The Microsoft Spring Recruitment Interview consists of 7 rounds, including 1 phone interview and 6 onsite interviews. The interview covers programming, algorithms, system design, and behavioral questions interviews. Below is a detailed breakdown of each round and some of my experiences.
Round 1: Phone Interview
The phone interview began with a self-introduction, followed by questions from the interviewer based on my resume. Then, the coding problem was presented:
Longest Palindromic Substring: Given a string, the task is to find the longest palindromic substring (assuming there is only one longest palindromic substring).
Summary: The phone interview had a relaxed atmosphere. The coding problems were relatively classic, focusing on basic algorithms and problem-solving approaches.
Result: After passing the phone interview, the onsite interview was scheduled.
Round 2: Onsite 1
The interviewer began with a self-introduction and then asked me about the three programming languages I am most proficient in. After that, the coding problem was presented:
Largest Square of 1s: Given a 2D binary matrix, the task is to find the area of the largest square submatrix with all 1s.
Round 3: Onsite 2
In this round, there was only one design question, and the interview lasted about 30 minutes:
Design a BitSet class Design a BitSet class that supports common bit operations such as setting, clearing, and retrieving values. This assesses your understanding of data structures and design abilities. I believe the key to this question is clearly explaining your design approach and any optimization strategies.
Round 4: Onsite 3
The interviewer presented a binary tree problem:
Validate a Binary Search Tree
Given a binary tree, determine whether it is a valid binary search tree. The solution involves checking the tree’s order through an inorder traversal. This tests your deep understanding of binary trees, especially how to leverage recursion and inorder traversal to solve the problem. This part of the interview was very thorough in assessing professional skills.
Round 5: Onsite 4
The interviewer asked me to introduce myself and revisit the previous rounds' topics. After that, I was given another algorithm problem:
Merge Two Sorted Linked Lists
Merge two sorted linked lists into a new sorted linked list.
Round 6: Onsite 5
This round was relatively more relaxed. The interviewer asked questions based on real projects from my resume. Then, I was given a programming question:
Sort a Billion Integers with Minimal Storage
Given a billion integers, how would you sort them using the least amount of storage?
Round 7: Onsite 6
The interviewer asked why I chose Microsoft and what my ideal work location would be. Then, they inquired about the biggest challenge I encountered in my previous projects.
The entire interview process was relatively compact, covering a broad range of technical abilities: from basic algorithm problems to system design, and even big data and streaming data processing. The interview not only assessed algorithmic skills but also conducted a comprehensive evaluation of my project experience and technical background.
Insights
Technical Skills: The algorithm questions during the interview involved many classic problems, such as dynamic programming, linked lists, and binary trees. It is important to practice frequently on platforms to familiarize yourself with common question types.
System Design: Common system design questions focused on understanding efficient data structure usage, especially in big data scenarios, and how to optimize both space and time complexity.
Communication Skills: During the interview, it is crucial to clearly express your thought process, especially when solving problems. The interviewer is more interested in how you think and analyze problems than in the final solution. They will also observe whether your behavior reflects confidence.
Overall, the Microsoft Spring Recruitment interview not only assessed technical depth but also evaluated your communication skills, project experience, and ability to solve complex problems. I hope my experience helps you better prepare for the Microsoft interview.
Release time:2025-03-26
