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I recently completed an onsite interview for a Software Engineer position at Microsoft. I'd like to share my experience, focusing on the patterns and challenges encountered, while respecting the confidentiality agreements.
Round 1: The first round consisted of two behavioral questions. The interviewer was pleasant and patient.
Round 2: This round was unexpectedly challenging. The interviewer, a senior engineer at Microsoft, presented a problem related to IP address assignment in datacenters. The problem involved designing a function, but the interviewer omitted the return type and parameter types, requiring me to define them. I attempted to clarify the context (API vs. library level) and proposed a solution using interfaces for flexibility. However, the interviewer seemed dissatisfied with my approach, focusing on the specifics of IP address representation and arithmetic operations. The discussion became unproductive, with the interviewer repeatedly rejecting my attempts to explain my thought process. The interviewer also mentioned being involved in other meetings.
Round 3: This round involved two behavioral questions followed by a coding problem related to a stack-based data structure. I successfully implemented a bug-free solution, handling edge cases and demonstrating my approach to the interviewer.
Round 4: This round included two more behavioral questions and a coding challenge involving a modified version of the merge intervals problem. Under pressure from previous rounds, I made a mistake by suggesting a priority queue when it wasn't necessary. I was able to recover, but time ran out before I could fully resolve the problem.
Verdict: I received a rejection. I believe the second round significantly impacted my overall performance. I plan to improve in the following areas: