TheKuLife

I flew up to Seattle the day before my interview and arrived at the hotel in the Redmond Town Center around mid afternoon. I did some studying and walked to a nearby burger place for an early dinner. I spent the rest of the evening preparing for the next day.

The Microsoft campus was only a short 10 min drive away. I arrived about 30 minutes early and checked in with the receptionist. I met with my recruiter and she gave me a run down of the day and what to expect. My first interview wasn’t until 10 am so I hung out at the lobby with the rest of the candidates.

My interview loop consisted of 5 interviewers. Everyone was friendly and knowledge with years of experience at Microsoft. Each interview consisted of behavioral and technical questions. The technical questions were all reasonable and can be found in interview prep books and online coding platforms. Rather than giving highly challenging coding questions, the interviewers placed an emphasis on the thought process.

This was my first on-site interview and I learned a lot. My nervousness quickly subsided as I began my day. The day went by quickly and I had an enjoyable experience. I did the best that I could and I think that I fared decently overall. I struggled a bit in some instances and am slightly disappointed for not having done better. There is obviously room for improvement and I will be working on those areas in preparation for my next interview.

Note to self:
-improve on thinking out loud
-improve on coding pace