Zoe Goldring and Gretchen Ledgard - What is it like to interview at Microsoft? | WM_IN

Jeremy W
that blogging guy

Chris,

If you ask just about any recruiter (and this interview with Zoe / Gretchen higlights this as well), you don't "need" a degree. I know many MS'ers who don't have degrees (including, ahem, Lenn here).

But, it definitely helps because ultimately you need to get noticed to get hired by Microsoft. No degree==less chance of being noticed.

Also, most MS job postings don't actually say "require". They say "preferred", which is a pretty accurate statement.

Jeremy W
that blogging guy

variable wrote:
Bitter? Me? Yes! I worked my ass off for Microsoft and got rewarded in the end with a boot up my ass.

Can you say Open Source? How about Linux? Believe me. DO NOT come to Microsoft to interview unless you are a masochist.

MS Interviewing==bad
Conclusion==use open source...........

mAbuSharikh

I was interviewed by Microsoft (Redmond) to work on Avalon (typography) last year. We couldn't do a personal interview because I live in the UK, so we opted for the phone option. I had three succesful phone interviews, HOWEVER, the fourth interview was a complete disaster Sad

it lasted for nearly three hours (over the phone) and it finished at midnight (my local time). The fact that I was up am 6am on that day and the interview started half an hour after finishing work didn't help either.

Anyway, to cut the story short, I nearly fell asleep towards the end Smiley

and I just couldn't wait for the interview to finish.... Alas, I didn't get the job (lack of OS development skills), but the whole thing was a unique experience!

Mo.

phunky_avocado
Dude! It's the (grilled) cheese.

I just had a phone interview with MS. It was fine. But that is not the same as being there in person.

I interviewed recently for a startup in the Bay Area started by three MS employees of long standing and who were hugely successful with a previous startup. They were a bunch of pompous, holier-than-thou, and "we-are-so-much-smarter-than-you" pricks. I didn't go back to the second, final interview.

That's my XP with MS-related interviews.

variable wrote:

What a load of crap. Like Microsoft's interviewing has some sort of science behind it....[snip, snip, snip]...DO NOT come to Microsoft to interview unless you are a masochist.

ChrisChance
;)

Hmmm well i guess there might be a chance in all hell, maybe i should post in here alot to get people to see my name before i move back to the US Smiley

It's just hard to really picture someone wanting me to work at Microsoft, i hate hearing people shoot down MS mainly because one of my biggest goals is to get into a good job with microsoft in the long range. I figure posting in forums and stuff and testing software is great but to have Microsoft Employee on my card would really be nice.

Would be nice to know its not a pipe dream though.

Maybe Zoe or Gretchen can get me in the door when i get back Wink

Chris

jsrfc58

Argh. I tried to download this video last night at home (trying to watch it through the site caused the media player to loop through a cycle of "Buffering...1%" and "Buffering...30%" endlessly). Anyway, it was a poky download (60 mb it said, but suddenly at 10 mb it said it was 'done'). So I played it. At about the three minute mark, right after she says "Here's Joe Smith", it stops. Must be a sign of some sort. Hmmm. Well, is there a way of of fixing this, or is there something I should adjust? Yes, I have a slow connection (read: 56K).

killingtime
Chances are excellent that I am not your soulmate.

Working at MS is, and isn't, what you think.

I had a completely different view before I arrived here as a contractor then again as full time. MS is a big company, with big company issues, but it's still fun - the people help. The folks I work with are funny, creative, hard working and the best part is they are all smarter than me at something - learning from others (and teaching them) is one of the highlights of working here for me.

Also, I have 9 hours of college - but most don’t make it a big deal (and most assume I do). If I wanted my managers managers job, then yeah, MBA required, but I enjoy doing my small part here.

I was offered a blue spot after 2 or 3 months of contracting here. While the pay wasn’t (note past tense, took a while to catch up, but worth it IMO) as good, the long term benefits are much greater. The interview went fine - the director scared me a bit, as did the SQL gal, other than that (yes, there was the old cliché of the guy who asks you a bunch of riddle logic questions), standard fare.