My Microsoft SDE Intern Interview Experience

Hi all! I recently went through the Microsoft SDE intern recruitment process and got selected, and I want to share my experience and timeline. Hopefully, this helps someone preparing!

📌 Stage 1: Internal Shortlisting

I first got shortlisted internally through resume + CGPA basis as on campus selection.

📌 Stage 2: Online Assessment (2 DSA Qs)

There were two coding questions:

1. Easy: A basic implementation around vectors and iteration
2. Medium: A sliding-window–based question (classic pattern)

Both were pretty standard LeetCode-style problems. No tricky edge cases, but time complexity matters.

📌 Technical Round 1

Format:

• Short introduction and resume discussion
• Few core CS fundamentals like OS ,OOPS, DBMS, TOC and data structures, can check gfg interview question for that..
• 1 coding problem (matrix based, medium level)
• Follow-up on dry run , edge cases and complexity

Topics they touched:

• Time/space complexity
• How I think about dry run
• General problem-solving approach

📌 Technical Round 2 + HR Style

This was slightly different:

• Started with intro, basic personal questions, and discussion

• DSA question involving string transformation and ASCII logic, medium level direct question.

• They also checked:

  • Reasoning steps
  • Test case generation
  • Boundary value handling

Some OS Questions were also discussed here.

🌱 My Notes & Key Takeaways

• Be good with sliding window, matrix problems, and mainly strings.

• Companies really focus on:

  • Your approach
  • Handling edge cases
  • Test case thinking

• Communication (Specially in English) and clarity in logic matter a lot..

💡 Recommended Prep

If you're preparing, I suggest focusing on:

• Medium-Hard level LeetCode problems
• OS + basic core concepts
• Ability to explain code cleanly

This was a great experience overall and a good combination of coding + fundamentals + reasoning.

🎯 Final Thoughts

The interview was not just about solving everything perfectly, but more about:

• Thinking clearly
• Explaining professionally
• Building the solution step-by-step

Happy to answer questions if anyone is preparing for Microsoft or similar roles. Good luck and keep grinding.