Microsoft Interview Preparation Tips

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Microsoft wants smart people. Geeks. People who are passionate about technology. You probably won’t be tested on the ins and outs of C++ APIs, but you will be expected to write code on the board. In a typical interview, you’ll show up at Microsoft at some time in the morning and fill out initial paper work. You’ll have a short interview with a recruiter where he or she will give you a sample question. Be nice to your recruiters; while they may not evaluate your technical skills in depth, they can fight for you to be hired - or not. Throughout the day, you’ll move around from interviewer to interviewer, visiting each one in their office. Use this time to look around and get a feel for what the team culture. Interviewers are not allowed to share their feedback on you with other interviewers, due to concerns of bias. Nonetheless, many sources indicate that some feedback is shared. When you complete your interviews with a team, you might speak with a hiring manager. If so, that’s a great sign! It likely means that you passed the interviews with a particular team. It’s now down to the hiring manager’s decision. You might get a decision that day, or it might be a week. After one week of no word from HR, send them a friendly email asking for a status update. Definitely Prepare: “Why do you want to work for Microsoft?” In this question, Microsoft wants to see that you’re passionate about technology. A great answer might be, “I’ve been using Microsoft software as long as I can remember, and I’m really impressed at how Microsoft creates manages to create a product that is universally excellent. For example, I’ve been using Visual Studio recently to learn game programming, and it’s APIs are excellent.” Note how this shows a passion for technology! What’s Unique: You’ll only reach the hiring manager if you’ve done well, but if you do, that’s a great sign!

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Microsoft wants smart people. Geeks. People who are passionate about technology. You probably won’t be tested on the ins and outs of C++ APIs, but you will be expected to write code on the board.

In a typical interview, you’ll show up at Microsoft at some time in the morning and fill out initial paper work. You’ll have a short interview with a recruiter where he or she will give you a sample question. Be nice to your recruiters; while they may not evaluate your technical skills in depth, they can fight for you to be hired - or not.


Throughout the day, you’ll move around from interviewer to interviewer, visiting each one in their office. Use this time to look around and get a feel for what the team culture.
Interviewers are not allowed to share their feedback on you with other interviewers, due to concerns of bias. Nonetheless, many sources indicate that some feedback is shared.
When you complete your interviews with a team, you might speak with a hiring manager. If so, that’s a great sign! It likely means that
you passed the interviews with a particular team. It’s now down to the hiring manager’s decision.
You might get a decision that day, or it might be a week. After one week of no word from HR, send them a friendly email asking for a status update.

Definitely Prepare:
“Why do you want to work for Microsoft?”
In this question, Microsoft wants to see
that you’re passionate about technology.
A great answer might be, “I’ve been
using Microsoft software as long as I can
remember, and I’m really impressed at
how Microsoft creates manages to create
a product that is universally excellent. For
example, I’ve been using Visual Studio
recently to learn game programming,
and it’s APIs are excellent.” Note how this
shows a passion for technology!

What’s Unique:
You’ll only reach the hiring manager if
you’ve done well, but if you do, that’s a
great sign!