The Microsoft interview is a job interview technique used by Microsoft to assess possible future Microsoft employees. It is significant because Microsoft's model was pioneering, and later picked up and developed by other companies including Amazon, Facebook, and Google .[1]
Contents |
The Microsoft Interview was a pioneer in that it was about technical knowledge, problem solving and creativity as opposed to the goal and weaknesses interviews most companies used at the time. Initially based on Bill Gates' obsession with puzzles, many of the puzzles presented during interviews started off being Fermi problems, or sometimes logic problems, and have eventually transitioned over the years into questions relevant to programming[2]: [P]uzzles test competitive edge as well as intelligence. Like business or football, a logic puzzle divides the world into winners and losers. You either get the answer, or you don't... Winning has to matter. [3] Joel Spolsky phrased the problem as identifying people who are smart and get things done while separating them from people who are smart but don't get things done and people who get things done but are not smart[4][5]
This model is now used widely in the IT Industry.
Microsoft hires both undergraduate college students (“college hires”) and the more experienced (“industry hires”). For college hires, there's a focus on those with degrees in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering or systems engineering for the three main technical positions of software development engineer (SDE), Software Design Engineer in Test (SDET) and Program Manager (PM).
Microsoft also hires for non-technical positions and those who have an MBA. The interview would not be a technical one.
Microsoft College Recruitment practices can be divided into phases.
Microsoft recruits heavily from college campuses in the United States.
The interviewing process typically begins with college students attending a career fair on campus and submitting a résumé to recruiters. The campus fair and accompanying on-campus information session about the company gives students the opportunity to find out more about what Microsoft does, and to ask questions to current employees.
After the résumés have been collected, a select number of students are contacted for a first-round interview usually held on the candidate's college campus or over the telephone with a single recruiter. The first-round interview can last for about thirty to forty five minutes.
The candidate is initially asked to fill out an application form prior to the interview detailing work-location (Redmond, Silicon Valley, North Carolina, Nebraska) and work-type preferences (Business initiatives, media center/gaming, operating system, etc.).
During this interview the recruiter attempts to determine if the candidate will be able to flourish at Microsoft. After the interview, the recruiter will consider whether Microsoft's current business needs and the candidate's qualifications and interests are compatible.
Some examples of questions that the recruiter will keep in mind or ask a candidate include[6]:
Microsoft expects that the candidate know its various businesses and product groups, and come prepared to speak in-depth about their résumé in addition to asking thoughtful questions.
The candidate can generally expect to receive the results of the first-round interview from the recruiter within about 2 to 3 weeks of the interview date. If the first-round interview was successful, the candidate is contacted by a Microsoft recruiting co-ordinator to arrange a mutually acceptable date for the second-round interview.
Travel and lodging arrangements are then processed and finalized.
If candidates successfully complete the first-round interview, the third phase is the second-round interview, which is held in Microsoft's headquarters located in Redmond, Washington or at one of its other sites in the world.
The maximum length of the candidate's interview trip can be up to three days and two nights, which includes one day to interview and one day to sight-see.[7]
Candidates interviewing for the program manager position can be expected to answer detailed design questions that test the candidate's creative ability and focus on customers. The candidate is expected to provide reasons for features added to products designed and include explanations as to why a customer might want or need a particular feature.
Candidates interviewing for the SDE and SDET positions can be expected to answer detailed coding and algorithm questions.
Many questions asked are purposely ambiguous and/or abstract. It is expected that the candidate ask thought-provoking questions of the interviewer in order to better answer the question. The candidate is normally given a marker, eraser, and a whiteboard to record his/her solutions and ideas to questions. The interviewer observes how the candidate attempts to solve a problem and follows the candidate's thought processes.
The interview day usually comprises meeting with about three to five different employees within Microsoft. A typical schedule might include two interviews in the morning, one lunch interview, and two interviews in the afternoon. The lunch interview can take place in one of Microsoft's various in-house cafeterias or in a restaurant off-campus. In most cases the candidate will interview with two different product teams within a single product group or two entirely different product groups (Microsoft site FAQ 2006). It depends on the current business needs of Microsoft at the time of the interview and which needs best fit the candidate's skill set and interests. The candidate is generally notified on the day of the interview as to which position he/she will be interviewing for if the candidate is interviewing for software development engineer, software development engineer in Test, or Program Manager Positions.
Following each interview with the candidate, the interviewer will email the complete set of interviewers with their feedback on the candidate. This email generally begins with a summary “Hire” or “No hire” assessment. The last interviewer to see the candidate is special, and referred to as the “As Appropriate” or “As Ap”. This person, generally the most senior person among the set of interviewers, will only see the candidate if the email feedback on that candidate thus far has been generally positive, or at least split between “Hire” and “No Hire” assessments. The “As Appropriate” interviewer often makes the final call as to whether the candidate will receive an offer.
Because the last interviewer is more influential and also additional people may be involved into final decision, this decision may be negative also when more than a half of the engineers vote "Hire".
After the second-round interview the candidate is asked to submit a reimbursement form for any expenses incurred during the trip to Redmond (e.g. taxi travel and meals). The candidate then generally receives an e-mail or phone call detailing the outcome of the second-round interview. If selected, an offer is made and the candidate is given a list of starting dates to decide on whether to accept based on any other pending offers.
The questions asked during the Microsoft Interview are crafted to determine a candidate's problem solving, coding and design abilities. Eccentric questions (such as Which of the fifty states would you remove?) test a candidate's ability to come to a decision and articulate it.[8] Candidates answering questions should consider the use of technology in the present and future, and User scenarios. Some questions involve projects that the candidate has worked on in the past.
The Microsoft Interview is intended to seek out creative thinkers and those who can adapt their solutions to rapidly changing and dynamic scenarios.
Below is a small sample of questions that a candidate might be asked to answer during the second-round interview:
Microsoft provides a list of suggested reading to prepare for the interview. A sample is given below: