I applied through college or university. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Microsoft (Seattle, WA) in Jun 2010
Interview
Phone interview took just 15 minutes. There were general questions: what is context, context switching, critical section, threads, some questions about sorting algos, binary search trees. Some programming questions: what is difference between int and Integer (for java), what is difference between String and StringBuffer.
I think I was kinda stupid person :) because there was no logical question.
I applied online. I interviewed at Microsoft (Melbourne)
Interview
After submitting an online application, I received a HackerRank assessment after passing the resume screening stage, then I was rejected after completing the assessment and did not proceed to further interview rounds.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The assessment consisted of two LeetCode-medium-level coding questions to be completed within 75 minutes.
45 mins technical interview with a member of their San fran team. Very relaxed and informal but questions were focused and lots of follow ups. Easy to schedule as was over video conferencing platform
Straightforward technical loop overall, with strong interviewers at every stage. I genuinely enjoyed the in-depth conversations around technical challenges and algorithmic problem-solving — the entire process felt well-structured and genuinely engaging.