(August 2020) Submitted application online without referral.

(September 2020) Normally on-campus, but due to Covid, the process was virtual. There was one phone screen with mostly behavioral questions and a couple of conceptual technical questions about standard CS concepts. It's really important to practice talking about your projects and the teamwork involved in them. Within the next week (usually it takes longer, but it only took me a week), they contacted me, scheduling a virtual on-site interview.

(October 2020) Interviewed at the very start of October with a seemingly randomly assigned team in Azure. There were four interviews:

1. A Software Manager asked about projects and technical decisions within projects. The technical question was a variation of a common BST-related problem asked by Microsoft.
2. A SWE asked about projects and teamwork. The technical question was Meeting Rooms 2.
3. A Software Manager asked a system design question. It was fairly lax since I was a New Grad, so the focus was on discussing things you would consider when building the system, such as how to make it scalable, database choices, and important features. The question was about cloud services product design.
4. This is normally called the AA meeting, reserved for those who did well. However, for virtual interviews, they seem to give this to everyone. This interview was with a Senior Manager who likely makes the ultimate decision based on prior feedback. They asked about my interests and past experience, checking if I was a match for the team. The technical question was along the lines of the longest palindrome substring.

Received an offer several weeks later due to delays (late October). It was a great experience. Make sure to quickly understand what team you are interviewing for in the AA interview and tailor your project responses accordingly.

1. A Software Manager asked about projects and technical decisions within projects. The technical question was a variation of a common BST-related problem asked by Microsoft.

2. A Software Engineer asked about projects and teamwork. The technical question was Meeting Rooms 2.

3. A Software Manager asked a system design question. It was fairly lax since the candidate was a New Grad, so the focus was on discussing considerations for building the system (scalability, database choices, important features). The question was about cloud services product design.

4. This is normally called the AA meeting, typically for high performers. For virtual interviews, it seems to be given to everyone regardless of performance. This interview was with a Senior Manager who likely makes the ultimate decision based on prior feedback. Questions covered interests and past experience to check for team fit. The technical question was along the lines of the longest palindrome substring.