On October 13, sixteen Leesville students took a field trip to the Microsoft Corporation at Research Triangle Park for an opportunity to job shadow. Ms. Williams, a Leesville business teacher, organized the field trip with Christopher Danz, a community development specialist who works between the Microsoft retail store in Southpoint Mall and the corporation office in RTP.
Junior Achievement, also known as JA, joined forces with Microsoft in 2012 to empower young adults with real life work experiences in Microsoft stores and offices teaching effective interviewing skills, how to prepare a resume, and to evaluate work readiness. Microsoft’s decision to educate high school students on their potential shows their commitment to future generations on creating economic opportunity.
“I gained a greater knowledge of the working environment. I was able to expand my understanding of computer programming and the steps needed to accomplish my goals to further my possible career,” said Amanda Weaver, a junior at Leesville who attended the job shadow.
Students learned about new products Microsoft announced within the previous few weeks like the surface book and hololens. After hearing about the new products, students broke up into smaller groups of three or four and talked with multiple Microsoft employees about different aspects of their life including high school, college, living/working abroad, internships, previous companies they have worked for, and their current jobs at Microsoft. Multiple employees were advocates for studying and living abroad based off of their own experiences.
Employees also recommended students to create a Linkedin profile for networking if they did not already have one. Linkedin is a business oriented social networking site used for professional purposes.
“I learned that networking and expanding my group of business contacts can increase my opportunities for an internship or job in the future,” said Weaver.
The employees all agreed on how Microsoft is a great corporation to work for. Each worker who had been to the Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington talked about how incredible it was. On the Microsoft Redmond campus, there are over one hundred twenty buildings that are accessible through Microsoft shuttles. “The Commons” is home to Microsoft’s shopping mall and food court. Other unique features on the campus are soccer fields, many restaurants, volleyball courts and basketball courts. It is apparent that Microsoft cares about their staff members.
“I would definitely recommend [job shadowing] for any student. It was great exposure to the real world,” said Weaver.
The job shadow experience allowed over a dozen Leesville students to have a hands on opportunity to meet and interact with Microsoft employees to learn about the various positions offered through the company.
