. It's the in between zone where generic professional development points are a factor that I could see it helping the most.

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wizardzz

Here are my 2 thoughts. It might give you an edge over a similar applicant applying for the same position, but probably won't help with any negotiations at your current employer. I think it may be more helpful in a consulting or contractor position, or with a company that deals with Microsoft frequently or has a partnership with Microsoft. Ever apply to Microsoft?

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!" — Hunter S. Thompson

Fabio Franco

Thank you Pete, your opinion is really worth it. An opinion coming from an employer and experienced professional on the area helps me seeing stuff from a different perspective other than my own. My perspective is still a little overshadowed by the shiny light coming from the award close to me. I know your opinion will be different from other employers but I beleive in essence most employers share some common ground. Hopefully this award will soon get more exposure and be more appreciated by employers, but in any case I beleive it's a good start and, as you said, it give means for an employer to watch my attitude toward others, it's clear as text on the forums. Thanks again. P.S.: I like your sentence: "Forgive your enemies - it messes with their heads". It reaches people that need a reason to do something so selfless and that in fact, removes a lot of weight out of our backs.

Fabio Franco

Thank you! I guess the question now is at which extent this will help me.

Fabio Franco

I was thinking about that too. I'm not sure how I could use this award to squeeze a little more from a new employer, but I guess I'll know if I try.

wizardzz wrote:

Ever apply to Microsoft?

Actually I did, but since I live in Brazil, maybe it's a stretch trying to get into the silicon valley. I don't want to work in MS Brazil, as I beleive no hardcore development stuff gets done here and that's what I like. I did apply to MS USA but to get in there I'd need: 1 - Stand out from the croud that applies through the official channels. 2 - Get through the VISA barrier. This is probably a lot more paperwork required from microsoft. If it's easier to have someone from inside, I think they'd probably stick with that. But who knows... maybe I'll get there someday.

Not Active

Nice. It certain wouldn't hurt your reputation, though you may need to explain what the program is to some. Microsoft "Today, up to 4,000,000 people gain valuable information through Microsoft online forums" CodeProject "7,607,881 members and growing!"

I know the language. I've read a book. - _Madmatt

Fabio Franco

Dan Neely wrote:

their raise system doesn't have any room for free form input at all

True, I saw that when I was applying for a MS position on US.

Dan Neely wrote:

It's the in between zone where generic professional development points are a factor that I could see it helping the most.

I think I agree with you and maybe that could be a bridge to me if I ever plan to jump to a mega corp.

Mike Hankey

Haven't done a resume in years but I believe it should have an area for awards, contributions, affiliations, etc..

If you are cross-eyed and have dyslexia, can you read all right? http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] JaxCoder.com[^]WinHeist - Windows Electronic Inventory SysTem

Fabio Franco

Mark Nischalke wrote:

Nice. It certain wouldn't hurt your reputation, though you may need to explain what the program is to some.

Thanks! That's true specially because it's a new award, many don't even know it's existance.

Mark Nischalke wrote:

Microsoft
"Today, up to 4,000,000 people gain valuable information through Microsoft online forums"

CodeProject
"7,607,881 members and growing!"

Perhaps I should switch where I concentrate my biggest amount of energy :) . CP MVP?? I wish!

wizardzz

If you really want to end up there, would it be possible to start at MS Brazil, prove yourself, then submit to transfers? You might get stuck there, though. Just trying to offer help. I'm a US citizen and never had to deal with Visa issues.

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!" — Hunter S. Thompson

Pete OHanlon

Fabio Franco wrote:

I beleive in essence most employers share some common ground

Not necessarily. I'm a bit of an oddity as an employer (and yes, you could take the as an employer out of that sentence and still describe me perfectly) in that I am first, and foremost, a developer. That is the skillset that defines me; the management side is a skill that I had to learn a lot later on, so my viewpoint is still skewed towards the technical side. Maybe somebody who's an accountant has a different viewpoint on this, but it's their loss if they don't take the opportunity to use all the available data to look at you - and, frankly, on-line data is just too good to pass up. So, again I say well done. You have done really well.

I'm not a stalker, I just know things. Oh by the way, you're out of milk.

Forgive your enemies - it messes with their heads

My blog | My articles | MoXAML PowerToys | Onyx

Fabio Franco

I already sticked a MCC Award badge in my resumè, now I'd like to look in the eyes of a potential employer when he first sees my resumè. I'd like to see the reaction, if any.

Mike Hankey

Yeah that would be worth money to see that and the first words out of his/her mouth.

If you are cross-eyed and have dyslexia, can you read all right? http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] JaxCoder.com[^]WinHeist - Windows Electronic Inventory SysTem

Fabio Franco

Perhaps if I joined MS here, it could improve my chances to get transfered to US, but I'm not sure how MS works on this matter. But I could be stuck with a boring job working on localization of MS products or working on support team (my nightmare). I've lived for an year in US when I was in high school, but for work I beleive is a whole different matter. But since you mentioned, perhaps I should study that path... Thanks for your thoughts.

Fabio Franco

Thanks again!! When I said "most" employers, I was counting with the oddities and by "some common ground" I meant that an employer in essence wants to hire someone that's good to work with, can bring value to the company and is productive/skilled.

Pete O'Hanlon wrote:

on-line data is just too good to pass up

In that I beleive you're very different. In my resumè I include both MSDN and Code Project profile pages, but I really doubt any of the employers I already had bothered to follow those links.

Dan Neely

Getting directly to Redmond from abroad might be difficult due to the retardedness of our visa scheme; but MS has a large operation in Vancouver (just across the border in Canada) that apparently is a staging area for international hires while they wage bureaucratic warfare to get a greencard on your behalf.

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Fabio Franco

Thanks!! I'll surely look into that. The only bad thing about that is that it's toooooo cold. On the other hand that would be an opportunity for me to experience some ice sports, when I lived in Michigan everything was flat... no fun :(( If you know of an appropriate channel to go that way, I'd appreciate if you shared. Thanks again.