Software Engineer applicants have rated the interview process at Microsoft with 3.1 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 66% positive. To compare, the company-average is 59.7% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Software Engineer roles take an average of 18 days to get hired, when considering 38 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Microsoft overall takes an average of 32 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Microsoft as a Software Engineer according to 38 Glassdoor interviews include:
One on one interview: 26%
Phone interview: 18%
Presentation: 14%
Skills test: 12%
Drug test: 7%
Personality test: 7%
IQ intelligence test: 5%
Background check: 5%
Group panel interview: 4%
Other: 2%
Here are the most commonly searched roles for interview reports -
I applied through university. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Microsoft (Hyderābād) in Aug 2021
Interview
I only had 1 round which was conducted virtually on MS Teams.
So, the interviewer started off by asking me to give a brief introduction, the projects that I have done, and how I spent my college days.
I was asked what language I was comfortable in (C++).
He gave me a coding question based on anagrams of strings. And asked me for 2 optimizations for the solution that I provided.
Rest of the interview was full of theory questions based on CS fundamentals.
Although I had prepared for subjects such as OS, DBMS, I was surprised as the interviewer was focused more on theory unlike a complete coding interview (giving a lengthy question and asking for optimizations).
So be prepared for some uncommon questions and make sure you know the basics of your favorite language well !!
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
I was asked a lot of theory questions on fundamentals of C++ such as storage classes, usage of volatile keyword, and DBMS such as triggers, procedures, and a few SQL queries
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.