I applied in-person. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Microsoft (Vienna) in May 2015
Interview
assessment center, presentations, preparations in front of HR Recruiter, Management, other employees. it was very intense but i liked the challenge. a lot of questions were asked and good preperation about your previous jobs and CV, also about the company itself is really important.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
PPT Presentation, Interview with HR, Interview with Management, etc.
I applied through an employee referral. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Microsoft
Interview
Interview with 3 or 4 peers as well as hiring manager. I was referred to roles that would value my business experience while not a direct fit for the sector. The tone of the interviews was very much that of "Pre-Satya" Microsoft. Condescending tone and clique mentality. Initially, the recruiter strung out the process and was very inattentive. Moving through the phone interviews, the peers were very club-ish and rather than being direct that there wasn't a skills match, the last interview with hiring manager was a no-show. Recruiter, again, made excuses but not authentic and still has not gotten back to me. I'm not disgruntled by the experience - these are facts. I think what Satya is doing to MSFT is a good thing but there are 20+ years of boys club mentality that still exists.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
My direct knowledge and experience of Enterprise VARs and ISVs
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 7 weeks. I interviewed at Microsoft (Los Angeles, CA) in Apr 2015
Interview
The University Recruiter found me through the student database at my business school and reached out. After communicating my geographic constraints, she was able to find a position that fit my location needs as well as my past experience. I was scheduled for a behavioral phone interview with another recruiter 7 business days after that initial contact. 2 weeks later, I had another phone interview, this time a member of the team that I would be working with. Another 2 weeks afterwards, I was invited to fly onsite for a series of four 1:1 interviews with other members of the team. When I arrived, I was alerted that I would actually be having four 30-min interviews as well as an additional two 45-min interviews -- so 6 interviews in the span of 5 hours. Hiring decision was communicated via email after 5 days.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How do you get people excited about something? How would you convince company xyz to build an app on the Microsoft platform when MSFT only holds 3-5% of the mobile phone marketshare?