Microsoft

I applied for the Software Engineering Intern role at Microsoft through the off-campus process. After submitting my application, my resume was shortlisted for the online assessment. The process was quite DSA-heavy, and most of the interviews focused on solving problems while clearly explaining the approach and complexity. The first stage was the online assessment. It had two coding problems, both around medium to hard difficulty. I was able to solve both and pass all the test cases. The questions required good understanding of standard DSA concepts along with careful handling of edge cases. After clearing the OA, I received the interview call. The first technical round was mainly focused on Data Structures and Algorithms. The interviewer started with a discussion around linked lists, where I was asked to reverse a linked list. We discussed both iterative and recursive approaches along with their time and space complexities. The next problem was based on Open the Lock. I first discussed the straightforward approach and then moved towards a BFS-based solution. We also discussed how the solution would behave for different edge cases. There was also a discussion around tree traversal, including BFS and DFS, and how these traversals could be used to solve different types of tree problems. Towards the end of the round, I was given a more involved problem combining backtracking and BFS. I was able to work through the problem and code the solution with some guidance. The interviewer was interested not only in the final code but also in how I approached the problem. I had to explain why I was choosing a particular data structure, discuss complexity, and debug parts of the solution while coding. After clearing the first technical round, I had the second and final interview. This round included both project discussion and another DSA problem. We discussed my projects in detail, including the motivation behind them, the technical decisions I had made, and the problems I had faced while building them. I was also asked to explain my contribution and how I approached some of the implementation challenges. For the coding part, I was asked about the Gas Station problem. I first explained the brute-force approach and then discussed how the problem could be optimized. I coded the solution and was able to pass the test cases. We also discussed the time complexity and why the optimized approach works. The final round was around 30–45 minutes and had a mix of technical and behavioral discussion. The interviewers were interested in both my problem-solving ability and my understanding of the projects mentioned on my resume. Unfortunately, I was not selected after the final round. Looking back, the process was a very useful experience. The interviews were strongly focused on DSA, but simply knowing the standard algorithms was not enough. I had to explain my thinking clearly, consider alternative approaches, handle edge cases, and write working code during the discussion. The process also showed me the importance of being comfortable with multiple approaches to the same problem. For example, starting with a brute-force solution and then improving it based on constraints was something that came up during the interviews. For preparation, I would focus heavily on arrays, strings, linked lists, trees, graphs, BFS/DFS, backtracking and dynamic programming. It is also important to practice explaining solutions verbally rather than only solving problems silently. Recent Microsoft India internship reports similarly describe DSA-focused interviews with project discussions, although the exact number and structure of rounds can vary between hiring drives. Overall, I couldn't convert the Microsoft interview into an internship, but it gave me a much better understanding of what to expect from a high-level SWE internship interview and where I needed to improve my problem-solving and interview communication.