I was contacted by a recruiter via LinkedIn. I didn't apply for a specific position as they had a generic Principal Software Engineer opening for multiple projects.

The screening interview with the Microsoft LinkedIn recruiter was brief, mostly discussing preferences and the interview process at Microsoft. This was followed by another interview with a different Microsoft recruiter who explained the interview process in more detail.

The main interview consisted of five video calls:

• Call with Partner Engineering Manager: This primarily focused on my role in past projects and soft skills questions.
• Four calls with (Senior) Principal Software Engineers and the future team manager: These covered technical questions, a coding/design challenge, and soft skills. Each of these calls included a technical component.

The challenges were definitely doable for someone experienced, I would even say of average difficulty. Overall, the interview process was very professional compared to other companies I've interviewed with.

On a follow-up call with the Microsoft recruiter, I learned the company was going to proceed with an offer. However, I decided not to proceed to that phase. There were some aspects of the project selected for me that I didn't like, and one of the reasons for changing jobs was to avoid those issues. Changing jobs would not have fulfilled its purpose.

The recruiter then presented a few more projects, and further video calls were conducted with project managers. Unfortunately, the projects offered were not in good alignment with my skills and expectations, and would not have allowed me to make a difference or stand out. I have considerable experience that allows me to filter out unsuitable projects.

A hiring freeze came in and severely restricted the projects that were hiring. There are some good projects at Microsoft abroad, but local candidates have priority.

Passing all interview rounds at Microsoft is not a huge problem, provided you get selected. However, finding a good project can be tough. I hope Microsoft recruiters didn't interpret my decision to decline all projects as being ungrateful, as that is not the case. They have been very helpful, and the interview process at Microsoft was the most professional of all the companies I interviewed with. Should Microsoft have a suitable project in the future, I would be glad to apply again.

What is your expected salary?

How did you deal with disagreements?

Did you encounter a situation when things didn't go well? What have you learned from it?

Do you have mentoring experience?