Job interview with Microsoft
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Actual interview questions when I was there... - How much does Mt. Rainier weigh? (Here's a marker, figure it out on the whiteboard.) -- (I was asked this one) - How does a bubble sort work? In what situations is it not ideal? In those situations what sort would you use? Okay, take this marker and psuedo-code that algorithm on the whiteboard. -- (I was asked this one) - If you could build a house out of one material, and one material *only*, what would it be? (Then explain and then get questioned about your choice)... -- (I asked someone this one) - Psuedo-code a function to do a linked list insertion (here's the marker, there's the whiteboard). -- (I was asked this one) Etc... I don't remember the rest at the moment. There were a lot of questions that were supposed to make you freak out, and the answers were not known... the idea was to see how you handle a stressful situation and how you try to work through it. [edit]To clarify -- I don't mean there were a lot of those questions in a single interview, but that all the engineers I worked with loved asking them... so you would see at least one if not 2 or 3 during the day. Something like the weight of Mt. Rainier or how many gallons of water are in Lake Washington or whatever.[/edit]
So how much dos Mt. Rainier weigh? lol Actually, interesting questions. So I should more prepare for how to handle different situation questions, since my technical knowledge is ok! Thanks
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So how much dos Mt. Rainier weigh? lol Actually, interesting questions. So I should more prepare for how to handle different situation questions, since my technical knowledge is ok! Thanks
I have no idea, and the guy that asked me didn't either (I asked him later after I was hired). I worked like crazy with my marker on the whiteboard, and came up with some answer that seemed plausible... but the point was to see how I responded and how I worked through the stress of trying to figure out something unknown while being scrutinized... at the time, I thought the interviewer knew the correct answer... but he didn't. It was about the process. Some people won't even try.
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I have no idea, and the guy that asked me didn't either (I asked him later after I was hired). I worked like crazy with my marker on the whiteboard, and came up with some answer that seemed plausible... but the point was to see how I responded and how I worked through the stress of trying to figure out something unknown while being scrutinized... at the time, I thought the interviewer knew the correct answer... but he didn't. It was about the process. Some people won't even try.
I would take the second approach also. I wouldn't do any calculation, I just speculate on how it could be calculated to show my thought process. Can I ask one more question? how does the 5 hours interview work? It won't be all gruelling questions?
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Ok, so I have been accepted for the final round of interviews which is in 2 weeks. From what I heard, it is going to be a long 4-5 hours interview(most porbably technical) with the Office team. I am starting to get nervous about it...specially, that it is also my first real job interview! I hope you can give me some pointers to get the job! Or just wish me luck! I really want it! :-D
Robert Buldoc wrote:
I hope you can give me some pointers
Stick with managed C++ and you won't need any pointers.:cool:
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Ok, so I have been accepted for the final round of interviews which is in 2 weeks. From what I heard, it is going to be a long 4-5 hours interview(most porbably technical) with the Office team. I am starting to get nervous about it...specially, that it is also my first real job interview! I hope you can give me some pointers to get the job! Or just wish me luck! I really want it! :-D
Good luck! I went through the process not too long ago and it was definately brutal. I was there about 4 hours and only ended up going through half of the process before they decided I wasn't the right fit for the position they had in mind. Be prepared for lots of whiteboard questions, and if they find an area you seem weak in be prepared for lots of additional questions on that topic. The biggest things I learned in the process were: 1. While you might not be the right fit for that particular position, if you made it that far they identified something that they liked so the chances for additional interviews with other departments are just a bit better than someone "fresh off the street". 2. Each department interviews differently. For example, I wasn't asked any of the "typical" Microsoft interview questions (Why are manhole covers round? How much does Mt. Rainer weight?, etc.). I can also tell you that not all job interviews will be this brutal. The best thing about the interview is that by the end of it you should know as much about the position and the team as they do about you. It isn't just about the paycheck...it's also about having the right fit with the company culture and team.
----------------------------- In just two days, tomorrow will be yesterday.
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I would take the second approach also. I wouldn't do any calculation, I just speculate on how it could be calculated to show my thought process. Can I ask one more question? how does the 5 hours interview work? It won't be all gruelling questions?
Robert Buldoc wrote:
Can I ask one more question? how does the 5 hours interview work? It won't be all gruelling questions?
A different person does each 1 hour. Typically 2 hours before lunch, 1 hour during lunch (at a restaurant or something), 2 hours after. If you make it beyond that -- then you know you're doing really good. It can last 1 or 2 hours longer. You get a mix of people. Some are managers. Some are engineers. Etc. Some like to ask hard questions. Some do more chatting. That’s the way it worked when I was there anyway… things may have changed, but I expect not too much.
