Software Engineer applicants have rated the interview process at Microsoft with 3.2 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 64% positive. To compare, the company-average is 66.3% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Software Engineer roles take an average of 29 days to get hired, when considering 1,705 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Microsoft overall takes an average of 30 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Microsoft as a Software Engineer according to 1,705 Glassdoor interviews include:
One on one interview: 27%
Phone interview: 23%
Skills test: 15%
Presentation: 11%
Background check: 6%
Personality test: 5%
Group panel interview: 5%
IQ intelligence test: 4%
Drug test: 3%
Other: 2%
Here are the most commonly searched roles for interview reports -
I applied online. The process took 6 months. I interviewed at Microsoft (Lagos) in Feb 2022
Interview
- The first stage of the interview is the Codility interview. You need to score high maybe around 65% depending on the team and candidates in the job application pool. - If you pass, you move to a for-loop (3 stages) algorithm coding or system design interview, which will take 45 minutes each with 15 minutes of rest. About 3 hours of the interview in a day. If you get yes in 2 out of the 3 stages then you move to the final interview called AA (As Approved) where you meet the manager. The AA interview was more of a conversation on programming, OOP, Solid principles, and best practices. You can also be asked about Microsoft products. *My interview process took about 6 months.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
1. Design a Twitter news feed. 2. Function to print frequency of characters.
I applied online. I interviewed at Microsoft (Melbourne)
Interview
After submitting an online application, I received a HackerRank assessment after passing the resume screening stage, then I was rejected after completing the assessment and did not proceed to further interview rounds.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The assessment consisted of two LeetCode-medium-level coding questions to be completed within 75 minutes.
45 mins technical interview with a member of their San fran team. Very relaxed and informal but questions were focused and lots of follow ups. Easy to schedule as was over video conferencing platform
Straightforward technical loop overall, with strong interviewers at every stage. I genuinely enjoyed the in-depth conversations around technical challenges and algorithmic problem-solving — the entire process felt well-structured and genuinely engaging.