I applied through an employee referral. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Microsoft (Redmond, WA) in Sept 2011
Interview
When leaving the building while visiting a former supervisor, a colleague was coming into the building and asked me how I was doing. I told her I was looking for a job and she said "come to see me"; she knew me from working in the same building with several other groups. We emailed to coordinate date and time and I went. She was very nice and positive but very busy; even though I had a hard copy of my resume, she asked to email it to her so she could forward it to the hiring manager. I have not heard from her again.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Would you be willing to accept a much lesser pay rate than your last contract?
I applied online. The process took 6 weeks. I interviewed at Microsoft (Dublin, Dublin)
Interview
Its a process, recruiter meeting, interview with hiring manager and previous EA and then background check by a UK company who checks your work history, educational certs must be uploaded and if you have ever been self employed registration and dereg documents are required.
Competency based questions and general role specific questions after that 20 minutes.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about the most challenging situation that you have experienced.
I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Microsoft in Jun 2024
Interview
1. Pre-Interview
Application Review: Resume and portfolio screening (2–3 days)
Initial Phone Screen: 15–20 min call with HR to confirm basic qualifications, availability, and salary expectations
2. Technical Assessment
Online Coding Test: 60 min platform-based test (JavaScript, React, CSS, problem-solving)
Take-Home Project (optional): Small real-world task (e.g., build a responsive component with API integration) – submitted within 3 days
3. Technical Interview
Duration: 90 minutes
Panel: Senior Developer + Tech Lead
Part 1 – Code Review (30 min)
Walk through the take-home project; explain decisions, edge cases, and potential improvements
Part 2 – Live Coding (40 min)
Solve a frontend-focused problem (pair programming style) – focus on logic, clean code, and communication
Part 3 – System Design & Architecture (20 min)
High-level discussion on structuring a frontend app (state management, performance, scalability)
I felt like they were not interested from the first second and trying to find some questions to ask ad hoc. It was not bad, but nothing exciting during the interview.