Microsoft

Engineering Interview Experience - Redmond, Washington

May 1, 2009

Neutral ExperienceNo Offer

Process

I had a phone interview where I was asked hypothetical questions, and some about my current job, challenges, and qualifications for a future position.

The technical qualifications were addressed and evaluated.

I found it to be an easy phone interview, but I did not get an offer.

Questions

What challenges are prevalent in your current job?

Was this helpful?

Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 3 interview experiences for the Microsoft Engineering role in Redmond, Washington.

Success Rate

33%

Pass Rate

Microsoft's interview process for their Engineering roles in Redmond, Washington is fairly selective, failing a large portion of engineers who go through it.

Experience Rating

Positive33%

Neutral33%

Negative33%

Candidates reported having mixed feelings for Microsoft's Engineering interview process in Redmond, Washington.

Microsoft Work Experiences

Smart, hard-working people... too much bureaucracy

Engineering • Former Employee

Redmond, Washington, United States

Pros: The pay and benefits are fantastic. It is a stable company. It's not going anywhere. It's a big company. When you get bored, you can transfer to another product without losing your pay, benefits, seniority, etc. Many groups are doing exciting work. People around the world depend on the software and product you make. I had great work-life balance, but this depends on the group.

Cons: It is a mature company, and with stability comes a slower reaction speed. If you are really action-oriented, you may find this to be tedious. Strangers yell at you on airplanes for being evil because they have demonized your employer. This is childish and inaccurate. Microsoft isn't evil. The employees aren't evil. Everyone is doing their best for customers. But that doesn't stop trolls, and trolls are really damn annoying.

Smart, hard-working people... too much bureaucracy

Engineering • Former Employee

Redmond, Washington, United States

Pros: The pay and benefits are fantastic. It is a stable company. It's not going anywhere. It's a big company. When you get bored, you can transfer to another product without losing your pay, benefits, seniority, etc. Many groups are doing exciting work. People around the world depend on the software and product you make. I had great work-life balance, but this depends on the group.

Cons: It is a mature company, and with stability comes a slower reaction speed. If you are really action-oriented, you may find this to be tedious. Strangers yell at you on airplanes for being evil because they have demonized your employer. This is childish and inaccurate. Microsoft isn't evil. The employees aren't evil. Everyone is doing their best for customers. But that doesn't stop trolls, and trolls are really damn annoying.

Great place to work if you have tolerance for big company symptoms

Engineering • Current Employee

Redmond, Washington, United States

Pros: Smart people, access to some of the best resources you can imagine, great benefits.

Cons: Like any other big company, MS has its share of bureaucracy, process overhead, and reporting overloads. Managers make a huge difference to your career.

Great place to work if you have tolerance for big company symptoms

Engineering • Current Employee

Redmond, Washington, United States

Pros: Smart people, access to some of the best resources you can imagine, great benefits.

Cons: Like any other big company, MS has its share of bureaucracy, process overhead, and reporting overloads. Managers make a huge difference to your career.

Great Prospects, Hard Work

Engineering • Current Employee

London, England, United Kingdom

February 27, 2025

Pros: Excellent experience, time off, career prospects.

Cons: Work too hard, tight deadlines.

Great Prospects, Hard Work

Engineering • Current Employee

London, England, United Kingdom

February 27, 2025

Pros: Excellent experience, time off, career prospects.

Cons: Work too hard, tight deadlines.

Smart, hard-working people... too much bureaucracy

Engineering • Former Employee

Redmond, Washington, United States

Pros: The pay and benefits are fantastic. It is a stable company. It's not going anywhere. It's a big company. When you get bored, you can transfer to another product without losing your pay, benefits, seniority, etc. Many groups are doing exciting work. People around the world depend on the software and product you make. I had great work-life balance, but this depends on the group.

Cons: It is a mature company, and with stability comes a slower reaction speed. If you are really action-oriented, you may find this to be tedious. Strangers yell at you on airplanes for being evil because they have demonized your employer. This is childish and inaccurate. Microsoft isn't evil. The employees aren't evil. Everyone is doing their best for customers. But that doesn't stop trolls, and trolls are really damn annoying.

3.0
Smart, hard-working people... too much bureaucracy
Engineering • Former Employee
Redmond, Washington, United States
May 19, 2014
Pros: The pay and benefits are fantastic. It is a stable company. It's not going anywhere. It's a big company. When you get bored, you can transfer to another product without losing your pay, benefits, seniority, etc. Many groups are doing exciting work. People around the world depend on the software and product you make. I had great work-life balance, but this depends on the group.
Cons: It is a mature company, and with stability comes a slower reaction speed. If you are really action-oriented, you may find this to be tedious. Strangers yell at you on airplanes for being evil because they have demonized your employer. This is childish and inaccurate. Microsoft isn't evil. The employees aren't evil. Everyone is doing their best for customers. But that doesn't stop trolls, and trolls are really damn annoying.

Great place to work if you have tolerance for big company symptoms

Engineering • Current Employee

Redmond, Washington, United States

Pros: Smart people, access to some of the best resources you can imagine, great benefits.

Cons: Like any other big company, MS has its share of bureaucracy, process overhead, and reporting overloads. Managers make a huge difference to your career.

4.0
Great place to work if you have tolerance for big company symptoms
Engineering • Current Employee
Redmond, Washington, United States
March 11, 2014
Pros: Smart people, access to some of the best resources you can imagine, great benefits.
Cons: Like any other big company, MS has its share of bureaucracy, process overhead, and reporting overloads. Managers make a huge difference to your career.

Great Prospects, Hard Work

Engineering • Current Employee

London, England, United Kingdom

February 27, 2025

Pros: Excellent experience, time off, career prospects.

Cons: Work too hard, tight deadlines.

5.0
Great Prospects, Hard Work
Engineering • Current Employee
London, England, United Kingdom
February 27, 2025
Pros: Excellent experience, time off, career prospects.
Cons: Work too hard, tight deadlines.

Microsoft Interview Questions

Minimum Edge Reversals So Every Node Is Reachable

You're given a directed graph. Determine the minimum number of edges you need to reverse so that every node becomes reachable from node 0.

GraphsDynamic Programming

Two Sum

Find two numbers in a given array that add up to a specific target value, and return their indices. Essentially, you need to efficiently locate the pair that satisfies the sum requirement.

ArraysStringsTwo Pointers

Valid Word

Determine if a given word is considered valid based on a specific set of rules or constraints. The goal is to check if the input string adheres to the specified validation criteria.

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