I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Microsoft (Seattle, WA) in Dec 2010
Interview
A former MS intern refered me to the college recruiter, she was so nice and we had a phone interview which took about 30 mins. She asked about my background and future plan, we had a great talk, although I was pretty nervous.
The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Microsoft (Redmond, WA) in Mar 2009
Interview
Got in touch with company recruiter through Microsoft website--very helpful, got the feeling that he wanted to see me succeed. Submitted resume and short essay, after which I was offered an interview on campus. Two, 30-minute interviews--one with a current employee (a program manager) and one with the recruiter. Very easy to talk to. Interview with current employee was pretty rough--wanted to see how you think and your decision making process. Interview with recruiter was more laid back--focused on soft skills, interests, etc. While i didn't get an offer, it was a very enjoyable experience which will benefit me in future interviews.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Devise a way to make sure there is always mlik in my fridge.