I applied through college or university. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Microchip Technology in May 2010
Interview
First interview was conducted at a local university. Prior to the interview (about 2/3 days before), each candidate was given a small Excel-based problem to solve and submit during the actual interview. The problem wasn't hard to solve, but a rough understanding of Excel would definitely help.
During the interview, three interviewers scrutinize your resume and ask a lot of detailed questions about your experience. They also ask a couple of behavioral questions, but not as much as the questions about your experience. The good things are that the interviewers are always honest in their explanations about Microchip and they are willing to answer as much as they could.
The second interview was conducted at one of their campuses. This interview will take up most of the day, from morning to afternoon. Mine ended at 4pm, including a tour of the whole facility. You will be assigned a room to which your interviewers will come and interview you. Each interviewer will have approximately 1 hour with you. In my case, I had 5 slots with different interviewers in each. First, you'll probably be interviewed by the same guys you met in your first interview. The next guys will probably be people higher up in the division you are interviewing for and some of the leads that you'll be working with. They want to make sure that you are the right guy and that everybody is comfortable working with you. The interview questions will revolve very much around your experience again, but this time they will ask you to explain everything in great detail.
The last interviewer will be the HR and this interview will be more relaxed. However, you should come prepared with answers to behavioral questions, because you will get asked a lot of questions about it.
At the end of the day, you'll get a tour around the facility and that's it. Good luck!a
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Please explain your projects in detail and how you go about solving it.
I applied in September and they took 5 months to get back to me. Then the interview process itself took another 2 months. The hiring manager was nice enough but was misinforming me in multiple stages. Very bad experience overall, would not recommend.
I interviewed at Microchip Technology (Austin, TX)
Interview
One phone screen and one on site with several engineers sequentially. Few basic questions, nothing too technical. Easy interview. Only one interviewer asked brief technical questions. Most interviewers were interested in cultural and personality questions. Final interview was with HR for compensation negotiation, hiring manager wasn't involved.
Very easy, simple questions and more of a check if I'd be good fit with the team. Maybe 2 or 3 technical questions, and panel of about 5 people. Not difficult.