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Microsoft has such an involved recruitment process...

entremet

Member
Not true. For Google and Facebook I skipped a lot of it, or the time in between was immediate. It depends on your qualifications.

Facebook and Google are way more new school than MS, which is still rather staid in their recruitment efforts.

Nadella is bringing them up to speed, but MS is not a SV company like those two.
 

LordOfChaos

Member
IBMs was my most involved one.

They have this quiz that reads like a mensa test. Like, this kind of jazz

ibm-ipat-big.png


It felt odd because most interviews I've been to are based around what you know, this one was based around how you figure things out, as in how smart you are.
 

godhandiscen

There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
Facebook and Google are way more new school than MS, which is still rather staid in their recruitment efforts.
Even for MS. If a team lead reaches out to you, the process is sped up. Do you have an experience with this or making assumptions?
 

Pau

Member
Good luck! I wish I had the time to wait through such a long process. :( Bowed out of something similar for IBM.
 

pswii60

Member
So I applied for a technical position for recent grads at Microsoft a few months ago. About 3 weeks later, I received an email instructing me to complete some online assessment test, which I did. I wait a week, and receive another email instructing me to complete a pre-recorded video interview, in which I answer questions on webcam and submit my answers to their website. Two weeks later, I had an HR interview with a recruiter over Skype. Since then, I've been waiting for yet another interview with a manager/director/whatever (2 weeks and counting now), and only after that will I invited for an in-person final assessment. So basically I'm currently at like stage 3/5 of the process.

And... this isn't even for a full-time position. It's essentially an extended internship program that can turn into a full-time job at the company. It's really hard for me to maintain interest when there are 230909 different interviews with multiple weeks in-between. So much angst.
If you're already losing interest then they don't want you anyway. Job done.
 

entremet

Member
Even for MS. If a team lead reaches out to you, the process is sped up. Do you have an experience with this or making assumptions?

Oh, I'm not denying that there can be flexibility in the recruitment process. The OP may be on the shortlist, but may not be first choice. That I would agree with.
 
Even for MS. If a team lead reaches out to you, the process is sped up. Do you have an experience with this or making assumptions?
Keep in mind this isn't an experienced hire role. Unless I personally knew someone from the inside, it would be unusual for them to reach out to me when I'm a recent grad with limited experience. It's also why applicant pools for entry-level jobs and internships tend to be so darn large.

If you're already losing interest then they don't want you anyway. Job done.
Well, I didn't say I was. Still very much interested and looking forward to it. It just gets boring when I have to wait for weeks in-between stages.
 
It's a good thing they do, as seeking out the best candidates insures that Windows stays stable, bug free and impervious to hacking...
 

godhandiscen

There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
Keep in mind this isn't an experienced hire role. Unless I personally knew someone from the inside, it would be unusual for them to reach out to me when I'm a recent grad with limited experience. It's also why applicant pools for entry-level jobs and internships tend to be so darn large.
There are recent grads with open source projects that make them stand out. Just having a nice GPA doesn't cut it for a standout software company. MS must review thousands of resumes every month. Unless you immediately stand out, there is no way they will be able to accelerate your application.
 

Deepwater

Member
I'd much rather start at a big name company and retire after 10 years.

I mean, of course. Not implying that the ideal situation for everyone is having a fancy important job at a Google or Microsoft or Amazon. I'm just saying that's my outlook considering the reality of recent grad positions

That's a good point. However, consider that it would result in 5-10 years of potentially lost income, benefits, stocks/options, etc.

Maybe, but you can make nice salaries w/ benefits at major companies. And with the amount of money these venture capitalists are throwing around it shouldn't be too hard to find another smedium-medium startup that's offering competitive salaries And if you get lucky with a startup you might be able to cash out at the end depending on how forward thinking/lucky you are. I just don't think fighting to move to San Francisco or Seattle or NYC or DC with outrageous cost of livings right out of college is ideal, for me, anyways.

Like, I would work at Google's Ann Arbor campus or Chicago or Dallas if I had a choice, but there is no chance of them paying me enough to go live in the cesspool that is Silicon Valley
 
There are recent grads with open source projects that make them stand out. Just having a nice GPA doesn't cut it for a standout software company. MS must review thousands of resumes every month. Unless you immediately stand out, there is no way they will be able to accelerate your application.
True, the recruiter I spoke to did say they were going through a bunch of other things and would update me once that was done.

I don't participate in open source but my GitHub is alive and well and is listed on my resume. Usually get questions on it, although I don't have anything particularly crazy on there.
 

Kieli

Member
There are recent grads with open source projects that make them stand out. Just having a nice GPA doesn't cut it for a standout software company. MS must review thousands of resumes every month. Unless you immediately stand out, there is no way they will be able to accelerate your application.

Open source commits are nothing impressive unless you have many stars on your GitHub.

Edit: And MS is not nearly as prestigious as they think they are to warrant such ridiculously lengthy interviews.

