RejectedSDE 2 at Microsoft
- Difficulty
- Process took
- 2-3 Weeks
- Rounds
- 3
- Format
- Remote
- Applied via
- Other
How it went
- Sometimes, the interviewer’s tone or engagement can feel disconnected, but your ability to clearly communicate what you're thinking is crucial. Make sure you articulate every step of your thought process, even if you don’t have an immediate solution. This helps maintain the flow and shows problem-solving skills.
- After each round, spend some time reflecting on the feedback you receive. If you're told you didn't go deep enough on certain topics, take time to revisit those areas in your preparation. Iterating on feedback shows growth and readiness for the next challenge.
What they would tell you
- Sometimes, the interviewer’s tone or engagement can feel disconnected, but your ability to clearly communicate what you're thinking is crucial. Make sure you articulate every step of your thought process, even if you don’t have an immediate solution. This helps maintain the flow and shows problem-solving skills.
- After each round, spend some time reflecting on the feedback you receive. If you're told you didn't go deep enough on certain topics, take time to revisit those areas in your preparation. Iterating on feedback shows growth and readiness for the next challenge.
How to prepare
- Strengthen your coding skills by solving a variety of problems, particularly graph algorithms, dynamic programming, and data structure challenges. Use different platforms to get comfortable with different problem types.
Round by round
- 1
Online Assessment60 min
I had previously applied for several positions at Microsoft, but this was the first time I was invited for an interview. The first round was a Codility assessment which included only one problem. It was a graph-based problem with a twist on Depth-First Search (DFS). The task was challenging, but I was able to come up with a working solution within 30 minutes. I tested the solution against the example test cases, but the hidden test cases were not visible to me. After submitting, I received a call from the recruiter saying I passed the round and was invited to a two-round hiring drive the following Saturday. They explained that the next round would depend on my performance in these initial rounds.
- 2
Coding Round60 min
The second round started with an SDE-2. He shared a coding platform link with me, similar to HackerRank. The question was a variation of Find the Maximum j-i such that arr[j] - arr[i]. I had never encountered this exact problem before, so I started with a brute-force approach and gradually optimized my solution. The interviewer seemed a bit distant during the round, and didn’t offer much guidance when I was veering off-course, which made the round feel a little disconnected. Despite that, I was able to solve the problem, and then the interviewer shifted focus to some conceptual questions:
- What happens when you click on google.com?
- What is the difference between SQL and NoSQL databases?
- Other theoretical questions related to databases, like ACID properties. The round lasted around 60 minutes, and I felt the conversation was decent, but not as smooth as I hoped.
- 3
Technical Round60 min
For the third round, I was interviewed by another SDE-2. The round started with a database discussion. Even though I told the interviewer that I wasn’t too confident with databases, he dove into NoSQL, SQL, and the concept of eventual consistency. He also asked deep-dive questions on locks, normalization, and many related topics. While I was trying to respond, I started to feel the conversation slipping away from my comfort zone. The interviewer then moved on to implement a deque using basic data structures. While I was able to partially work through the problem, time was not on my side, and I couldn’t come up with a complete solution. The round lasted for around 1 hour.
What came up
A candidate-reported account, lightly edited. Interview processes change by team and date.