I was invited for a phone interview with Microsoft. The people were nice, despite my being late to reply, and the interview itself was fine; the recruiter was good.

Later, I was contacted by another recruiter who told me that my feedback was positive, but they didn't have any places left for this summer. They mentioned that if I got in touch with him, I would be starting from the final on-site interview next year. "Great," I thought, and waited.

When I contacted him six months later, he said that I would be invited to an on-site event in Warsaw and that the details would be sent later. Then, nothing happened until one week before the event, when I was told there was no place for me after all, despite the event taking place normally. I was upset since I had already prepared and planned the trip.

He asked if I could make it to two other locations, then went quiet. After a month of not responding to my emails, he told me there would be no more places for US internships and asked if I was interested in interning in Europe. I said yes, and then, after two months, I was told that they were unable to place me anywhere.

I think this is terribly unprofessional from the company, and they kind of ruined my motivation for top-flight internship seeking.

How would you explain recursion to a 5-year-old kid?

The 9-ball puzzle.