Interviewed Oct 2009 in Redmond, WA (took 4 weeks)

A friend at MS signed me up for Employee Referral program and applied for several Program Manager positions. After 3 weeks of not hearing anything, I received an email from MS Recruiter stating they were interested in my qualifications. A few days later, I had phonescreen with hiring manager, it lasted 30 min and went very well. Questions asked were 1) tell me about yourself, 2) why are you interested in this position, 3) what are your strengths. Then I was asked to come onsite.

During this time, I prepared a lot for this interview. I knew of 3 people who works at MS and asked all about interviewing process; I had 30 min phone discussion with them and asked them lots of questions on what to expect during interview such as write on board, ask questions, smile & stay interested in the product and technology, et.c. I read the blogs on MS website on interviewing tips, that was helpful. I read a lot about the product for which I'm interviewing, even found MS contacts from one of the conferences I attended and interviewed them as well since they had experience with it.

2 weeks after phonescreen, they flew me up to Redmond from San Diego and put me at hotel in Bellevue. It was a very nice experience -- paid for meals, lodging, transportation. I stayed 3 nights and 2 days: the day prior to interview, I toured the campus, Bellevue, and downtown Seattle. Recruiter called me and said I will talk to only 2 people, then get a break:

Next day was the big day. I was greeted by a Group Program Manager and interviewed with him. He spent a lot of time talking about himself, the organization, and the role. He spent the last 10 min asking me only 2 questions: 1) describe a time you had dealing with someone who didn't collaborate, 2) business strategy on the product. Next person was Dev Mgr and took me to lunch (no interviewing, just chatting), then went back to his office for only 3 questions: 1) experience with product design & how I did it, 2) code leverage/borrow experience, 3) usability & user feedback experience.

After this, they told me to take a break. This meant that if I failed, they would send me home. 20 min later, they brought a PM Lead, and my 3rd interview continued in her office. She asked 1) about my experience as a PM, 2) another design question, 3) how to improve the current product. Then she took me to the hiring manager's office, but this wasn't an interview, so we chatted, I asked about the job specifics & questioned him as a manager. Then he sent me home.

I already felt I failed since only 3 people interviewed me, even though I felt good in all my answers. Next day, recruiter emailed me saying I didn't make it. When I asked for comments from team or reason for not selecting me, she didn't provide.

Overall, my experience was good and they took care of me real well throughout the process. The questions were not difficult if you prepared, but perhaps I didn't take initiative to write on white board as often as I should. I believe they already made up their mind based on this or perhaps they didn't like some of my answers. They didn't ask me any brain teasers or puzzles. They key is to know your PM skills well and relate to questions they ask, and be as detailed as possible by using white board to help explain. Focus on product design experience, how to take in customer input/feedback to design, how to resolve disparate customer feedback, improvements in the product you are interviewing for, business strategy around the product (competition, opportunities, challenges, etc.). I believe my experience was more in fit not about your qualifications, so if you do well communicating, explaining, and show you're collaborating & listening, you'll be a good fit.

The campus is amazing, there are lots of young people in their 20's, 30's, with many product groups. MS is huge, so perhaps I will try again as my experience here will help me next time.