Students to Business (S2B)

• Partner and Customer Participation
• Special Promotions: FREE copy of Office
• Frequently Asked Questions

Partner and Customer Participation

The Students to Business (S2B) program is a Microsoft® Community Initiative designed to connect Microsoft partners and customers with qualified students for entry-level and internship positions.  S2B will provide skilled workers to Microsoft partners and establish the skill requirements to fuel innovation and enable employability of the next generation. 

The objective of the S2B program is to inspire local businesses to communicate the competency requirements for new talent, to evaluate the skills of students ready for an entry-level job or internship and collaborate with Microsoft to provide the curriculum and training needed to ensure students are prepared to meet your company’s needs.

Students engaged in S2B benefit from unique training and certification opportunities, compliments of Microsoft.  Various offerings are available to students at each stage of S2B – when profiling, in application and after job connection. 

The S2B program was first piloted in Italy and has since been rolled out in other countries, including Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa, and Turkey.  Microsoft is pleased to bring S2B to the United States.

Get involved in S2B today!

Simply identify an entry-level job opportunity or a project that could be completed as an internship and submit a completed job description template.  Download the job description template or contact crowe@s2bus.com for more information.

Special Promotions: Free copy of Office

Microsoft announces a limited time offer of a full version of Microsoft Office 2007 for FREE!  Simply submit a job description by February 15, 2008 and receive your FREE copy of Microsoft Office 2007. 

*Job descriptions must be submitted by February 15, 2008.  Incentive is open to all Microsoft partners.  Applies only to S2B in the United States.  Please allow 4-8 weeks for delivery. 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: What type of partners are the best fit to participate in S2B?

A1: All US partners are eligible to submit job descriptions for S2B – ISV, NSI, VAR, etc.  The best partners are those seeking employees with Microsoft technical skills.

Q2: Will S2B help partners recruit Sales & Marketing employees?

A2: For now, S2B is limited to technical jobs.  We hope to expand S2B to Sales & Marketing jobs in future years.

Q3: Who is the right point of contact from the partner company for S2B?

A3: Recruiting contacts, Technical Decision Makers and Microsoft relationship managers will likely be most interested in this program.  If you do not know these contacts at the partner company, I encourage you to use the partner-ready email message and ask your contact to direct the message to the right person in your company.

Q4: How will Microsoft identify “qualified” students and candidates?

A4: All partners seek different qualifications and skills in entry-level and internship candidates.  Therefore, S2B will allow partners to search a resume database based on Microsoft certifications, skills and experiences as they relate to the open position.

Q5: Will the program be targeted at FTE and summer interns?

A5: Yes – entry-level jobs and internships.

Q6: What certifications will be required of candidates?

A6: No requirements, rather we hope to help the candidates to build their qualifications through training and vouchers to complete certification exams.

Q7: Will campus curriculum be changed?

A7: That is part of our long term goals around LSE and the Academic programs in general, but it is not likely we will influence curriculum in the first year of the program.

Q8: What US geographies for campuses will be targeted?

A8: The program is open to students across the US.  We will target approx 200 campuses where we have student partners (see attached).

Q9: How can a partner begin leveraging the process?

A9: Submit a job description to me (crowe@s2bus.com) or let me know if you have any questions.

Q10: What is the fee if any if we select an intern?

A10: No fee.  $0

Q11: What is the placement fee if any if we hire a full time placement?

A11: No fee.  $0

Q12: When will the job postings go live?

A12: February 2008

Q13: How is the program marketed to the students and what universities are currently being marketed to (is the list attached the total list of universities)? 

A13: We will launch a marketing campaign when the site goes live in February.  The campaign will be a combination of targeted email and web ads, newsletter promotions, etc and more extensive advertising through sites like MySpace.  We will also utilize the Microsoft staff that concentrates on students to promote the program and the Student Partners (students on campus who represent Microsoft).  The Student Partners are limited to the list you are referring to but the rest of the marketing will apply to all students across the US.

Q14: By submitting a job description, are the partners committing to any fees now?

A14: No.

Q15: What are the fees for the future (after Jan 15)?

A15: No fees until July 2008. Fees after July have not yet been set but we are striving to keep cost below $100 per job posting.

Q16: How do students respond to the posting? Directly to partner or to Microsoft? 

A16: Directly to partner.  Students can apply online and you will be able to enter the site to review the applications.  You will also be able to search the resume bank and proactively contact students.  If you prefer, your job description can instruct students to email you directly.  [KMV] Occasionally Microsoft may recommend some students for your consideration.

Q17: Are there any current success metrics available on the program? Any metrics for other countries?

A17:  In a pilot with 11 countries, our goal was to place 1000 students in internships ONLY, and through the activities of the campaign and the interest of our partners, we were able to place 4,000.  Now active in 25+ countries, the program looks to connect more than 15,000 students, and to provide access to relevant learning resources for 100,000 students to better prepare for employability at Microsoft partners and customers.

Q18: Are the postings published in the university career centers? 

A18: No, not yet.  In the future we hope to work with campus career centers to promote the job postings on our site. They will be posted to a portal that we will promote on campuses across the US.  The portal will be a joint venture with a vendor who has an established reputation in the student jobs space. 

 

Please contact s2bus@microsoft.com with any additional questions.