Microsoft Software Engineer Interview Questions & Reviews
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Updated May 19, 2012 – Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.
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Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 28 ratings 
“Average” Interview
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Interview Experience [?] Based on 28 ratings
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| 21–28 of 28 Microsoft Interviews | Sort by |
Software Engineer at Microsoft
Posted Dec 11, 2009
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5.0
Very Difficult Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Feb 2009 (took 2 days)
There are many phases to the interview process, in which an initial telephone screening is required. A behavioural interview is first set up, and after that, one of the regular full time software engineers give you a technical interview. The technical interview ranges from C++ theoretical questions to memory (heap/stack) questions to coding on paper to puzzle questions. Any candidate will have to prepare heavily and brush up on their knowledge. The interviews lasted about 1 1/2 hours.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview and a Skills Test.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Software engineer at Microsoft
Posted Oct 10, 2009
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Nov 2008 in Redmond, WA (took 2 weeks)
The hiring process consisted of an initial phone screen. There never really was any technical phone interview. I believe that at this level, the companies mainly want to gague if the individual is interested in the job or not.
The on-site interview was also quite interesting. Quite a few very senior people in the organization interviewed me and the questions were not the typical run of the mill questions. Instead the questions pertained to the problems that the interviewers were working on at that point in time. At the very end of the day, i got a chance to meet the VP and spend an hour with him. This was very encouraging.
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?
Software Engineer at Microsoft
Posted May 13, 2009
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2.0
Easy Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Apr 2008 (took a day)
I was interviewed by 4 people, and the questions were not hard, including replacing a character in a string, validating a BST, etc. I made a mistake which shouldn't have happened there, but that interviewer was apparently not that smart. After I made that mistake he was skeptical on all what I wrote on the board, but the code was just copied from the textbook.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Software Engineer at Microsoft
Posted May 8, 2009
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Apr 2009 (took 2 weeks)
Overall, the interview process was a positive and learning experience.
Interview Questions
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Software Engineer at Microsoft
Posted May 5, 2009
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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 Mar 2008 in Redmond, WA (took a day)
I got an interview along with a bunch of other of my comp sci peers while Microsoft was at a University here in MD. The interviewer was very formal, but somewhat non personable. I was two questions, one of which I could not answer. I knew the interview was bust after that, so I asked him about R&D for fun.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview and a Skills Test.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Software Engineer at Microsoft
Posted May 3, 2009
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Received and Declined Offer
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Interviewed Apr 2009 in Redmond, WA (took 2 weeks)
They treat their interviewees very well. They will put in a nice hotel, give you a rental, and pay your expenses for you to spend an extra day and night in the area to get to know it and explore and have fun. The interview itself lasts a fair part of the day and involves talking to several engineers. The questions are pretty standard algorithms and problem solving questions. Almost all of them asked me to write code. Even lunch was an interview with the topic about facing difficulties/working in teams/interacting with others and so on.
I was very impressed with the work, offer, and suggested flexibility.
Interview Questions
Reason for Declining
I had another I really liked on the East Coast. It was a tough tough choice.
Other Details
I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview and a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Software Engineer at Microsoft
Posted Apr 29, 2009
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Oct 2008 in Redmond, WA (took 3 weeks)
I applied through on campus Job Fair. Microsoft contacted me online asking for an on-site interview. The interview itself took about 30 minutes. Questions were more about to see your problem solving skills and analytic approach than technical skills. Interviewer was a project manager. At the end of the interview, it took three weeks to be notified that there won't be any offer. Interviewer was nice and polite. He knew the stuff.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Software Engineer at Microsoft
Posted Apr 28, 2009 — 0 of 1 people found this helpful
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Received and Declined Offer
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Interviewed Jan 2007 (took 1 week)
8 interviews (4 with 2 different teams)
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through an Employee Referral and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
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