Last Updated on July 19, 2022 by Ria Pathak
Microsoft Firm, headquartered in Redmond, Washington, is an American multinational computer technology corporation. Bill Gates and Paul Allen launched Microsoft on April 4, 1975. The company’s principal job is to develop, support, and market a wide range of computer software and personal computer-related products and services. Microsoft is a well-known software firm that is well recognized for its Windows operating system and Office suite.
Microsoft is a name that is synonymous with the world of computing, and many people aspire to work for the corporation. Albeit a bit difficult procedure to crack an interview in Microsoft, it is not impossible at all. With enough practice and appropriate resources, you will be able to ace the interview. We have compiled the basic information that will accelerate your preparation.
Ways To Get Into Microsoft
Microsoft Website:
You can visit Microsoft’s official website and look for the current openings they have. Once you submit your application, it will be reviewed by a Microsoft recruiter and they will get in touch with you if they feel your profile is a fit for what they are looking for.
On-campus:
Microsoft typically hires recent graduates. Microsoft has been a consistent recruiter of Computer Science Engineering students from 6-7 IITs such as IIT Roorkee, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, and Chandigarh University.
Employee Referral:
This option entails having a Microsoft India employee refer you, making it stand out among the thousands of others that Microsoft India receives every day. The best-case scenario would be to have a friend who works as a software engineer at Microsoft India do this for you, but you don’t have to know the person beforehand, and Microsoft India employees willing to refer you can be found on Facebook and LinkedIn.
Mailing Microsoft’s HR:
This strategy is locating Microsoft India’s HR email address and approaching them directly (typically through an ex-Microsoft India employee). This strategy is the least likely to pan out, but if used correctly, it has the potential to get you into the interviewing process with a significant edge.
Eligibility Criteria For Microsoft
A minimum of 70% is required in Class X, XII.
Minimum CGPA of 6 in the degree being pursued
For postgraduates, a minimum of 70% in undergraduate degree is required.
There should be no more than a two-year academic gap.
There should be no backlogs when applied for the Microsoft hiring procedure.
Microsoft Interview Process
You will have to go through approximately 4-5 rounds before finally landing the job. Let’s have a look at these to give you a better idea of what it will be like:
Online Round
You will be given 4-5 competitive coding questions to solve that you will be expected to solve within 1.5 hours. The topics that the questions will revolve around will be mostly Arrays, Linked List, Strings, etc.
Practice Interview Coding Questions here.
Coding Round
This will be an onsite interview where you will have to appear for a written coding test. Once you solve the question, you will be asked about your approach and your thought process behind it. To ace this round, you must be well aware of competitive coding, data structures, and algorithms.
Practice Competitive Coding Questions here.
Technical Round 1
This will be a face-to-face interview that will go for about 90 minutes. You may be asked to explain everything mentioned on your resume followed by questions from DBMS & Data Structures. You will also be faced with puzzles and test scenarios that you will be required to solve right there and then.
Technical Round 2
This interview will be focused more on OOPs and will be of approximately 80 minutes. You may get asked about various software engineering techniques as well as why each stage in SDLC is important. You will be expected to write codes, discuss your CV in detail in this round of interviews.
Technical Round 3
This final technical round will be mostly about system designing where questions from numerous fields may be asked like Cloud Computing, Microsoft Azure, Dropbox, and all the Microsoft technology-driven engines.
HR Round
This will be the final round which will go on for about 30 minutes. You will be asked questions like your strengths & weaknesses, family background, where do you see yourself in the next 10 years or so, if you would like to get into managerial positions later, and other standard HR questions.
In A Nutshell…
Microsoft has 6 core competencies that they will assess you on: Adaptability, Collaboration, Customer Focus, Drive for Results, Influencing for Impact, and Judgement. Apart from these, you will obviously be tested for your technical knowledge, thought process, coding skills, and more. It is recommended that you practice questions asked in product-based companies like Microsoft.