Microsoft LEAP Application: My Personal Experience (Part 2)

I applied twice to the Microsoft LEAP Apprenticeship program for UX Design. The first one was in October 2019 and the 2nd was in December 2020. Here is my experience on my 2nd attempt.

If you haven’t read the 1st part of this post, I highly suggest you do. Whatever I’m about to discuss here will piggyback on what I’ve written there. Without further ado, here it is.

Attempt #2: I got accepted!

On my second attempt, I pretty much did the same process as I did the first time. For my Markdown resume, because I kept my old one, I was able to duplicate and briefly edit it. It cut down my editing time tremendously! From 87 revisions, I only did 25 this time around. That gave me more time to focus on my essays. These were the essay questions for the 2nd cohort:

1. Why are you interested in this pathway?
2. Describe a project that you completed. What was the most challenging part of the project? How did you manage that challenge?

The first question confused me. Was it asking about the LEAP program in general? Or was it asking about the UX Design pathway? As mentioned in my last blog, the LEAP program has several pathways. Right now, they have apprenticeships in 4 types of engineering (customer service, cybersecurity, software, & software support), 2 types of program management (business & technical), data analytics, and UX design.

I thought of asking the LEAP organizers what exactly they meant but got worried I might leave a bad impression if I ask. So I decided to take a risk and answer it the way I initially understood it — “Pathway” pertaining to the LEAP program in general.

Here was my intro

“I am interested in the LEAP UX Design pathway because of these 3 reasons…”

I had to inject the words “UX Design” there to make sure they understand that I’m applying for that pathway. But the content of my essay focused on why I’m interested in the LEAP program in general. My co-LEAPer Maliha said she answered it the other way — Why she’s interested in UX Design. So I guess you can answer it either way. 😄

Hopefully, they’ll make it clearer this year.

For the 2nd essay, I decided to talk about my Microsoft-sponsored hackathon project for 2 reasons:

1. It was the closest to a real-world project I have with artifacts I can show publicly. I worked with a team composed of 2 designers, 3 engineers, and 1 project manager. We got to interview the actual potential users & the business stakeholders. They were also able to test the prototype.
2. It had the blessing of Microsoft. 😊 I knew that I could perfectly tie in the company values as I discussed the project. I’m posting the link to my project’s case study below.

If you read 1st part of this post, you might have noticed that the 2nd essay question for this cohort is the combination of the 1st & 2nd essay questions for the first LEAP UX Design cohort. So it might be worth preparing in case they ask the same questions again.

And just to put it out there, I recognize that it’s rare to have projects sponsored by Microsoft. So don’t feel discouraged if you don’t have one. I believe I’m the only one in my cohort, and maybe even in the 1st cohort, who has a project like this at the time of our application. So definitely not a requirement. Showcase the best project you have that can answer the essay question.

TIP:
During the interview, I also talked about the same 2 projects featured in my essays. In all of my UX Design interviews (Microsoft or not), I only had time to talk about 2 projects as well. So on your portfolio, make sure you have at least 2 case studies that are well put.

If you have lots of projects and have a hard time choosing which ones to highlight, I recommend following these criteria:

1. It’s a real-life project or it resembles one.

• Done by a team, with feedback from both users & business. If you have a live one with some hard user stats, even better. This shows that you can work with a team and can take into account both user & business needs. Plus you have hard data to show your business impact.

2. It aligns with Microsoft’s values.

• This can give an insight into how culturally fit you are with the company.

3. You’re excited to talk about it.

• Unless you’re good at faking excitement, you can dismiss this. But most people pick up subtle cues whether they’re aware of it or not. You want to be remembered as the one who’s very passionate about their project.

Overall, I’d say the biggest difference between my 1st and 2nd application were my credentials. After a year of waiting, I’ve gotten so much more experience. I’ve taken up freelance projects, joined a bunch of hackathons, and worked at early-stage startups. As a bonus, the hackathon teams I joined/formed won awards too.

I worked my butt off to get as many experiences as I can.

When I submitted my application for my 1st LEAP attempt, I only had 3-months of post-boot camp experience. And in those 3 months, there was no proof of work I can show because my projects were not complete yet. In comparison to my 2nd attempt, I had 5 award-winning hackathon projects and 3 startup work experiences. From that standpoint alone, I felt like I had a good chance.

TIP:
In the LEAP website, it says that one of the pre-requisites for applying to the UX design pathway is

“Graduated from a UX Design academy or boot camp, plus six months of UX Design projects or professional experience after graduation.”

If you don’t exactly meet this criterion, apply anyway. Unless you could be spending your time doing more urgent and important matters, you have nothing to lose. I only had 3-months of post-boot camp experience on my 1st attempt, and I still made it to the interviews.

TIP:
Experience, even unpaid, is still experience. Take those into account when you’re assessing your eligibility.

I submitted my application on Dec. 14, 2020. After 25 days, I received an email from Aerotek with a pre-screening questionnaire including these questions:

1. First Name
2. Last Name
3. Have you worked as a vendor or a full-time employee at Microsoft over the past 7 months?
4. Are you able to provide documentation showing you are authorized to work in the US?
5. Will you require visa sponsorship?

Twelve days later, I got an email invitation for the interview which I scheduled on Jan 26th. The big news arrived in 3 short days. One year of waiting paid off!!! I literally did a happy dance.

Once you submitted your application, you have almost 1 to 2 months* to prepare for the interview. That’s plenty of time. So really nail the application part. Follow me here and/or on LinkedIn so you don’t miss my interview blog post. I’d also appreciate some 👏 if you find this post helpful. 😊

*Based on the last cohorts. Not a guarantee.

Timeline of my application process for the 2nd UX Design cohort of the Microsoft LEAP Apprenticeship Program.

Side-by-side timelines of my 2 attempts to get into the Microsoft LEAP Apprenticeship Program UX Design pathway

Resources:

Wheeltrack — the project I talked about on my essay. I’m really proud of this project and the cause it aims to promote. This is one of the reasons why I respect Microsoft as a company.