Background:

• College: Tier 3
• Years of Experience: 1.5
• Current Company: Startup

17th Dec 2024 - Reached out by Microsoft recruiter on LinkedIn. I shared my Resume, same day, she sent me a Codility test link.

Round 1 - Online Assessment (OA) - 110 min (17th Dec 2024)
Two DSA questions:

1. Similar to Longest Path With Different Adjacent Characters (Graph-based).
2. A tricky array-based problem requiring edge case handling (Medium).

⚠️ Note: Codility test had only 2-3 test cases, but everything was evaluated after submission, so you have to think of all possible cases where your code may fail.

An hour after submission, got a call from recruiter—I had qualified the OA and was being considered for an L60 role! She mentioned that the coordinator would reach out for interview scheduling.

Got a call from the coordinator on 19th Dec, and the first interview was scheduled for the next day.
I revised LLD, DSA (especially DP, Graphs, Sorting algorithms, etc.).

Round 2 - Technical Interview (DSA) - 60 min (20th Dec 2024)
The interviewer was very chill—introduced himself, asked for my introduction, and then gave me 50 min to solve a graph-based DSA question.

(I was also relaxed since the interview was scheduled by chance, and I didn’t have any expectations.)

• The question was a story-based problem, a modified version of Bipartite Graph.
• I started drawing the nodes on Codility (struggled a bit with my mouse pad), but the interviewer helped.
• Within 4-5 minutes, I had the approach.
• Explained it, drew the graph on the board, and ran through test cases.
• Quickly wrote the code, dry-ran it, and handled edge cases.
• Interviewer was really happy—I finished the code in 15 minutes, and we still had 30 min left.
• He complimented my code quality. Since we had time, I refactored the code further in the next 5 min.
• In the discussion, he asked a few questions about API optimization and its importance.
• At the end, he said: "I can’t share feedback due to policies, but you solved the question really fast, your code quality was really good, and I’ll also mention that you refactored it to make it even better."

Coordinator called on 22nd Dec and asked how the round went. Next round scheduled for 24th Dec.

Round 3 - Technical (LLD + DSA) - 60 min (24th Dec 2024)
The interviewer was soft-spoken and friendly.

I saw him in a T-shirt in December and said, "You must be in Bengaluru." Then I immediately thought I shouldn’t have said that, but he laughed and said, "Yes."

Again, I was relaxed with no expectations.

• He asked me a few questions from my resume—tech stack, past work.
• He said he would ask LLD + DSA question.
• LLD question: Started with requirement gathering, wrote down all the requirements, thought out loud, analyzed multiple approaches, and picked the best one.
• Used Strategy, Factory, Singleton, Flyweight patterns—interviewer was impressed here.
• Quickly wrote the code, but I was stressed about time since he mentioned a DSA question too.
• He asked for some modifications, which I did.
• I asked him if I was running out of time, as he had mentioned DSA.
• He said, "No, this was expected. I was going to ask an LLD + DSA combination."

At the end, I asked him about data security at Microsoft and how long it takes to roll out a feature compared to a startup. He shared some great insights.Before ending, I asked for feedback, and he said: "You did well, no feedback for improvement."

This round went really well, and my hope increased!

I started going through interview experiences on LeetCode and began reading HLD. But due to year-end holidays, I didn't get any call from HR. Checked the Action Center, and I noticed that the job ID I was considered for required 3+ years of experience, whereas I had less. Started panicking. After New Year, I called the coordinator. She mentioned she hadn’t received any update from the Hiring Manager yet.
A few days later, on 6th Jan, I got a call from the coordinator for the next round. In every round, she mentioned that I would be asked coding questions :)

Round 4 - Technical (LLD + HLD + DSA) - 70 min (8th Jan 2025)
This time, I was a little scared before the interview.

The interviewer had 10+ years of experience.

• She asked if I was comfortable with HLD (I had revised it twice while waiting).
• Asked some basic HLD questions like CAP theorem, which I answered.
• Then she said, "I was just checking if you’re comfortable in HLD."
• She let me choose between API or Database-related questions—I picked API, as I had worked on it more.
• Started with high-level discussion, requirement gathering, load estimation.
• Used reddis, DB and explained why.
• Discussed sharding, consistent hashing, ZooKeeper.
• I used almost everything I knew in HLD
• Came up with 4 different approaches, explained pros/cons.
• Wrote the LLD code, and logic for the best approach, optimized for milliseconds-level latency.
• She asked me to quickly add comments and test cases, which I did.

At the end, I asked how Microsoft differs from a startup, and she shared her experiences.
Before ending, I asked for feedback, and she said: "I can’t share feedback, but all the best for your next round."

Got a call from the coordinator that my final HM round was scheduled for 12th Jan.

Requested to reschedule earlier, but HM was not available. Coordinator reassured me, saying I was the only candidate who had reached the HM round for this team so far.

Started going through Leetcode experiences, revised CS fundamentals (Networks, OOPs, DBMS, OS, Java, and tech stacks in the JD). Also researched the team and product.

Round 5 - Hiring Manager (HM) Interview (Resume + Behavioral + LLD + DSA) - 110 min (12th Jan 2025)
This was my final round, and I was really scared—didn’t eat anything before the interview and could barely sleep the night before. So prayed to God, "I just want you to be with me during the process. Whatever the result may be, I'm okay with it"

The interviewer was a lead with 20+ years of experience at Microsoft.

• She gave a detailed introduction about herself and the team.
• Asked me to explain all my past projects.
• Asked to select one project for deep discussion—asked technical + behavioral questions, this was a long discussion with so many questions as I had worked a lot on this project.
• LLD question: Followed requirement gathering → structure → implementation.
• DSA question: A NP-hard graph problem—I struggled here, came up with the approach with little hint, and she didn’t give much time for it.
• Asked "Why Microsoft?"—I combined all the insights from previous interviewers and answered.
• Asked multiple behavioral questions.

At the end, I asked about the team, tech stack, and how they work.
Before ending, I asked for feedback, and she said:

• "You did well, adapted to changes in requirements quickly."
• "Work a bit more on problem-solving under pressure."
• "It’s tough to solve an NP-hard problem in a short time, especially in the final round."
• "You already know what areas you need to improve(I answered in a question asked before)."

I wasn’t completely happy because I couldn’t fully solve the graph question, maybe because I was scared.

After two weeks of panic and waiting, got a call from recruiter on 24th Jan—feedback from HM is positive, and you are selected!

Same day, got a mail from Senior HR asking for documents (pay slips, etc.).

It’s been 8 weeks now, and still waiting for the offer letter. The Senior HR mentioned that it's pending approval from the Leadership Team. Hoping for the best!

Edit: (13th June 2025)
After several follow-ups and consistently hearing from the recruiter that the team was very keen to onboard me but awaiting leadership approval, I finally received the Microsoft offer—four months after the interview. I accepted it, but the waiting period was incredibly tough. I kept wondering, "Why is this happening to me?"

Just a week before my joining date, I received a better offer from Google—for one of my dream teams. I ended up declining the Microsoft offer, and in that moment, everything made sense.

The delay had a purpose. Everything truly happens for a reason.
Wishing everyone the very best on their journey!

Will be adding Google interview experience soon.

Learned a lot from the community, so returning a bit back. :)

॥ ॐ श्री राम रामाय नम: ॥