Microsoft Interview (part 3)

(Continued from part 2 and part 1) Initially, it was difficult for me to figure out how to go about preparing for the interview. My school semester was extremely hectic and left me with little or no time to do anything but study. There was no way I’d have sufficient time to get ready for the interview if I left my schedule the way it was, so I ended up dropping my computer systems engineering major (which also allowed me to graduate one semester earlier). Even so, I was still pretty busy with school and had to force myself to spend any free time I had studying for the interview. As for the preparation itself, I decided the best course of action would be to focus on my resume, common data structures and algorithms, and coding questions. I created a document that listed all of my resume projects in full technical detail. For each project, I wrote down questions that I anticipated being asked and wrote responses to them. I also made a document that listed definitions, advantages and disadvantages, and run times for common data structures and algorithms. Probably the area that I spent the most time on was coding questions. For these I bought Programming Interviews Exposed and went through as much of it as I could (this is by far the best book on programming interviews and it’s a must have for anyone who is studying for technical questions).

By the time three weeks were up, I was so exhausted from trying to juggle both school work and studying for Microsoft that I couldn’t wait to get the interview over with. With only a couple of days left before my flight, I decided I'd done enough and started to focus on getting ready for the trip. I went out and bought a nice pair of khakis and a polo shirt for my interview outfit (at most big commercial software companies, the dress attire is usually business casual). I also checked in with the recruiting coordinator to see if she could tell me which groups that I’d be interviewing with. She told me that I’d be interviewing with Real-Time Collaboration (LiveMeeting, Office Communicator) and Exchange. I didn’t worry too much about researching the groups because the recruiting coordinator told me that I wouldn’t be expected to have any prior knowledge about them.

Finally, the day of my flight arrived. I was scheduled to depart at 10:30 am and arrive in Washington at 1:30 pm. I had planned to study on the plane ride but was too tired and ended up falling asleep. As we made our approach into Seattle, I was able to witness the gorgeous northwest scenery from a birds eye view. After we landed, I picked up my luggage and made my way over to the rental car counter. There was no charge for the rental car because Microsoft had already covered it (most companies have you pay and will reimburse you). I packed all of my stuff into the car and embarked on the twenty minute trip from the airport to the hotel.

The hotel was located in Bellevue and was only five minutes away from the Microsoft campus. During check in, the front desk lady informed me that Microsoft granted a $75 daily allowance for food and a $30 daily allowance for long distance calls and internet. She told me that I didn’t have to worry about the bill since both of these charges would be paid for up front by Microsoft (again, most companies have you pay and will reimburse you). After I finished checking in, I went up to my room to relax. For dinner, I ordered some Japanese food from the hotel delivery service. I washed my interview clothes, browsed the internet for a little, and then passed out at about 8:00 pm.

I woke up at 6:00 am and went downstairs to have breakfast. Afterwards, I hung out in the room and watched some TV. My interview was scheduled at 11:30 am so I still had plenty of time to relax. At around 10:30 am I left the hotel to drive to Microsoft. I arrived at the campus and was pretty amazed at the size of it. There was building after building spread out amongst a maze of hilly fields and small winding roads. Embarrassingly enough, I had a hard time finding the recruiting headquarters. After about 20 minutes of driving around aimlessly, I finally located it.

I entered the building and signed in at the front desk. The receptionist handed me a survey and asked me to fill it out while I was waiting. She also let me know that there was a refrigerator right around the corner which contained free water and soft drinks. The survey consisted of a series of questions which asked me about my hobbies and what I liked to do during my spare time. After I finished filling it out, a human resources employee approached me to discuss the responses I had written. She explained to me that she was trying to put together an informational packet on places that I could go see during my trip (Microsoft had scheduled me to fly back home the day after my interview so that I could have some time to go sight seeing.). After we finished speaking, I sat and waited patiently. Eventually, the recruiter came out and called my name. I shook his hand and we went back to his office.

Click here for Microsoft Interview (part 4)

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