Microsoft Software Engineer Interview Prep

The Microsoft software engineer interview mixes coding, design for experienced roles, and behavioral questions about how you learn and work with others. Interviewers care about clear thinking and communication as much as a working answer. Practicing with an engineer who works at Microsoft now helps you get both right.

See mentors at Microsoft

How the Microsoft interview works

Recruiter screen. Your background, the role and the team.
Online assessment or phone screen. Students and new grads often get an online coding assessment. Experienced candidates usually have a technical phone or video screen.
The interview loop. Several back-to-back interviews, each mostly coding or design, and most with a few behavioral questions.
Final conversation. Often with the hiring manager or a senior leader.
Decision. Interviewers share feedback and the team decides.

Common question themes

Arrays and strings: Classic warm-up problems. Explain your approach before you code.
Linked lists and trees: Traversals, reversals and recursive problems come up often.
Graphs: Search problems and anything you can model as connections.
Object-oriented design: Design the classes for a small system and extend it.
System design (experienced roles): Design a service end to end and discuss scale and reliability.
Growth mindset: Tell me about a time you failed or learned something hard.

How to prepare

Talk through your thinking. Interviewers grade the process, not only the final code.
Test your code with a simple case and an edge case before saying you are done.
Prepare short stories about learning, collaboration and handling setbacks.
Know the team's product and be ready to say why you want to work on it.

Practice with mentors who work at Microsoft

Everyone below lists Microsoft as their current employer on their ADPList profile. Open a profile to see their sessions and book a time.

What mentees prepare with Microsoft mentors

Themes that come up in reviews mentees left for mentors who match this page.

Resume review before applying. Making the resume match the role so it gets you to the first interview.
Mock interviews with feedback. Mentees run a practice round and go through the feedback right after.
How the process really runs. What each round is looking for, and what happens after the loop.

From mentee reviews

“Samson provided me with valuable advice during the mock interview. Whether regarding preparation or the actual interview process, he highlighted areas where I could improve.”

Mentee review of Samson Alajede, Software Engineer

“I had an outstanding experience during my mock interview with Sharan. His amazing communication and deep subject knowledge allowed him to address all my concerns effectively.”

Mentee review of Sharan Babu Paramasivam Murugesan, Senior Software Engineer

“Swapnil provided actionable strategies for interview preparation, emphasizing both the technical side and the importance of a problem-solving mindset.”

Mentee review of Swapnil Nagar, Senior Software Engineer

Warm up with AI interview practice

Rehearse your answers out loud with ADPList's AI interviewer before you meet a mentor.

Try AI interview practice

Frequently asked questions

What does the Microsoft software engineer interview include?

Usually a recruiter screen, an online assessment or technical screen, and a loop of coding interviews, with design for experienced roles and behavioral questions throughout.

Does Microsoft ask behavioral questions in coding rounds?

Often, yes. Many interviewers spend a few minutes on your experience and how you work before or after the coding problem.

How can a Microsoft mentor help?

They can run a mock coding round, review how you explain your thinking and tell you what their teams look for. The mentors on this page currently work at Microsoft as engineers or engineering managers.

Microsoft Behavioral Interview Prep Amazon Software Engineer (SDE) Interview Prep All Microsoft mentors AI interview practice