Microsoft Product Manager Interview Questions & Reviews
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Updated Feb 5, 2012 – Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.
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Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 17 ratings 
“Difficult” Interview
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Interview Experience [?] Based on 17 ratings
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| 1–10 of 17 Microsoft Interviews | Sort by |
Product Manager at Microsoft
Posted Feb 5, 2012
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Jul 2010 in Redmond, WA (took 2 months)
Applied online, said I knew someone who worked there (true.) Lots of questions about why I had returned to Seattle after being gone many years. Was not asked the typical 'trick' Microsoft questions you find online. It seemed they really wanted experienced people who knew content (writing, grammar, etc) and throwing developer-type trick questions at interviewees was not the way to get a good hire. I showed several writing samples, etc. It was a positive experience, but I found another job before they offered me anything.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview and a Group/Panel Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Product Manager at Microsoft
Posted Oct 21, 2011 — 0 of 1 people found this helpful
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Oct 2011 in Cleveland, OH (took a day)
This was an on-campus interview which lasts only 30 minutes. It started with non-technical question like "Why do you wanna apply for this position", "Which programming language do you feel most comfortable with"... The the interviewer came to the technical part by asking my project experiences, OOP features, interaction experience with customers. It ended with a typical interview question, elevator design.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Product Manager at Microsoft
Posted Jul 4, 2011
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Jun 2011 (took 2 weeks)
HR interview for 30 minutes, followed by interview by hiring manager for 30 mins. The min areas where I stumbled is where do you see yourself in 5 years in this job. Try to be specific and not to vague otherwise they think you are not really interested in the specific position. And that you are only interested in getting a foot into Microsoft then look for something better.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Product Manager at Microsoft
Posted Mar 24, 2011
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5.0
Very Difficult Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Feb 2011 in Redmond, WA (took 4+ weeks)
After submitting my resume, I got contacted for a phone interview (I don't live in the Redmond area). The phone interview was with an HR person and lasted about 45 minutes. There wer typical behavioral questions (tell me about a time when..), and also a few marketing questions about products that I thought were marketed well, how I would improve those products. There was also a question about designing an alarm clock for the blind.
A few weeks later I received an email saying I made it through to the 2nd round. I went to the campus in Redmond as part of an interview day. There were 4 interviews scheduled for everyone participating in that day (all within the group I was applying for), each one lasting from 45 minutes to an hour with short few-minute breaks in between. All the interviewers were nice, but each interview was very different. They were all people that worked in the group that I was applying for (not HR).
My first interview was behavioral (tell me about a time when...), and asked very typical questions about why I wanted to work at Microsoft. It was very conversational, and it felt more like we were just talking about my resume, my skills, and my interests, rather than a formal interview.
The second interview was a case interview. My interviewer drew out a real Microsoft business problem on the white board and asked me questions about how I would approach the problem, what other information would I need, and what action I would recommend. After saying a few things, I got stuck, but my interviewer guided me along towards different areas to consider. In the end, there was something important that I had missed and my interviewer let me know what that was. There were also a few random questions like, describe a process to me as if I were a 7 year old child. I didn't think I did well in this interview, but it couldn't have been that bad because later I got the offer.
The third interview was very focused on marketing (I was applying for a marketing position). I was asked about products that were marketed well and poorly. I think it was crucial to use a framework in answering this question (marketing mix), but again, the interview was very conversational, and my interviewer guided me in certain directions when I ran out of things to say about a certain product. There were also questions that tested creativity like, what are all the ways you could market ping pong balls if they could no longer be used for ping pong?
My last interview was the least structured. My interviewer basically let me have the entire hour to ask any questions I had about Microsoft. The interviewers talk to each other after each interview, so maybe I had already gotten a "Yes" from the first 3? Even though I only had a few questions to start with, as we talked, it became conversational so I asked additional questions based off the ongoing conversation. I think this was to gauge my interest in Microsoft and show that I knew enough about it to ask intelligent questions.
Some people in my group got called back for a 5th interview, and we all thought that a 5th interview meant that you did well (and only 4 interviews meant you were cut), but that turned out to be untrue, since I only had 4 interviews and I got an offer. To prep for the interviews, I would just prepare for business cases, marketing cases, research the company, research your group, and show your interest in technology and in Microsoft.
Interview Questions
Negotiation Details
One of the first things my recruiter said to me when I got the offer was that it was not negotiable at all. I actually received a better offer from another company, but ended up choosing Microsoft because of the culture and company reputation. I think they know they have that going for them.
Other Details
The interview consisted of a Phone Interview and a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Product Manager at Microsoft
Posted Mar 19, 2011
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Feb 2011 in Redmond, WA (took a day)
This was a 30 minute screening interview. The interviewer was nice, and started the interview off with a behavioral question. "Tell me about a time when you failed to meet a deadline". Then the interviewer asked me to design a microwave. I asked him questions like "who is our target audience". I'm not sure what he was looking for, whether he wanted to know technical skills or requirements gathering. It was all pretty vague. After that, the interviewer asked me to write a method that would remove every other node from a doubly-linked-list. I received an email about a week later letting me know they did not want to hire me.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview and a Skills Test.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Product Manager at Microsoft
Posted Feb 13, 2011
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Dec 2010 (took 4 days)
I got an email asking me to complete a questionnaire for a possible interview on campus. I did complete the form and the date was mutually agreed upon. The interview lasted about 25 mins. My interviewer hurriedly asked me 2 questions.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Product Management at Microsoft
Posted Oct 28, 2010
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Jul 2008 (took a day)
Interview loop,pretty standard. Lots of situational interviewing.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Product Manager at Microsoft
Posted Sep 27, 2010
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Jan 2008 in Redmond, WA (took 3 days)
There were 5 interviews in one day. Some technical, some casual with an as appropriate interview with the group manager.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through an Employee Referral and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview, a Group/Panel Interview and a Background Check.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Product Manager at Microsoft
Posted Jul 5, 2010 — 1 of 1 people found this helpful
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Jul 2008 (took 4+ weeks)
Be prepared, confident, honest, and enthusiastic. If you don't know answer to a question then be honest. Don't lie about your experience because the person internviewing you will uncover your weaknesses and will determine if you were forthcoming. Send follow thank you letters to the people that interviewed you.
Interview Questions
Negotiation Details
Negotiation process went pretty quick. If you think you are worth the figure you are negotiating for then stick to your guns. If you get to the negotiating process then it is obvious that Microsoft is interested in.
Other Details
I got the interview through a Recruiter and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, a Group/Panel Interview, a Drug Test and a Background Check.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Product Manager at Microsoft
Posted Apr 26, 2010
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Oct 2009 in Hyderabad (India) (took 2 days)
Questions were a mix of business, technology and puzzle questions. For example, I was asked to design an alarm clock for the blind. Another question was to develop the feature requirements for the next version of Microsoft Outlook. Generally, they are trying to see how you think and whether you can come up with innovative solutions for everyday problems
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through a Recruiter and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview and a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
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