Microsoft performance review
Joined less than 1 yr ago, SDEII, got quite negative feedback recently. Need to improve fundamentals, need to deliver more. This is my first performance review. I know MS has Stack ranking 5 to 1, am I falling into the lowest performers' category? And considering the layoff rumor recently, is there any suggestion for me?
Wait msft does stack rank still? I thought ppl were useless there and just coasted?
They don't stack rank officially, but every company does at some level
Your performance numbers aren’t stacked rank but they still stack rank when it comes to cash and stock awards, since you’re competing with everyone in your band in your org.
I thought msft was super laid back. Which org r u in? Try to transfer teams and keep ur leetcode skills sharp.
@ flLz70, which team and are you 61 or 62 ? Try to switch internally and be open to external opportunities.
61 Azure. I feel there's not so much space for SDEII new hires to learn and grow. As C# and .Net knowledge are not mentioned in job request and also not tested in interview, I thought at least MSFT will give new hires the first 6 mo to catch-up, but the result turned to be no... Asking fundamental questions about .Net and framework will definitely leave bad impression on managers...
Dude, why would you ask anyone for something about a programming language? That's what Google and Stackoverflow are for.
Hello. I would look into improving your fundamentals and delivering more.
Sorry to hear that buddy. Hang in there. This too shall pass. Now, Work hard and deliver. Not just deliver the way you think is right. Deliver what they want and how they want it. Don't argue or stand your ground. Setup a mentor within the team (someone with whom you are comfortable with). Take tips and advices regarding the team from them. Initially add them to your reviews and add main reviewers later. This will clean up your code a bit and helps you to learn. Start taking continuous feedback from now and try to improve upon that. Dont be too desperate or project yourself as weak in 1 on 1s. Ask questions to multiple people not just your manager. This will help them know you better. Show results and be proactive. Mention everything you worked on since the last 1 on 1 everytime you meet with your manager. Also, document everything and note this in your next review. That will earn you a decent rating in the next review cycle. Leave the team then. Also, no point in freaking out now as the review is already done. Plan carefully and stay cool. There are much worse things to worry about. You will probably just laugh this off 6 months down the lane and won't even remember a couple years later.
This is good advice.
This is the only advice op needs to read. Get off the pip/low performance review and have your most recent connect be something positive. Then once that's taken care of, you look for internal roles hard; get out of the situation with your team because they will not be good for you long-term professionally or personally. Or start looking for roles outside the company. But your #1 priority for the next three months is to do everything they are asking of you, DOCUMENT that you are doing them, and satisfy your tyrant of a manager. It'll suck and I'm sorry you're suffering in a situation that was partly due to poor recruiting and hiring decisions. You will be ok.
Just follow existing code pattern, that means read the existing code a lot before making changes.
TBH, Azure is the shit hole of Microsoft. Everyone knows that. So don't beat yourself up about it. Try to improve in what you can. You will know that things have gone truly south if your connect shows a checkmark on it. That means that your manager is recommending to fire you, in which case I would urge you to look for a new gig soon.
TF? Azure is one of the best orgs in Microsoft for anyone worth their salt and doesn't want to coast. You can grow fast and deliver tons of impact. As for the IR checkmark, totally agree.
Azure has bad wlb without good compensation. It's not a great org in general
There is no stack ranking in MS anymore. Maybe you will get below target rewards though.
Are there any PIP targets at MS? Like Amazon has.
Silly question: what is stack ranking?
OP, you need to change the business unit if you want a fresh start. History is more sticky at Msft. Changing a team (manager) but keeping the same skip or Leadership, it hardly helps. Things mostly still remain connected/linked. Earlier the better. Don’t think much, just go for it. If you get a bad connect, it will be very very hard to move out.
Was it a surprise for you? If your manager is any good, it shouldn't be, because they should have been giving you feedback throughout the year in your 1:1s and other chances.
I have very bad relationship with one of the team's managers from the very beginning, personalities of us two don't match at all. After struggling and fighting, I was moved to another manager's team, still in the same big team(20 people) but not directly reporting to the previous manager that often, depends on projects.Some comments are fair enough, I never developed sw using C# or .Net. But I did deliver more than avg numbers of code changes.
C# and .net are pretty straightforward, if you need help catching up, just watch few courses from Pluralsight or something, I remember Microsoft always had some deal with them