Software Engineer · Virtual Onsite · Multiple Types

Microsoft — Software Engineer ❌ Failed

Level: Mid-Level

Round: Virtual Onsite · Type: Multiple Types · Difficulty: 6/10 · Duration: 240 min · Interviewer: Neutral

Topics: Object-Oriented Design, Graphs, Shortest Path Algorithms, Behavioral Questions, System Design, Palindrome

Location: Seattle, WA, US

Interview date: 2026-01-10

Got offer: False

Summary

Interview Rounds Overview

• Round 1: Object
• Round 2: Behavioral + Coding
• Round 3: Behavioral + Coding
• Round 4: System Design

Details

I had four rounds of interviews, each lasting 60 minutes.

• Round 1: A standard object-oriented design question. I don't remember the specifics.
• Round 2: Behavioral questions combined with an algorithm question on finding the shortest path in a cyclic graph. I was asked LeetCode 2204
• Round 3: Behavioral questions and a two-part algorithm question. First, I had to determine if a string is a palindrome. Second, I had to find the next largest palindrome number.
• Round 4: I was asked to design a ticket booking system.

Each round consisted of 20 minutes of behavioral questions, 30 minutes of coding, and 10 minutes of Q&A.

I was rejected. The algorithms were more difficult than I expected. I interviewed two years ago, and the difficulty was medium then. Now it feels like the bar has been raised.

LeetCode similar: LeetCode 2204