Microsoft — like most other major tech companies — is in the middle of an epic battle for top talent.

Chuck Edward, head of talent acquisition at Microsoft tells CNBC Make It that each year, Microsoft hires between 15,000 and 20,000 workers externally and approximately the same number internally.

"Sometimes the term 'war for talent' maybe sounds cliche, but in our world within technology it is fierce," says Edward. "We talk about the digital transformation all the time. As all workers digitally transform, the demand for people that can support and service that continues to go up, up, up, up, up. That means the demand continues to go up, up, up for very specific skills."

The company employs roughly 124,000 workers worldwide, receives millions of applicants each year and interviews thousands of people each day.

Despite these huge figures, Edward says part of Microsoft's winning strategy in the talent recruitment arena is to make the applicant pool even bigger. Microsoft is among a growing group of major companies that no longer screen out candidates that do not have college degrees. Instead, the company chooses to "screen in" candidates that may have the skills necessary to excel but not the diploma to prove it.

So if you want to apply for a job at Microsoft, go for it — everyone is welcome — but that doesn't mean it's going to be a walk in the park. You will still have to compete with those millions of other applicants.

Here's what Microsoft is looking for and how you can land a job there: