I applied through a recruiter. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Microsoft (Bellevue, WA) in Jul 2021
Interview
Passed first round screener with recruiter where I was asked logic puzzle questions. Was told that they would set up time for next interview. Was strung along for 2 months then told job opening was closed.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
There are three crates of fruit and one of them has apples in it, one has oranges in it, and the last one has both apples and oranges in it. You can see that one of the crates is labeled "A" for apples, another is labeled "O" for oranges, and the third is labeled "A+O" for both apples and oranges. All the labels are incorrect, you may pick one crate and have a fruit pulled from it. How can you determine—without a doubt—which crate has apples, which one has oranges, and which one has both?
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.