I applied through college or university. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Microsoft (Redmond, WA) in Feb 2017
Interview
I interviewed with Microsoft as a Ph.D. graduate.
Initial on campus screening. After that I am invited to onsite.
Onsite Interview:
It was a nice experience. I interviewed with managers and with a director. I got 3 technical questions and one Ph.D. research discussion (after lunch with lunch interviewer) and one resume/background/personality interview. It was unique to meet people with 10 to over 30 years of experience. Interviewing with experienced/expert engineers is a plus I guess. They know what to ask and what to look for in answers. The questions were easy but vague sometimes. Asking questions and verifying your understanding seemed to me a big plus. Overall it was one of the best interview experiences I had.
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.
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.
I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at Microsoft (Bangalore Rural) in Jun 2026
Interview
The interview was hard, even as a fresher the dsa they asked was hard category after I checked on leetcode. Though I couldn't solve it. Some of the other people who interviewed were asked easy - medium dsa