Married To Microsoft Software Giant Courts Bright, Tireless Workers

Some folks don’t even have to apply to join Microsoft Corp.’s expanding work force, which currently stands at more than 21,000 people worldwide.

And it’s not just computer-nerd techies who ardently are being pursued by the software giant based in this Seattle suburb.

Take Brian Pertl. He was hired on a contract basis from the University of Washington’s ethnomusicology department in 1992 because he could play two obscure instruments - the Tibetan trumpet and the Australian didjeridu. Microsoft wanted a didjeridu on its multimedia CD-ROM “Musical Instruments.”

Last summer, he was hired full time to manage all music used on the company’s consumer software.

Another unlikely hire was Pierre de Vries, a South African sculptor with a doctorate in quantum physics whose London-based job took him to Germany to interview a Microsoft manager. The Rhodes scholar, recruited in 1992 for no particular job, ended up designing the Microsoft “Home” lab, an office converted to an apartment for testing software, computerized television systems and prototype products.

Other recent hires include former CNN “Crossfire” host Michael Kinsey, for an on-line magazine; columnist and broadcaster Linda Ellerbee, for an on-line interview show; and animators, pilots and disc jockeys.

And of course computer programmers and engineers, whose numbers are dwindling nationally.

Microsoft has a reputation for paying below-average salaries, and some potential employees are turned off by the antitrust investigations launched periodically against the company. Others don’t like its image as a “velvet sweatshop” full of workaholics, and with company stock leveling out, the chances of joining the ranks of 3,000 “Microsoft millionaires” are dimming.

Plus nobody starts with more than two weeks of vacation time - Chairman Bill Gates’s own limit.

The company has a staff of 60 recruiters who promote its credo - work hard, play hard, think smart and compete ferociously.

And many consider working at Microsoft a plum job. The company hires an average of 50 people a week. It receives more than 10,000 resumes a month and brings in 150 people a week for interviews. Five years ago, its work force was 8,200.

About 30 percent of those hired get special treatment from the getgo. These top programmers, researchers and marketers - and lately writers, photographers, editors and artists - make up about 30 percent of the hires. They get special stock-option plans and signing bonuses.

While they are being wooed, they may get “love bombs” - flowers, books and goodie baskets - or a room in an area hotel showcasing the Northwest’s natural splendors. The job is promoted as a chance to work in an energetic environment with smart people.

Most prospective employees start out with a test. They might be asked how many times the average person uses “the” in a day. Or how much water flows out of the Mississippi River.

Think fast - the ability to do so is what’s being tested.

The series of interviews with carefully screened prospects are scheduled to last until noon, but those who do well usually stay longer. Interviewers swap impressions along the way via E-mail. If all goes well, an interviewer may get the go-ahead to go into “sell mode” and work to get the candidate to accept a job.

Here are a few tips for those who get as far as the interview:

Dressing up is expected, despite the casual atmosphere.

Leave your afternoon open in case you are asked to stay all day.

Think young. The average employee is 33 and one in three is under 30. But 20 percent are 40 and older.

Confidence and high energy are valued highly.

Willingness to discuss, debate - even disagree - is a plus, though those who want to work short hours should probably keep it to themselves and be looking elsewhere.