Industry talk

Late last year, Microsoft and SydneyTalent formed an agreement to work together in sourcing high calibre students from the University of Sydney for the MACH (Microsoft Academy of College Hires) program.  Microsoft fielded over 1000 MACH applications from over 15 universities across Australia to secure the select few MACH placements for 2010.  Through this agreement, SydneyTalent secured 20% of Microsoft’s total MACH student intake.

From the employer: Microsoft Australia and New Zealand

Andrew Le Lievre, Recruitment Manager, Microsoft Australia and New Zealand confirmed his organisation’s commitment to SydneyTalent, citing the calibre of the students on offer and the ability to tailor fit Microsoft’s workforce requirements as key selling points.

“The quality of talent is mission critical to our success as an organisation,” said Andrew Le Lievre, Recruitment Manager, Microsoft Australia and New Zealand.

“The quality of people we have placed from SydneyTalent has been exceptional; there’s no other word for it, and as you know we run a pretty rigorous assessment centre.  Everybody who has had access to or worked with SydneyTalent student employees on projects has really been impressed with their passion and the excellent quality of their work.  They’ve come up with quite a few innovative concepts and ideas and a number of them have progressed into marketing roles, most of the work they’ve been doing has been fantastic.

“In the discussions we had with SydneyTalent it was clear that they could provide a highly tailored solution to our search for talent.

“I think if you’re after the very best talent it’s certainly a practical model and SydneyTalent has certainly delivered. “

From the SydneyTalent student employees at Microsoft Australia and New Zealand

Boyd McGeachie 

 “What I’ve learnt has been amazing and puts me in a great position moving forward with my career in business,” said Boyd McGeachie, SydneyTalent student employee and Sales Excellence Distribution Intern, Distribution at Microsoft. 

“The type of things I’ve learnt here are unparalleled with what you can learn anywhere else except in a business environment.  SydneyTalent has potentially shaped the rest of my business life.”

Luke Latham

According to Luke Latham, SydneyTalent student employee and Sales Excellence Business Analyst - Corporate Accounts at Microsoft, “SydneyTalent has opened my eyes to a lot of broader opportunities out there.”

“Having a representative who helped me through my situation, getting input into my workload, giving me access to big corporations and the overall experience it’s given me, has been great.”

“I think SydneyTalent is an enormous resource for the University of Sydney students to use and to gain worthwhile opportunities.”