I applied online. The process took 2 days. I interviewed at Microsoft (Redmond, WA) in Apr 2014
Interview
Fairly rigorous, but expected for a tech company. 6-7 interviewers not counting the phone screening by recruiters. Interview lasts all day and if you get the 6th or 7th interview, it means you made it to the "as appropriate" and your chances are good. Some interviewers tend to come across as arrogant and try to make you feel inferior; avoid those teams and give the recruiters that feedback. I called it quits on one interview loop after meeting an extremely arrogant and egotistical interviewer who frankly stated he was far better than anyone on that team.
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Microsoft (Redmond, WA) in May 2013
Interview
Microsoft puts you through an interview loop in which you have 1:1 interviews with at least 3 people and up to 6+. You continue through the interview process as the majority of individuals rate you as a hire. If you get 3 no hires right away then typically your loop will end. If you continue to get a majority of hire ratings then you most likely will end the day with an as appropriate interviewer which is typically someone in higher level management for the role you are interviewing for.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How do you collaborate with others? What is the most challenging decision you've had to make and how did you come to an answer? What decision have you gotten wrong lately and what did you do to correct it?
2 phone interviews. 5 onsite interviews. The whole process took 1 month. Microsoft is very efficient with their recruiting process and they kept me informed throughout. All the people I met knew their stuff and had an interesting conversation with them. They were friendly.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
We are a world class team with each member best in their area. What do you bring to the table that is world class?h