I applied to the Microsoft high school internship program last year and unfortunately did not get in. The rejection email mentioned not meeting qualifications when in reality we did. It is my mom’s impression and my suspicion that my application may not have even been considered last year. That being said I personally think it was likely because it is a SUPER selective program and that my essays were not up to par.
That being said during my time trying to figure out if I was automatically rejected I did make a few contacts with people in the program. Its not like I know them but you will see why this is sort of important later.
I applied again this year with a significantly better application. I even turned it in super early so I could ask some of the people running it to check that it would not be sorted into a “does not meet qualifications” category.
My mom has asked me to give her names of some of the people administering the program so that she can ask a friend of hers who is the head of a development team at Microsoft to put in a good word for me. Microsoft is big enough that I doubt that is an amazingly powerful position, but it is certainly up there.
I am wondering whether or not to tell my mom names of some people running the program.
I’d like to think that these applications are being evaluated anonymously. I also worry that this attempt might be seen as immature, or unprofessional by the people working for the program.
Can you see any negative outcomes from me giving my mom some names of people that work for the program?