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Interview w/ microsoft

RichieZ

Diamond Member
So I went to a job fair for my school and Microsoft called me back for an interview. I've set it up for next tues 3:30-4PM

Any tips from people who work there/have interviewed with them? I've heard they ask you some of those questions to try and see how you think. I've also heard they ask you to design a datastructure right there on the spot.

I've interned at IBM the last two summers but my interviews weren't as formal as I think this is going to be.

Attire? Do I need to wear a suit? This is an on campus interview and I think dress pants, dress shirt, and a tie should be ok?
 
MS specificly say not to wear suits for the interviews that I went to..

prepare for lots of brain teaser problems..
 
prepare to write code out... might not necessarily be data structures, just something to test your abilities and way of thinking. and wear something casual.
 
Expect them to whip out a Laptop and NDA, make you sign the NDA, and then patch some security hole in Windows on the spot, in the uncommented code.
 
Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Expect them to whip out a Laptop and NDA, make you sign the NDA, and then patch some security hole in Windows on the spot, in the uncommented code.

yea right.....
 
Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Expect them to whip out a Laptop and NDA, make you sign the NDA, and then patch some security hole in Windows on the spot, in the uncommented code.

haha
 
Originally posted by: z0mb13
Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Expect them to whip out a Laptop and NDA, make you sign the NDA, and then patch some security hole in Windows on the spot, in the uncommented code.

yea right.....


How else do you explain the patches needing to be repatched so frequently? Oh, and to make things worse, Windows is written in BrainF*ck

If you're not familiar with BF, the following is the Hello World program:
>+++++++++[<++++++++>-]<.>++++++[<+++++>-]<-.+++++++..++
+.
>>+++++++[<++++++>-]<++.------------.<++++++++.--------.
+++.------.--------.>+.>++++++++++.
 
Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Expect them to whip out a Laptop and NDA, make you sign the NDA, and then patch some security hole in Windows on the spot, in the uncommented code.


and then expect them to turn off the laptop, just prior to you compiling a working patch, while they scream obscenities about how you dont love Big Brother Bill enough to ensure his continuous profit reaping through required upgrades to other software...

eh

🙂
 
Originally posted by: RichieZ
So I went to a job fair for my school and Microsoft called me back for an interview. I've set it up for next tues 3:30-4PM

Any tips from people who work there/have interviewed with them? I've heard they ask you some of those questions to try and see how you think. I've also heard they ask you to design a datastructure right there on the spot.

I've interned at IBM the last two summers but my interviews weren't as formal as I think this is going to be.

Attire? Do I need to wear a suit? This is an on campus interview and I think dress pants, dress shirt, and a tie should be ok?

Thats too dressy, be confident, wear pants and polo or something like that if you feel underdressed, i went to mine in shorts a tshirt and flipflops. if you are going for a developer position they will not give a damn about how you are dressed, if your going for a program manager spot i would dress better. The oncampus interviews are really easy IMO. The ones in redmond are pretty tough. Make sure you ask a bunch of questions , dont assume anything, and make sure you dont fall for obvious tricks.

Good luck man, its a cool place to work.
 
Oh, and did I mention that this laptop has no AC adapter, an ABCD keyboard layout (Instead of QWERTY), and 10 minutes of battery left?
 
Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Oh, and did I mention that this laptop has no AC adapter, an ABCD keyboard layout (Instead of QWERTY), and 10 minutes of battery left?

I take it someone did poorly during a MS interview...
 
Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Oh, and did I mention that this laptop has no AC adapter, an ABCD keyboard layout (Instead of QWERTY), and 10 minutes of battery left?

you failed to mention a couple of hundred nukes heading straight at the US, the world will end in 11 minutes.

😀
 
Originally posted by: m2kewl
Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Oh, and did I mention that this laptop has no AC adapter, an ABCD keyboard layout (Instead of QWERTY), and 10 minutes of battery left?

you failed to mention a couple of hundred nukes heading straight at the US, the world will end in 11 minutes.

😀

and you're getting a blowjob
 
Originally posted by: gopunk
Originally posted by: m2kewl
Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Oh, and did I mention that this laptop has no AC adapter, an ABCD keyboard layout (Instead of QWERTY), and 10 minutes of battery left?

you failed to mention a couple of hundred nukes heading straight at the US, the world will end in 11 minutes.

😀

and you're getting a blowjob

And have a gun pointed at your head (Man, these Microsoft guys sure take hacker movies to the next level, eh?)
 
Originally posted by: Kermy
Wow a lot of bitter MS rejectees.

I wish Microsoft interviewed 16 year olds with no field experience other than running a small computer repair business. That would own, since I could rip some college boiz a new arse.
 
i read a good book on the brain teaser interviewing style that Microsoft made famous called "How Would You Move Mt. Fuji" by William Poundstone. It helps to be familiar with the kind of problem solving they're looking for, if not the actual answers.

but beware what you're getting into, everyone I've talked has given me horror stories of working at MS (from my perspective). They treat their employees wonderfully, but you sign over your life to them. My friend interned and talked about people sleeping at work, never leaving the office, etc. Good for the single male, if they want to stay single...
 
Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Originally posted by: Kermy
Wow a lot of bitter MS rejectees.

I wish Microsoft interviewed 16 year olds with no field experience other than running a small computer repair business. That would own, since I could rip some college boiz a new arse.

In terms of installing ram and a new fan or writing code for an OS? 😀
 
Well, my MS interview process was heavier on "exam" type questions then most other places I had applied (compared to, say, Raytheon). Be prepared to whip some code up on the spot, although they won't make it too difficult. I personally interned at IBM as well, on the websphere division, and if you can handle that, the interview with MS should be cake for you.

Good luck!
 
No worries if it doesn't work out. I'm sure Dell will find out that their interns probably smoke pot with their old buddy Steven (DUDE!) and can them by Christmas.
 
Unless told otherwise, dress in a suit.

Yes, every person on campus will be able to look at you and recognize you as an interviewee. But far better to be overdressed than underdressed.

In the interview, you want to showcase two things about yourself: ability to think critically, and passion for technology.

If you're asked a question to which you don't know the answer, explain the logic you'd use to get to the answer. Show that, while you don't know the answer, you know how you'd find the answer.

Know Microsoft's current product line and products in development. Know the codenames for these projects. If someone mentions "Longhorn," for instance, you want to know what that is. You don't need to know the details, you just need to know where it fits in the Grand Scheme of Things.

Make sure they know that computers excite you. If you're interviewing for a programming position, let them know that the challenge of solving problems drives you.

If you're interviewing for a programming position, I'd know what a buffer overflow exploit is and how it works.
 
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