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Ok, so I have been accepted for the final round of interviews which is in 2 weeks. From what I heard, it is going to be a long 4-5 hours interview(most porbably technical) with the Office team. I am starting to get nervous about it...specially, that it is also my first real job interview! I hope you can give me some pointers to get the job! Or just wish me luck! I really want it! :-D
You may also get someone that "appears" to be very stupid and does not beleive that your point of view is the correct (especially when it is). This is to test if you get upset with someone who can't grasp a complex issue or won't even try to see your point of view, they may even be a little aggressive. The trick is to never give up and keep exaplain in a slighly firm way until they get it or they chose to give in. You you know you are right stick to your point of view and don't give up. They don't like the weak in MS. It will start with "Explain this is me......." the the interviewer will say "I don't get that.." or "Thats not how I understand it...." Good luck
Grady Booch: I told Google to their face...what you need is some serious adult supervision. (2007 Turing lecture) http:\\www.frankkerrigan.com
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Ok, so I have been accepted for the final round of interviews which is in 2 weeks. From what I heard, it is going to be a long 4-5 hours interview(most porbably technical) with the Office team. I am starting to get nervous about it...specially, that it is also my first real job interview! I hope you can give me some pointers to get the job! Or just wish me luck! I really want it! :-D
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I have no idea, and the guy that asked me didn't either (I asked him later after I was hired). I worked like crazy with my marker on the whiteboard, and came up with some answer that seemed plausible... but the point was to see how I responded and how I worked through the stress of trying to figure out something unknown while being scrutinized... at the time, I thought the interviewer knew the correct answer... but he didn't. It was about the process. Some people won't even try.
Just imagine if you went up to the white board, and completely fabricated the answer as if you really knew what you were talking about. That would place the stress on the interviewer. Something like: I recently watched something like this on the discovery channel. They estimated that Mt Rainier was 402 million square feet. 97% of it is rock; 88% solid rock, 9 percent granite. The other 3 percent is soil. If I remember my geology class correctly, granite has a density of approximately 8.74 lbs/sq foot. Solid rock, approximately 6.39 lbs/sq foot. Soil has less density, approx 4.9 lbs.sq foot. Therefore the equation would be: ((402,000,000 * .88) * 6.39 ) + ((402,000,000 * .09) * 8.74 ) + ((402,000,000 * .03) * 4.9 ) 2260526400 + 316213200 + 59094000 = 2,635,833,600 lbs. But that's not correct, because I forgot to compensate for the distance from the equator. I believe it's about 42 radians from the equator. Once we compensate for that, we'll have a roundabout answer. At that point, the interviewer will either be amazed, or realized you are a master in the fine art of BS.
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Ok, so I have been accepted for the final round of interviews which is in 2 weeks. From what I heard, it is going to be a long 4-5 hours interview(most porbably technical) with the Office team. I am starting to get nervous about it...specially, that it is also my first real job interview! I hope you can give me some pointers to get the job! Or just wish me luck! I really want it! :-D
Also remember that they want you to be verbose. When I had the technical parts of the interview, I answered all questions correctly, but was asked to be more verbose. Since the answers were straightforward, it was difficult to be speak longly about definitive answers.
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Robert Buldoc wrote:
Can I ask one more question? how does the 5 hours interview work? It won't be all gruelling questions?
A different person does each 1 hour. Typically 2 hours before lunch, 1 hour during lunch (at a restaurant or something), 2 hours after. If you make it beyond that -- then you know you're doing really good. It can last 1 or 2 hours longer. You get a mix of people. Some are managers. Some are engineers. Etc. Some like to ask hard questions. Some do more chatting. That’s the way it worked when I was there anyway… things may have changed, but I expect not too much.
That clarifies it! Thanks for the information :-D
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You may also get someone that "appears" to be very stupid and does not beleive that your point of view is the correct (especially when it is). This is to test if you get upset with someone who can't grasp a complex issue or won't even try to see your point of view, they may even be a little aggressive. The trick is to never give up and keep exaplain in a slighly firm way until they get it or they chose to give in. You you know you are right stick to your point of view and don't give up. They don't like the weak in MS. It will start with "Explain this is me......." the the interviewer will say "I don't get that.." or "Thats not how I understand it...." Good luck
Grady Booch: I told Google to their face...what you need is some serious adult supervision. (2007 Turing lecture) http:\\www.frankkerrigan.com
That is something I hadn't thought of before, but I am prepared for it now. Thanks for the pointer! :-D
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Go elsewhere, you'll probably get paid a whole lot more.
We made the buttons on the screen look so good you'll want to lick them. Steve Jobs
norm .net wrote:
Go elsewhere, you'll probably get paid a whole lot more.
I might get paid more elsewhere, but I would like to have some experience at Microsoft and to satisfy my curiousity!
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norm .net wrote:
Go elsewhere, you'll probably get paid a whole lot more.
I might get paid more elsewhere, but I would like to have some experience at Microsoft and to satisfy my curiousity!