I applied through a recruiter. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Microsoft (Berkeley, CA) in Feb 2011
Interview
It took me just one on-campus interview. I contacted them through a career fair. It was one software engineer from a network engineering team interviewing me for about 45 minutes. The first 10 minutes, he spent asking me questions on my previous work experience and projects. Then the next 10 minutes, he asked me an open-ended question on how to design a coke vending machine. During the last 10 to 15 minutes, he asked me technical questions.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Write a C++ code to reverse the order of words in a string, without using any additional buffer.
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.