A little over a month ago I started my new job at Microsoft (thus why my blog has been quiet of late, and for that I apologise) and I would like to share the experience thus far.

I come from a consulting background and spent the majority of my career working in financial institutions, mostly banks, so from a culture perspective Microsoft is very different.

The concept of a 9-5 style day does not exist, rather every employee manages their own schedule and work as they deem it to be the most efficient, be that different hours (many people here adjust their schedules to maximise their time with their children, i.e. dropping them at school and picking them up again after) or simply working from home when appropriate.

I can truly say the culture is amazing and there is an extreme sense of trust.

So in my second week after joining our entire division (Microsoft Services) was taken away for a fully paid 2-night trip to Sun City as a reward for making targets set by the company. No expense was spared with a 5-star hotel stay, amazing meals, entertainment and even spending money. Below are a few pictures:

A large part of my first month was spent on training. Microsoft has a very vigorous on boarding experience for new employees, which consists of both online and in person training, covering everything from technology to company processes and compliance.

As part of the training in my fifth week we had to attend training in Istanbul, which was a great experience. I had never been to Turkey before so it was an amazing opportunity. Once again Microsoft really cut no corners as far as accommodation was concerned , we stayed in the 5-star Ritz-Carlton. We had a day to do some sightseeing before our training started and below are some pictures:

So far my experience at Microsoft has been Amazing! And the amount of effort they place into employee wellbeing is truly astonishing. This does not mean that live at Microsoft is a holiday however, because with such benefits come a lot of hard work. I look forward to a long and productive career at Microsoft. And looks like my next trip is to Seattle early next year.