I applied through college or university. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Microsoft (Redmond, WA) in Feb 2017
Interview
I interviewed with Microsoft as a Ph.D. graduate.
Initial on campus screening. After that I am invited to onsite.
Onsite Interview:
It was a nice experience. I interviewed with managers and with a director. I got 3 technical questions and one Ph.D. research discussion (after lunch with lunch interviewer) and one resume/background/personality interview. It was unique to meet people with 10 to over 30 years of experience. Interviewing with experienced/expert engineers is a plus I guess. They know what to ask and what to look for in answers. The questions were easy but vague sometimes. Asking questions and verifying your understanding seemed to me a big plus. Overall it was one of the best interview experiences I had.
I applied online. I interviewed at Microsoft (Melbourne)
Interview
After submitting an online application, I received a HackerRank assessment after passing the resume screening stage, then I was rejected after completing the assessment and did not proceed to further interview rounds.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The assessment consisted of two LeetCode-medium-level coding questions to be completed within 75 minutes.
45 mins technical interview with a member of their San fran team. Very relaxed and informal but questions were focused and lots of follow ups. Easy to schedule as was over video conferencing platform
Straightforward technical loop overall, with strong interviewers at every stage. I genuinely enjoyed the in-depth conversations around technical challenges and algorithmic problem-solving — the entire process felt well-structured and genuinely engaging.