Too many other SV titans and unicorns for Stanford/MIT/Carnegie wunderkinds to vie for.
 
Open source commits are nothing impressive unless you have many stars on your GitHub.

Edit: And MS is not nearly as prestigious as they think they are to warrant such ridiculously lengthy interviews.

Too many other SV titans and unicorns for Stanford/MIT/Carnegie wunderkinds to vie for.
I've friends who got offers at some unicorns like Snapchat and Uber. The entire process was like two weeks, lol.
 

Deepwater

Member
Open source commits are nothing impressive unless you have many stars on your GitHub.

Edit: And MS is not nearly as prestigious as they think they are to warrant such ridiculously lengthy interviews.

Too many other SV titans and unicorns for Stanford/MIT/Carnegie wunderkinds to vie for.

While Microsoft may not seem as relevant to your typical techie undergrad circa present day, they still got the name brand and network. It's like everybody over the age of 40-45 worked for MS at one point and time in their career lol.
 

Kieli

Member
While Microsoft may not seem as relevant to your typical techie undergrad circa present day, they still got the name brand and network. It's like everybody over the age of 40-45 worked for MS at one point and time in their career lol.

Oh, I don't dispute that at all. It'd be quite nice to land a gig at MS, and it'd help a lot as far as finding other jobs post-MS.

But when unicorns are throwing filthy amounts of cash to attract talent, I don't see the talented engineers (even juniors) to sit through many sequences of interviews as OP is doing. They're going to get snapped up.
 

Deepwater

Member
Oh, I don't dispute that at all. It'd be quite nice to land a gig at MS, and it'd help a lot as far as finding other jobs post-MS.

But when unicorns are throwing filthy amounts of cash to attract talent, I don't see the talented engineers (even juniors) to sit through many sequences of interviews as OP is doing. They're going to get snapped up.

Oh they definitely will, I've seen it first hand. IBM is a similar kind of company (in this context) and they recruit pretty heavily from my school and they always have the longest lines at the career fair. For some it will be more attractive to work at a Facebook or Uber, but I wouldn't underestimate what those over achievers will put themselves through
 
But when unicorns are throwing filthy amounts of cash to attract talent, I don't see the talented engineers (even juniors) to sit through many sequences of interviews as OP is doing. They're going to get snapped up.
I haven't applied to any unicorns/startups because based on previous internship experience I've concluded I prefer the big corporation setting. I'm talking seriously to a couple other companies at the moment but MS is my number one choice by a mile.
 
That's not too far from mine. I honestly thought MS would be way worse haha.

>Recruiter phone call
>Recruiter interview
>Online assessment
>Interview with potential manager
>Interview with random manager from another department
>Interview with VP
>Recruiter final interview
>Formal job offer
 
That's not too far from mine. I honestly thought MS would be way worse haha.

>Recruiter phone call
>Recruiter interview
>Online assessment
>Interview with potential manager
>Interview with random manager from another department
>Interview with VP
>Recruiter final interview
>Formal job offer
Mind sharing which company this is? Sounds similar for sure.
 

Hilbert

Deep into his 30th decade
That's not too far from mine. I honestly thought MS would be way worse haha.

>Recruiter phone call
>Recruiter interview
>Online assessment
>Interview with potential manager
>Interview with random manager from another department
>Interview with VP
>Recruiter final interview
>Formal job offer

I am trying to think how this worked when I had my official Amazon interviews:

Recruiter called me
Phone interview with manager (were there two of these? I don't remember)
Onsite interview with multiple managers and programmers
Job offer with recruiter going over benefits


My microsoft one was a little different, as I was contracting there at the time. My manager asked me to apply for a position they had so I did. Then I interviewed with 6 people (4 of which were people that I already worked with), then had a job offer.
 

Juan

Member
So I applied for a technical position for recent grads at Microsoft a few months ago. About 3 weeks later, I received an email instructing me to complete some online assessment test, which I did. I wait a week, and receive another email instructing me to complete a pre-recorded video interview, in which I answer questions on webcam and submit my answers to their website. Two weeks later, I had an HR interview with a recruiter over Skype. Since then, I've been waiting for yet another interview with a manager/director/whatever (2 weeks and counting now), and only after that will I invited for an in-person final assessment. So basically I'm currently at like stage 3/5 of the process.

And... this isn't even for a full-time position. It's essentially an extended internship program that can turn into a full-time job at the company. It's really hard for me to maintain interest when there are 230909 different interviews with multiple weeks in-between. So much angst.

I don't know for Microsoft (the only time I worked at Microsoft, I just checked some hands and I got a job at MS France that transited to freelance for a few months after), especially for internship, but when I was working at Match, interviews could take weeks since we had like 3 interviews and 1 final test.

We didn't really check background unless it was for a very important position, like Senior or Lead, but truth is, we were having a ton of application, and even with HR help, it's always difficult to manage time, your work and recruiting people. Recruiting the wrong person can be terrific, and wish this to no one.

