I applied through other source. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Microsoft (Seattle, WA) in Feb 2008
Interview
Microsoft interviews usually consist of 3-5 interviewers from the same discipline the candidate interviews for. They are a mix of technical questions related to programming basics and business decision type questions. The culture varies from group to group, but in general it is a very friendly if geeky experience. They use big white boards and they expect their candidates to use the boards to program or draw architecture boxes and lines. They also expect candidates to vocalize their thought process and ask for clarifying questions. Silence during an interview is bad. Dress codes are very casual so don't bother with a suit unless you're applying for a marketing position.
I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Microsoft in Mar 2010
Interview
Was interviewed by Lead Senior Program Manager over phone (1 hour). The guy asked me questions about what I do, my job, program management etc. I think I answered very well. I am an expert in my field. But he just wouldn't care about my responses. I thought questions were pretty easy. He asked me about the 'whole world' and nothing that pertains to the job. At the end he asked me if I had questions. I asked him specific questions about the job - but he wouldn't / couldn't answer properly. I think people at MS don't have good communication skills. Hiring managers at MS really suck. This experience proved insightful; I would never want to work at MS and also the attitude of people at MS explains why the company is going down the drain. My recommendation, don't work at MS; many better companies out there.
I applied through an employee referral. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Microsoft in Apr 2010
Interview
- Initial phone screening with HR.
- 1 hour phone interview with co-worker
- 1 hour phone interview with hiring manager
- On-site 1 day interview with 6 different people. Non stop from 9:15 until 4:45 pm.
- All interviews were 1-on-1
- Interviewed by a different roles, Development Managers, QA managers, Program Managers etc.
- Mix of technical and influence type questions
- Role play
- Lot of questions around examples of different type of situations and how I handled them and how I would handle them if I were to do it again etc.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What two questions where the hardest during the interview day and why?