The interview process was really great -- MS probably spends about ~$2500 per candidate, even for interns. I was flown out, put up in a hotel, and got a rather large daily meals reimbursement. There was additionally a $50 stipend for tourism in Seattle.
There were 4 interviews, each 45 mins long. Interviewers were quite friendly and enthusiastic, though I did get one who was particularly tough and gave me a difficult numbers-heavy case on a topic totally unrelated to the position. In retrospect, it was probably designed to test my reaction under the pressure of a new situation, and I guess I didn't perform too well.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Calculate the profit per customer for a credit card debt-holding group and suggest ways to reduce costs
I applied through university. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Microsoft
Interview
I submitted my resume during a career fair at my university. Within a couple weeks, I heard back and was scheduled for an on-campus interview. The interviewer was very kind. At first we talked about a project that I was working on and she asked me how I would market this as a product, and how I could attract initial users. All of my thoughts had to be drawn out on a yellow pad.
After spending a lot of time on the behavior questions, we moved on to the technical part. Unfortunately, I ran out of time before I was able to begin writing code, although I did plan out the logic of my solution on the pad.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Remove or replace all e-mail addresses from an e-mail string.
I applied through university. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Microsoft (Redmond, WA) in Mar 2013
Interview
I applied through our on campus recruiting website and received an email a few days later inviting me to a phone interview. The phone interview was quick but pleasant. We talked a little bit about Microsoft and then dove right in to theoretical marketing questions. I think the recruiter was just trying to get a feel for how I thought about the questions.
About 3 days after the phone interview I was invited to fly out to Seattle for an intern interview day. They were very accommodating in providing hotel rooms, rental cars, and daily meal budgets. The interview day itself started with a group of about 20 candidates mingling with current employees and having some general questions answered in an informal setting. Then each candidate had 4 interviews with 4 different people from the company (different divisions, different levels of seniority). The interviews were very relaxed and low pressure. They then shuttled us back to the hotel for the night. I received an email extending me an offer before I got home from the trip.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me a specific insight you gained from your most recent work experience.