Some already talked about this, but having a internship at MS will open big gates for your career (if you manage to do well). Having my first contracted job @MS helped me a lot when I began, so unless you have a good opportunity elsewhere, don't give up.
 

Therin

Member
All the big tech companies are like that. I tried to interview for a student internship with IBM when I was in college & it was like a 6 step process.

My current job, which is at a slightly lesser known but still decently big corporate company (in software), only made me do a 30 minute interview by contrast.
 

tokkun

Member
Edit: And MS is not nearly as prestigious as they think they are to warrant such ridiculously lengthy interviews.

Too many other SV titans and unicorns for Stanford/MIT/Carnegie wunderkinds to vie for.

Eh. I would pick Microsoft over Amazon, Twitter, or Netflix.
 
GUYS, I GOT AN OFFER!

The entire proceed took three months, give or take a couple days. Whew! I start on the 1st next month, so I have a few weeks to enjoy some Destiny and finalize the move!

@mods: I felt it would be appropriate to post an update in here, so I apologize for the bump. Didn't want to start a new thread.
 

entremet

Member
GUYS, I GOT AN OFFER!

The entire proceed took three months, give or take a couple days. Whew! I start on the 1st next month, so I have a few weeks to enjoy some Destiny and finalize the move!

@mods: I felt it would be appropriate to post an update in here, so I apologize for the bump. Didn't want to start a new thread.
Congrats!
 

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
GUYS, I GOT AN OFFER!

The entire proceed took three months, give or take a couple days. Whew! I start on the 1st next month, so I have a few weeks to enjoy some Destiny and finalize the move!

@mods: I felt it would be appropriate to post an update in here, so I apologize for the bump. Didn't want to start a new thread.

Congrats. PM me for inside scoop on how to McGyver a Publix chicken tender sandwich by hacking the cafeteria at RTC5.
 

Amagon

Member
GUYS, I GOT AN OFFER!

The entire proceed took three months, give or take a couple days. Whew! I start on the 1st next month, so I have a few weeks to enjoy some Destiny and finalize the move!

@mods: I felt it would be appropriate to post an update in here, so I apologize for the bump. Didn't want to start a new thread.
Congrats dude! 👏
 
The two interviews I had with Microsoft were awful. Their recruiters were wonderful, but once I got to the technical interview I had two assholes go through some of the worst interviews I've had in my life.

They do have a small army of recruiters and their process stems from the thousands of positions they must fill every year. Still not as bad as National Instruments.

edit - Congrats on the job!
 
Thanks everyone! I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Stinkles :p

The two interviews I had with Microsoft were awful. Their recruiters were wonderful, but once I got to the technical interview I had two assholes go through some of the worst interviews I've had in my life.

They do have a small army of recruiters and their process stems from the thousands of positions they must fill every year. Still not as bad as National Instruments.

edit - Congrats on the job!
In my case, my recruiter and interviewers were super nice and attentive. I think it depends on a bunch of factors but there's definitely some luck involved. It was a pleasant experience overall, even if it took waaaaaay longer than I'd anticipated.

No coding challenge? Or it's not a developer position?
It's a technical position but not development per se. Most of the technical questions I was asked revolved around big data and the Azure platform. There was some light programming stuff, but nothing crazy.
 
GUYS, I GOT AN OFFER!

The entire proceed took three months, give or take a couple days. Whew! I start on the 1st next month, so I have a few weeks to enjoy some Destiny and finalize the move!

@mods: I felt it would be appropriate to post an update in here, so I apologize for the bump. Didn't want to start a new thread.


Congratulations on the offer !
A friend of mine works there as a recruitment manager and from a bit of the scope, is not an easy job to land.
You've got it made.
 
Thanks everyone! I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Stinkles :p


In my case, my recruiter and interviewers were super nice and attentive. I think it depends on a bunch of factors but there's definitely some luck involved. It was a pleasant experience overall, even if it took waaaaaay longer than I'd anticipated.


It's a technical position but not development per se. Most of the technical questions I was asked revolved around big data and the Azure platform. There was some light programming stuff, but nothing crazy.

I see well congratulations my friend. I hope this leads to a full time job. You are set for life then. Please drop by and let us GAFers know one day when you build the next big MS product!
 

teiresias

Member
?
Ballmer has been gone for a bit now.

Obviously. I'm just comparing how he waltzes into the position with everyone knowing he wasnt what the company needed at the time, yet rank and file get this fifth degree.

It's emblimatic of the divide between the working man and the CEO class.
 

NYR

Member
GUYS, I GOT AN OFFER!

The entire proceed took three months, give or take a couple days. Whew! I start on the 1st next month, so I have a few weeks to enjoy some Destiny and finalize the move!

@mods: I felt it would be appropriate to post an update in here, so I apologize for the bump. Didn't want to start a new thread.
Holy shit, congrats!
 
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