Topics of Interest: Texas CSB, Software Engineering, Product Management, Microsoft
Originally from Plano, TX, Joyce He is a student in the CSB program. Joyce was able to utilize Texas CSB as a way to study business and technology simultaneously efficiently. Career-wise, Joyce has served as a Software Engineer Intern and, most recently, as a Product Management Intern with Microsoft. You can find Joyce hiking, running, and spending time in the pottery studio in her free time.
What did your recruiting process look like at Microsoft?
My recruiting process for software engineering was pretty standard for the industry. For preparation, I practiced a lot of coding problems on platforms like LeetCode, Binary Search, and Hacker Rank. I also did mock interviews and informal practice sessions with my peers. The Facebook Above and Beyond Computer Science programs were also beneficial in preparing me for technical interviews. The process included phone screens that had both behavioral and technical questions. The way I transitioned into product management was internally through the established discipline change process.
What was the biggest takeaway from your internship?
My biggest takeaway is to always advocate for myself. While you have advisors, peers, and faculty to support you in school, you are more on your own when working. If I was unhappy with my projects or felt like I wanted to challenge myself to grow in other areas as a PM, I had to voice my thoughts to my manager actively. While my manager was my greatest advocate, she could only advocate for me if she knew what I wanted. Knowing what you need or want and asking for it is essential! Even if I didn’t know what I wanted opportunity-wise, I would ask my manager if there were areas I was lacking, and she would point out areas where I could grow. Part of self-advocacy is also humbling yourself to ask where you can improve.
Is there anything you might have done differently?
I would have failed sooner. A huge part of product management is writing product spec documents to communicate goals, timelines, and product ideas to engineers, UI/UX designers, and upper management. I was tasked with writing a couple of specs this summer for my projects, and one of my biggest regrets was not roughly writing a couple sooner to get feedback. I felt pressured to edit my drafts until they felt presentable or perfect before sharing them with my coworkers for feedback, but I would have learned how to write better specs a lot faster if I had put my ideas on paper and shipped them out.
What advice can you share for students interested in pursuing a career in product management?
Build things! Product managers are essentially entrepreneurs within larger companies (some call them intrapreneurs). The way to gauge whether you like it and create experience on your resume is to get your hands dirty. If you have ideas for products, try building them on your own. It doesn’t take much these days to make a website, app, prototype, etc. Taking an idea from conception to creation gives you substance to talk about in interviews and builds product sense/intuition.
How has Canfield BHP prepared you for your role?
Canfield BHP classes were pretty critical to helping me stand out in my role. While most product managers at tech companies come in with strong technical backgrounds, few have the business acumen crucial to driving relevant decisions. Courses such as MKT 337H taught by Professor Gabbi, ACC 312H taught by Professor Eric Chan, and MIS 301H taught by Professor Anand, helped me make thoughtful decisions that helped me stand out throughout my internship. I was also used to being thrown into more open-ended projects because of the way CBHP curriculum is structured.
Can you share some of your plans for next summer?
I’m graduating in December, so next summer, I’ll be working full-time in Seattle as a Product Manager at Microsoft! I’m super excited to go back and join the Azure Storage team. Plus, the Pacific Northwest has some of the hiking scenes in the US, so hopefully, I’ll be out on some trails next summer too.