Microsoft

My Microsoft SWE Intern interview was not limited to DSA. The interviewer moved between coding, operating systems, and implementation-based questions, so I had to switch topics quickly. The interview started with a short introduction and a discussion about my preferred programming language and technical interests. The first coding question was based on a **Linked List**. I was asked to build the list from scratch, including creating nodes and implementing insertion-related operations. The interviewer then asked me to discuss the time complexity of the operations and how I would modify the implementation for different use cases. The next problem was based on **Snakes and Ladders**. I had to explain how I would represent the board and determine the minimum number of moves required to reach the destination. I identified it as a graph problem and explained how BFS could be applied because every move has the same cost. After that, the interviewer gave me a **Sudoku validation** problem. I discussed using sets or boolean arrays to keep track of numbers in each row, column, and sub-grid. We went through a few invalid cases before I started writing the solution. The interview then shifted toward Operating Systems. I was asked about **paging, virtual memory, and CPU scheduling algorithms**. Some questions were conceptual, while others required me to explain what actually happens inside the system. I liked the fact that the interviewer kept asking follow-ups instead of simply moving from one question to another. I had to explain my reasoning, analyze complexity, and occasionally rethink my approach. The interview lasted around an hour. Although the discussion covered quite a few areas, staying calm and communicating my thought process helped me handle the different sections.