I applied through college or university. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Microsoft (Redmond, WA) in Jul 2015
Interview
I had a great experience interviewing with Microsoft. The questions were both technical and analytical in nature. A lot of focus on algorithms and design, as expected. I had a presentation and 6 interviews in one day. First few interviews focused on technical details, while the later ones where more about scenarios and discussing my approach in given scenario.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Few questions:
* Given huge array, find nth smallest number. Variations: (1) given unbounded stream of numbers. (2) given terabytes of data such that it does not fit on single machine.
* How would you design a Solitaire game.
* Random permutation generator, weighted random number generator (based on a CDF).
The first was a talk with the recruiter, then an online assignment with Leetcode Medium type of question. Finally, the 3 round interview with system design, coding and low level design
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
Tell me about a time you had a conflict with a colleague.
I applied online. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Microsoft (Seattle, WA)
Interview
The Onsite consisted of 2 system design questions and 2 technical questions. This rounds were back to back and they weren't actually ordered, I thought I was doing to be doing technical first but was hit with design at the start.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The design questions made sense for the role (unfortunately I was not aware of the role since I was a general applicant). The two technical questions were not on leetcode but custom questions the interviewers had which were actually not bad.
Five rounds of interview with mostly leetcode medium or hard level problems. It included one design round typical to game design rather than system design. The interview I participa\ted was part of hiring event.