| "I'm responsible for more than 40 people who work for me managing sales, systems engineering,
marketing, and consulting with Microsoft's largest corporate customers in the states of Alaska, Idaho,
Oregon and Washington."
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| What makes Microsoft a good place for women to work?
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| "Working at Microsoft is not about 'having a job,' it's about developing a career and growing
as an individual. As a result, we hire for the long term and understand that family situations are a part
of life. For example, one of the managers on my team hired a technical specialist who was eight months
pregnant. She went on maternity leave almost right away and there was never an issue about whether it was
the right decision to bring her on board. The potential of her long-term contributions and value to the
team were obvious."
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| What has your career at Microsoft been like?
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| "To tell you the truth, I had never been particularly interested in coming to Microsoft in
the first 20 years of my career. Microsoft was successful, but my focus always had been in enterprise
sales. I always thought of Microsoft as a packaged consumer-software company. Boy, was I wrong! The more
I began to learn about what Microsoft was doing in the enterprise space, the more exciting the
opportunity looked to me. Microsoft had great products, but to have long-term success in the enterprise
space, it needed to make changes to the way it approached the market and large corporate customers. I
looked at this as an opportunity: How do you lead a team successfully through change? What kind of impact
can we have on a customer's business and their relationship with Microsoft? It's been exciting! I love
coming to work every day."
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| Why have you stayed at Microsoft?
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| "I love the people I work with. They are some of the smartest, most interesting people I've had
the opportunity to work with. We all have different backgrounds and unique strengths that we leverage across
the team. There is a place for people who think differently here. When I went through my interviews, I
challenged people by saying, 'You say that you're interested in people who are passionate about technology.
I'm not that person. But if you want someone who is passionate about solving people's problems through the
use of technology, then sign me up!' I guess I didn't scare people too much because I got hired. That really
told me that there was a value being placed on thinking differently."
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| How does Microsoft support the careers of the women it hires?
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| "I'm floored by the investment Microsoft makes in the yearly women's conference. It's a
multi-day conference with workshops open to women from around the global organization. Looking at the
expense in terms of time, not just money, it is very empowering. It's great to realize that I'm part of
a sea of women making a difference at Microsoft. On a more informal scale, there's a senior women's
forum. It gives people an opportunity to connect outside of work situations. It meets four times yearly.
It has networking opportunities and panel discussions-Steve Ballmer has spoken there."
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| What are the negatives of being a woman in sales at Microsoft?
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| "If you come here, whether you're a woman or a man, you have to take charge of your
own career. Microsoft does not have a culture of holding your hand. There are a lot of resources
offered, but the individual has to be proactive and take personal responsibility for taking advantage
of them. That can be intimidating to some women, or inspiring. People who make the transition roll up
their sleeves and get things done. Once you understand the dynamics, it's freeing and inspiring, and
never boring."
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| What skills do you need to work in sales at Microsoft?
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| "The people who work well are those who are proactive and passionate about solving customer
problems and have a willingness to acquire new skills and to stretch themselves in taking on new
challenges. You also have to be a strong team player. Selling in the enterprise is complex and you can't
do it alone. You have to feel comfortable both leading a team and supporting a team, depending upon the
situation. If you do that and you build your successes bit by bit, you can enhance your professional
development and move into roles that are broader than what you may have thought possible."
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Women in Sales
