I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Microsoft (Los Angeles, CA) in Sep 2011
Interview
I applied online for the position and was contacted by the hiring manager. We had a telephone interview discussing my qualifications and I was invited to meet with him for a 1:1 onsite. Our 1:1 interview lasted one hour, and it was very clear during our conversation that my professional qualifications exceeded his own work experience. I was also surprised that the manager disclosed that he had received HR training in how to interview and hire the "right candidate" (A good indication of a lack of his management experience).
I left the interview knowing that my time and expenses spent were basically a loss. I heard nothing further from this individual. I really expected more of Microsoft. Certainly this is not their normal process in hiring talent .
Normal interview process - 3-4 times of interviews. 1 with hiring manager, 1 with peer, 1 with M2 manager.
There was not project, skill-assessment type projects before the interview.
After submitting the resume, everything was set up pretty quickly compared to other normal process from other companies.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
how would you operate without having prior experience in sales domain.
was amazing would highly recoommed this to someone else seeking the same opportunities and growth. Also was a smooth process from start to finish, nothing made me feel uneasy. hope this helps
The interviewers asked me some challenging questions about my previous work experience. They mostly focused on education and my previous job. Overall the process was ok but I wouldn't do it it again
Sales applicants have rated the interview process at Microsoft with 3 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 60% positive. To compare, the company-average is 66.4% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Sales roles take an average of 26 days to get hired, when considering 46 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Microsoft overall takes an average of 30 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Microsoft as a Sales according to 46 Glassdoor interviews include:
Phone interview: 30%
One on one interview: 26%
Group panel interview: 14%
Background check: 9%
Presentation: 8%
Skills test: 6%
IQ intelligence test: 3%
Other: 2%
Personality test: 1%
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