I applied through college or university. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Microsoft in Dec 2011
Interview
There are totally five interviewers. Most of them are really nice people. They asked me a lot of testing questions. They would make an Example for you, and wish you can find the problem for them. The whole interview costed the whole morning from 8:00 am. They directly talked to me I am refused.
Not too technical, only a few simple oral questions about coding skills. Other questions are behavioral, such as asking what's your biggest challenge so far or what is your strength/weakness.
I was directly invited to the final round. Three sessions followed, each lasting 45 minutes, with a 15-minute break between them. It was a rigorous process but an exciting experience overall.
Took about month to hear from them. Email described that your papers have been read and your interview is being scheduled. Next week the recruiter invites to a meeting the next day. 1st meeting with the recruiting manager. Sadly not invited to proceed. I was asked during the interviewing about skills that I did not have.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Have you been been in charge of installation/investment processes when getting new equipment?