MICROSOFT INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE | L60 | SELECTED| OFF - CAMPUS | MARCH 2022
**March 2022: I got a call from a recruiter through Linkedin. Interview was scheduled in 10 days.
Round 1:
It was an online test with 2 medium level questions.
Virtual Onsite rounds:
3 rounds were scheduled on the same day. Every round was an elimination round.
Round 2: 2 medium level leetcode questions
https://leetcode.com/problems/longest-palindromic-substring/solution/
Explained the different approaches and their tradeoffs and then wrote production ready code for the most optimal approach.
Another question was similar to how to merge different size files into 1 file with minimum cost, I solved it using the Priority queue after discussing different approaches.
Got a call from the recruiter after 10 mins, the feedback was positive.
Round 3:
It was mostly a Problem solving/ Low Level design round. I was asked to design an In-Memory file system. Here I was expected to define proper classes using SOLID and OOPS concepts, then asked to write some functions to retrieve files with different filters.
I was able to perform well in this round. I cleared this round as well.
Round 4:
This was a High Level Design Round. I was given a choice to design any system, I chose Instagram then we discussed Instagram Live feature. Had a good discussion about scalability, how to handle load, how to retrieve followers etc, discussed trade offs of different approaches. I was expected to design different components present in the system. It felt like a discussion round, I enjoyed it.
I got a call from a recruiter that I cleared the round but the Hiring Manager round will happen the next day.
Round 5 :
Hiring Manager Round: It started with a discussion on my resume and various projects I have done. Some behavioral questions. I was performing well so far, then a coding question was given to me.
https://leetcode.com/problems/basic-calculator-ii/
I was able to explain the right approach but it took some time and I got nervous and wasn't able to code properly. I felt blank and thought I blew up my chance. The interviewer asked why I am not able to code even after telling the right approach. I was disappointed with myself. I tried to act normal but I wasn't.
Feedback:
I didn't receive any feedback from my recruiter even after 2 weeks. I lost all hopes, sent them multiple mails but no answer. Then one day, I received mail from the HR that they have received positive feedback and they would like to go ahead.
Though I didn't like the way they Ghosted out and ignored my mails for 2 weeks. I decided to move ahead.
I finally received an offer after 1 month of completion of all rounds. The process has been really slow. I know these are hard time for us in India, it might have impacted the whole process.
I am happy that hard work finally paid off and I am going to accept the offer.