By Emmett Plant
Linux Today Editor
Since I live on the East coast of the United States, it’s
usually my job to catch the early morning press releases, articles
and job postings.
At Linux Today, we make a strong point of offering the Linux
community news, reviews and commentary they can use. Our jobs wire is a popular extension
of this focus and we hope that Linux programmers, administrators
and other Linux job seekers benefit from this information.
Yesterday, someone using the name ‘Bill Gates’ sent in a job
posting to Linux Today, for a Microsoft Product Manager position.
The job posting was beautifully and professionally detailed. I
dismissed it as a well-written jape and posted it to one of our
internal lists with the heading ‘I love morning humor.’
Marty Pitts, Linux Today’s managing editor, saw it and replied
that I should check it out, but I held my position that it was a
joke. But it was too well written to be completely dismissed and
Linux Today’s general manager Dwight Johnson decided to take a look
for himself at Microsoft jobs
Web site.
And here it is:
PRODUCT MANAGER
Primary responsibilities include developing and executing
Microsoft’s Linux strategy, providing competitive technical
analysis of the Linux operating system, coordinating and driving
cross-company Linux efforts and providing the necessary tools and
resources to educate the field sales force on Linux. This is a key
position within Microsoft with very high visibility, both within
and outside the company. The ideal candidate will have solid
technical skills in both Unix and/or Linux and Windows NT,
extensive knowledge of the Unix marketplace, a minimum of two years
experience in a product marketing role, excellent PR and public
speaking skills and a proven ability to manage both people and
processes to drive projects to completion. A BA/BS degree and an
MBA or equivalent experience preferred.Job Location: Redmond, Washington.
I’m wondering if they consider the Mindcraft test a ‘competitive
technical analysis.’ Anyway, you could imagine our surprise.
But it didn’t stop there. There are currently a total of *four*
job postings with ‘Linux’ as a keyword on Microsoft’s Web site.
Here’s another one.
PRODUCT MANAGER
Product Manager – Press/Analyst Relations, Competitive Focus
Responsibilities: 1) Develop the key messages, themes and strategic
thinking around 3 major competitive focus areas Sun, Novell and
Linux 2) Educate the press/analysts on these messages and become
the Microsoft spokesperson for a given competitive area 3)
Responsible for creating both the Pro-active and Re-active PR
activities and plans. Additionally work closely with our PR agency
to develop and execute these plans 4) Take leadership role in
bringing together a virtual team to perform detailed SWOT analysis,
understanding customer wins/losses and develop strategic thinking
around the competition 5) Support subsidiaries efforts to influence
and educate press and analysts in their geography Requirements:
Strong technical background. Ideally good expertise in at least one
of the following environments, UNIX/Solaris/Sun hardware, Novell
NetWare/NDS and a strong understanding of the Linux Operating
System and general Open Source efforts. Strong understanding of
Microsoft Enterprise products such as Windows NT Server,
Workstation SQL Server, Exchange and how these are deployed in real
customer environments. Strong presentation skills, good
communication and customer skills. Previous experience with Press
and Analysts not necessary, but desirable.Job Location: Redmond, Washington
‘Messages,’ ‘keys,’ and ‘strategic thinking’ about Linux from
Microsoft? This is deep stuff. One of my favorites: ‘develop
strategic thinking around the competition.’
Just think: with the right qualifications and skills, you might
become a Microsoft Linux spokesperson with flaming E-mail delivered
straight to your Microsoft.com address fresh every morning.
I’m wondering which of my friends in the Linux community will be
at LinuxWorld Expo next year, wearing a shirt and tie freshly
dry-cleaned using their Microsoft expense account. I wonder if
they’ll tell me that they’re working for Microsoft. Hmmm, I wonder
how many of my open source community friends already work for
Microsoft and I just don’t know it yet?
Hmmm, this Microsoft jobs page makes it really easy to apply.
Anyone interested in applying just has to click ‘Apply now.’ You
can even type your resume right into their database and they’ll
keep it on file for an entire year.
I considered applying for one of these jobs, strictly for
journalistic purposes, of course, but the jig would be up as soon
as I told them where I currently work.
But perhaps you are interested in a good paying Linux job with
‘very high visibility, both within and outside the company’ working
for America’s top high tech employer. If you do apply, let us know
what happens!