I applied through college or university. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Microsoft (Seattle, WA) in Dec 2011
Interview
First, I submitted my resume at a career fair and heard back within a few days. The representative was very helpful and scheduled me for an on campus interview about a week later.
The interview was 30 minutes that were split up very methodically. The beginning five to ten minutes were talking about projects I had worked on. Then I was presented a question about how to visually represent graphs. Finally, I was given the opportunity to ask the interviewer questions about Microsoft and their experiences. I heard back within a few days and was told I would be scheduled to go to Seattle in the coming weeks.
I was told to provide dates that I would be free over the course of a month. I sent my available dates and was told that they would not fit since two of the weeks of that month they would be closed and Wednesdays were not available. I wondered why I was not told these constraints originally but sent along new dates which I had to take off during my schools exam week (I was a little annoyed as my classmates who passed the first interview were told they would be interviewing during the next month when we were actually on break).
After the dates were worked out, I was flown to Seattle and had four interviews over the course of the day. They asked me various design questions and I thought the process went great. Unfortunately, I was not offered a position. Nonetheless, the interview process was very streamlined. They paid for my meals, transportation, and lodging during the trip and the reimbursement process was very painless. My only complaint was that I did not receive any indication of where I went wrong during the interviews (I understand why they would not be able to disclose this information).
While I was not offered a position I am hopeful for the future and plan to apply again next year.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Visually represent a graph to a person with no computer science knowledge.
I applied online. I interviewed at Microsoft (Hyderābād) in Jan 2026
Interview
Not a great experience with interviews taking 1 month to complete. Despite ongoing communication, the role did not move forward, reportedly due to approval constraints. The overall experience highlights a gap in aligning internal approvals before progressing candidates to advanced stages.
Clearer communication and better alignment internally would improve the candidate experience
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Questions on Project Experience and Thought process
The interview process is grueling and I get why people do it but its more awareness, know that you'll spend an entire day and meet several people, so it's important to be mentally and physically prepared. Eat a good breakfast but not heavy stay hydrated. This was just for a PM role it's their standard process I imagine executive level is another thing altogether
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
Tell me about a time you didn't agree with someone who was a stakeholder on your project and how did you handle that?
Very smooth, thoughtful interview process. It showed the recruiter really cared what I had to contribute and asked great followup clarifying questions. Would definitely recommend everyone try an interview with them even if it doesn't pan out.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Name one project that you have worked on and tell us the outcomes?