Interview experience 1 - SDE
Candidate Profile: B.Tech CS, 8.7 CGPA, competitive programming, 2 internships
Round 1 - Online Assessment (90 minutes)
Platform: Microsoft Codility
Problem 1: Two Sum Variants
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Multiple variations of two sum problem
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Difficulty: Medium
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My Approach: HashMap O(n)
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Time: 15 minutes
Problem 2: Binary Tree Maximum Path Sum
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Find max path sum in binary tree
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Difficulty: Hard
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My Approach: Post-order traversal with global max
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Time: 25 minutes
Problem 3: Merge K Sorted Lists
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Merge multiple sorted linked lists
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Difficulty: Hard
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My Approach: Min-heap with O(N log k)
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Time: 30 minutes
Problem 4: Design Question
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Design efficient data structure for range queries
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Approach: Discussed segment tree
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Time: 20 minutes
Result: Cleared with all optimal solutions
Tips:
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Microsoft OA is challenging - practice hard problems
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Focus on trees, graphs, and optimization
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Time management is crucial
Round 2 - Technical Interview 1 (60 minutes)
Interviewer: SDE 2 Mode: Microsoft Teams
Problem 1: LRU Cache
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Design with O(1) operations
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My Approach: HashMap + Doubly Linked List
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Live coding on shared screen
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Discussion on thread safety
Problem 2: Number of Islands
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Count islands in 2D grid
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My Approach: DFS
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Follow-up: Count using Union-Find
Project Discussion:
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Discussed internship project (cloud service)
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Architecture decisions and trade-offs
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Performance optimization done
Tips:
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Code cleanly with proper naming
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Explain approach before coding
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Be ready for follow-ups
Round 3 - Technical Interview 2 (60 minutes)
Interviewer: Senior SDE
Problem 1: Word Ladder II
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Find all shortest transformation sequences
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My Approach: BFS + Backtracking
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Complex implementation, handled well
System Design (20 minutes):
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“Design a notification system”
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Discussed: pub-sub, message queues, delivery guarantees
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Scalability considerations
CS Fundamentals:
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Virtual memory and paging
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Database transactions and isolation levels
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Networking: TCP handshake
Result: Strong performance
Round 4 - A (As Appropriate) Round (60 minutes)
Interviewer: Principal Engineer
Problem: Design a distributed rate limiter
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Discussed multiple algorithms (sliding window, token bucket)
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Distributed system challenges
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Consistency vs availability trade-offs
Behavioral Questions:
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“Tell me about a project you’re most proud of”
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“How do you handle technical disagreements?”
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“Describe a time you failed and learned”
Leadership Questions:
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“Have you mentored anyone?”
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“How do you approach learning new technologies?”
Round 5 - HR Round (30 minutes)
Questions Asked:
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“Why Microsoft?”
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“Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”
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“What’s your ideal work environment?”
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“Any questions about Microsoft culture?”
Result: Selected! Package: ₹44 LPA (base + stock + bonus) Location: Hyderabad
Key Takeaways: Microsoft values optimal solutions and clean code. Prepare for both DSA and system design. Show growth mindset and leadership potential.