My interview was for an MSIT SDE position, so my experience may have differed somewhat from interviews with product groups.

I had my resume given to a recruiter by a classmate who was recently hired by Microsoft. I received a phone interview in December. During the call, I was told I would be contacted for an in-person interview at the Redmond Campus.

I flew in on a Thursday, and Microsoft hosted a meet-and-greet event for all candidates. There was free food and an open bar, plus a chance to meet current Microsoft employees and some potential interviewers. It was a lot of fun and helped candidates relax and gain confidence before interview day.

In January, I received information and scheduling for my on-site interview. Microsoft paid for my flight, hotel, food, and other costs. In February, I was informed the interview would consist of four one-hour sessions, at the end of which I would find out whether I would be given an offer.

I flew in on a Thursday, and Microsoft hosted a meet-and-greet event for all candidates that evening. There was free food and an open bar, plus a chance to meet current Microsoft employees and some potential interviewers. It was a lot of fun and really helped me relax and gain confidence before interview day. We were given packets with our schedule for the next day, stating whether we would interview in the morning or afternoon group.

The Interview

We were shuttled to the Microsoft campus, where we had breakfast and a brief meeting with the recruiters before our first interview.

First Interview:

I met with an SDET who had been with Microsoft for over a decade and was previously a PM. They were friendly and asked mainly general questions about my experience and interests. Then, they asked me to design a subscription service system. After asking a few questions, I found they wanted the tech stack I would build it on, with justifications for some choices. Overall, this interview went very well.

Second Interview:

I met with a PM who asked more general questions and about a previous project I had worked on. There were no technical questions, and this interview also went quite well.

Third Interview:

I met with an SDET who asked about my past experience and how I got into software engineering (since I'm an MIS major). They then asked how I would test a whiteboard, followed by how to test a piece of paper. Finally, they asked me to write a method to remove all instances of a certain character from a string. They then modified it, asking how to remove a string of sequential characters from a string. The testing questions threw me a bit initially, but I still felt pretty good by the end of the interview.

Fourth Interview:

I met with an SDE who briefly asked about my resume before jumping into questions on OOP. They asked me to explain OOP, what a class is, what an object is, what multiple inheritance is and its drawbacks, and whether C# or Java allow multiple inheritance. They then asked how this problem is solved. Finally, they asked me to reverse a linked list, which I completely botched. I had seen it several times before but just couldn't get the algorithm right. I didn't solve it before our time ran out and had to leave it unfinished.

At this point, I was feeling pretty nervous about my outcome. We were taken to lunch, and upon returning, were told our results would be given shortly. My name was called first, which I assumed meant the worst. The recruiter told me, "I hate to do this to you, but we want you to meet with one more member of the team." I had a final interview with another SDE. They were very direct and jumped right into the technical question: write a method to find the maximum integer in an unordered binary tree. I nailed this question, which I think got me the offer.

I was later told that they sometimes ask for an additional interview to determine team fit. I don't know how true this is.

I then returned to the lobby to wait further to hear my results and was finally called back and told I was getting an offer.

Final Thoughts / Advice

The process is intense but also enjoyable. If you can, make sure to attend the event the night before the interview. It helps you gain confidence because you see them as normal people, not mythical geniuses. Plus, by being sociable, displaying interest, and being excited about the opportunity, you can put yourself in a good position with potential interviewers. My surprise fifth interview was with someone with whom I had a good conversation the night before and joked a bit with during the event.

Describe OOP.

Remove all instances of a character from a string. Modify to remove all instances of a sequence of characters from a string.

Reverse a linked list.

Find the maximum integer in an unordered binary tree.