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Interview at Microsoft


KarenPayne

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Several weeks ago I attended a week long summit at Microsoft for MVP recipients of just under 3,000 people and out of the 3,000 less than five percent were female. The woman on the far right is a Microsoft employee that has a section on what is called Channel 9 (part of Microsoft) that is devoted to to females as developers and innovators in the field. We met in passing at the beginning of the week then the next day she asked me to participate in a interview. She actually got the majority of females to participate so she segmented us into groups of three so she could get all of us on camera.

There was around 20 minutes cut from the video which did not fit into the topics that were all girl talk and some other topics which all I can say is "what happened in the room stayed in the room".

Going in I did not indicate I was once male but at one point it made sense in that my old male mindset could contribute to the conversation. If you watch the video note there is no surprise and that the women doing the video said she would had never guessed it. Afterwards the two woman on my right said they had no clue until I said my former life was of a male.

The woman with the short hair is a lesbian which I learned from her becoming a Twitter friend and also from chatting with her on a Microsoft bus headed back to a building where the main events were being held.

After watching the video I was not happy with my posture and voice (voice was okay but needs more work) but then again we are our worst critics. On a side note as planned two years ago I have made an appointment with a voice therapist in January to work on my voice. I chatted with the therapist several weeks ago, we discussed her plans with me, she has worked with trans people before. An hour time is $70-90, a sliding scale. I indicated to her that my goal was to not strive for the best but to strive for acceptable for what I am capable of without pushing the limits.

On a comical note, the little rubber figures on the table may seem odd but they are given out to people who had been interviewed and well sought after so I cherish mine.

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Hiya Karen. That interview was very interesting. My one bit of advice to You - Don't be so Critical of Yourself. Karen, You are a Very Beautiful Lady, You are very intelligent. If anyone criticises You for how You look or anything, tell them to go and take a running jump. Karen You are Awesome; and, You are You. Good on You for taking part in that interview. You were Brilliant !  I hope the Car Meeting goes well at the Weekend. Karen, Take Care, and My Very Best Wishes, Stephanie. xoxo 

 

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So Karen, after reading this entry and watching the video, I wonder if you have reflected upon it, and reached any conclusions?

Here's what I think;

(a) Those present didn't realise at all that you are a Transwoman until you chose to tell them, so why do you think your voice needs any work? They didn't guess your past from your voice! Yes, we are our own worst critics, no-one likes listening to a recording of their own voice, I certainly don't, even when I try to sound a little more femme. I am having voice therapy and I'm not really impressed with it, so I hope you don't waste your money. Have you listened to the voice training section on TG Guide, it might be good to use that, and then re-evaluate.

(b) I got the feeling that you just wanted to be honest with the other participants and let them know about your past, rather than any other reason. Or is that me imagining that because it's exactly what I do and what I'd have done in that situation? I was tutoring a Risk Assessment course at work on Wednesday morning teaching 4 females (two of which didn't know me before transition) and I did almost exactly the same, and yes, it was to do with previous work experience, but more than that, it was good to be honest. Perhaps it's a reaction from all the years of keeping my true identity secret?

Ok this isn't criticism at all, but to show you how critical of yourself you're being, you mention your posture, but you know, you were sat in the worst possible position really, how many times did you look at the camera? if you were sat where the other two were sat you'd have been facing the camera, and we'd all have seen your infectious smile and I bet you'd not be talking about your posture either. The woman from Texas certainly didn't seem to have a good posture, so next time swop places, yours is much better ! LoL  Well I suppose someone had to sit there, and you were completely natural, well done Miss MVPayne :P 

Oh I did notice that the MS Employee was using a decent bit of IT, rather than a Windows phone !!! LoL

Cheers,

Eve

 

 

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