Wes' Puzzling Blog

Jorgen Thelin's blog on his MS interview is interesting :

http://www.thearchitect.co.uk/weblog/archives/2003/07/000217.html.

Wish you all the best for the interview.

Well if you have any questions on MS or the interview process, what's fun around campus, feel free to contact me :)

Good luck for your interview.

There's a pretty good book How Would you move mMount Fuji http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0316919160/ - I don't know if internship interviews are similar to the normal job interviews there but this book give some tips on handling the dumb logic puzzles they (used to?) do.

Be yourself, think before you talk, talk talk talk (and whiteboard, they want to see how you think).

If possible, talk about interesting projects you've worked on, show off examples of your work (screenshots, web pages, etc), and talk about problems you've faced that you found a clever or new solution for.

don't stay in Seattle and think you can commute to Redmond in 10 minutes between 8-10AM M-F.

don't get on hwy 520 eastbound betwen 8-10AM M-F and think you are going somewhere fast.

Jitters has good coffee, but the lights are too bright for that time of the morning. Tully's is the best (IMHO). Skip past CharBucks unless you like it.

Bring a rain coat with a hood. If you bring an umbrella the natives will laugh and point.

If you've never been to an Asian market, go to Uwajimaya in Bellevue, it's close to the MS campus. http://www.uwajimaya.com/bellevue_directions.html


Don't know how long you will be here, but there are a TON of things to see and do in Seattle proper. Pike place market, take a ferry ride to Vashon or Whidbey (what? That's an island?!). Get stinking blind drunk in Pioneer Square. (ok just have one beer or adult beverage if so inclined) Go see the best implementation and use of Windows CE I've ever seen at the Experience Music Project (http://www.emplive.com). See the first floor of all the buildings in Pioneer square, no not that first floor the one underneath the street.
See the center of the universe and the troll under the Aurora bridge in Fremont, WA. Check out Bill Gates house in Medina on the shores of Lake WA.

Oh, I don't have a single good tip for your interview since I've never interviewed at MS. Be yourself and relax, treat it like any other job interview (even though it probably isn't) and be honest.

Good luck... Funny, in my blog roll I already had you listed as a MS employee... Maybe that's a sign...

As others have said, just be yourself... Treat it like a set of interesting and challenging conversations.

Wes,
Good luck with your interview and wishing you the best.

Hello,

I too need tips for my Feb 17th internship position with MS!!! I am SOOOO nervous...im not a programming god like those MS folks! I hope they like me! If I could get all dumb riddles that'll be great hehe!

- nervous
PS they are interviewing me for the Intern Software Test Engineer!

How was your interview on Jan 30?!

Hey guy I was just surfing and found this site. I reacently had an MS interview this past jan 26. I applied for a SDET position and all I could say is dont be nervous, enjoy, have fun and be yourselves. Practise problem solving and review your recent CS courses along with your programming projects. You may be asked to explain your recent programming projects, so if you are like me and forget it after you submit it you might want to review your own code. They did ask me about my projects and how I implemented them. Well good luck!
Hope to see you in seattle this summer

Guys, please help me. I'm applying for a summer internship at Microsoft as a software design engineer.

I just submitted my electronic resume a week ago and so far I haven't got a phone call. Does this mean there is no hope for me? I'm expecting to be called because I think my resume should be enough to get the attention of the Microsoft people since it contains some unusual achievements.

Okay, let's assume I eventually get a call or even an interview, I'm really scared because my background in C++ isn't really that deep. I've only taken 2 courses in it so far which gives me the overall knowledge of what everything is and how everything works. But I delved deep into techniques. My worry is that I'll get asked a question in C++ which I don't know how to do. What should I do in such a situation?

On the other hand, I can tackle all the riddle/logic puzzles with ease since I was a former International Mathematical Olympiad participant.

Isn't the true that Microsoft cares more about intelligence and creativity, potential more than raw knowledge? I'm a fast learner.

Hi! I submitted my electronic resume to my campus coop program and I, too, have not received a reply.

I have a very strong knowledge of C++ but no work experience. I am sure Microsoft will let us know right away if our applications were rejected.

FYI: I posted about my Interview at http://weblogs.asp.net/whaggard/archive/2004/02/09/70344.aspx

I am about to fly out to Redmond for an SDE/T internship interview. I got it through my campus's coop--no phone call, they emailed me and I picked a slot in the interview date. 3 weeks later I got an email telling me that they want me to interview in Redmond. I don't know why they skipped the phone call, a lot of my friends had been called. The questions I was asked was best answered in C/C++, because using pointers made it easier. All I can say is the question I was asked had to do with linked lists and in my entire academic or professional career I had never been asked to solve such a problem and also never even considered how to solve it given the constraints, but much to my amazement I did it without any help. Furthermore, it seemed like a n^2 or n log n time algo with some extra variables, but the interviewer said to do it in linear time with no extra variables. That just made me more nervous..

So I guess the important thing is, ask questions to clarify the problem, show a natural progression towards an optimal solution (by thinking out loud), and get it done quick.. and make sure your code is bulletproof.

sorry i left out that i had interviewed with a campus recruiter 3 weeks before receiving the email

I had an interview for SDE in Redmond in April, 20. That's 2 weeks ago. I didn't get any feedback from MS. Does that mean I was rejected?
Will MS give you any feedback of rejection?

I interned with Microsoft for 2 summers in college and worked part time as a "Microsoft Student Consultant" during the school year. The experience was great. I have standard interview advice... Be yourself, ask relevant questions, don't give up... But I do have an interesting story about intern benefits... They offered me a choice of a rental car subsidy for the summer or a $300.00 bicycle subsidy. I chose the bicycle. There are a ton of other interns that will have cars to cart you around. I talked my recruiter into letting me purchase an electric scooter. Late night scooter rallies through the halls of building 41 were a great team building exercise.

Dont worry they usually take a while (up to 1 month) to respond, but they will let you know if you were acceepted or no. For those who submitted their curriculum, I dont know if this applies. Just be patient.

ohh by the way, it does not matter how in depth you know a language its just how you solve problems what matters. Good luck

hey i need to attend an interview at MS on 22nd jan 08

im still pursuing my btech 3rd year...

can anyone help me in any way

I will have internship interview in March. I appreciate specific info about SDE internship positions.

hey guys,

when i sent my resume in, it was all about exprience in Java and J2EE. i got a cal from them for a SDE position. i wonder if anyone MS specializes in java ?? i know it sounds weird but when they were advertising for the position, they did mention Java and J2EE as requisite skills. can someone who has given the SDE Intern interview enlighten me on this.

Hey,

I am also in the same situation like you. I am SCJP and I am invited to attend the interview at micrsoft next week. I don't know why MS started looking for Java programmers.

Hi All!

Can you tell me what questions do they asck on the intern interview in Redmond?

10x!

Hi,

What questions they ask on the intern interviews in Redmond?

Thanks!

How to apply for the internships. Pls tell. I want to know urgently

Do you know anything about the finance rotation Program interview?