Microsoft L60 | Select

I applied for a position at Microsoft through their careers portal. After about 10 days, I received a HackerRank test link. The test consisted of two LeetCode medium-level questions, which I completed within the 90-minute timeframe.

Approximately 3-4 weeks later, I received a call inviting me to participate in an interview drive. Initially, two rounds were scheduled, with the possibility of further rounds if I performed well.

All interview rounds took place on the same day.

Round 1: Data Structures & Algorithms (1 hour)

This round started at 9 AM. I was given one coding question:

• A variation of the "Distribution of Candies among Children" problem. I had to implement the code on HackerRank and ensure it passed all test cases.

Additionally, the interviewer asked me questions about my previous experience and projects.

Round 2: System Design & Puzzle (1 hour)

This round began at 10:30 AM. I faced three distinct questions:

1. I was asked to design a library that supports multiple appenders, such as a FileAppender and a DBAppender, with different log levels (INFO, ERROR, DEBUG).
2. A puzzle was presented: Given two identical non-uniform wires, each taking one hour to burn completely when lit at one end, how do you measure exactly 45 minutes?
3. As only five minutes were left, the interviewer asked an easy DSA question: "Move all Zeros in an Array to the end." The expectation was to code the most optimized solution directly, given the limited time. I quickly implemented an efficient solution.

After Round 2, I received a call at 12 PM informing me that the next round would be from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM.

Round 3: Low-Level Design & System Design (1 hour 20 minutes)

This round started a bit late, around 1 PM, due to the interviewer's availability.

1. The first question involved designing the Low-Level Design (LLD) for a Connect Four game. I had to detail the structure of classes, objects, and methods, and implement the game completion logic for all 8 directions. Initially, I overcomplicated it by considering a brute-force approach with a 3D array for all 8 directions' valid coordinates. However, after a tweak, I realized it could be simplified using a sliding window approach with only 4 directions. The interviewer seemed satisfied with this refined approach and extended the interview by 20 more minutes.
2. The second question was to design a Booking Application. Since time was limited, the interviewer was more interested in the overall structure, entities, and their relationships. The system needed to support a single city with multiple theaters, multiple screens, and multiple shows. I also faced several questions on how concurrency could be handled during seat booking, specifically focusing on locking mechanisms.

At 3 PM, I received another call, confirming that my last round would be at 4 PM.

Round 4: Managerial (40 minutes)

This final round, starting at 4 PM, focused on behavioral and managerial aspects. I was asked about my previous experiences and projects, my motivation for joining Microsoft, my biggest achievement, what I would improve in my previous company if given the power, various team-based questions, my strengths, weaknesses, setbacks, and questions related to feedback.

At 7 PM, I received a call confirming that I had cleared all the rounds, and by 9 PM, an email arrived asking me to share my documents.

Two days later, I received the compensation details:

• Base Salary: 22.5L INR
• Stocks: 60k USD over 4 years (approximately 13.2L INR per year)
• Bonus: Up to 20% of Base (4.5L INR)
• Joining Bonus: Not initially offered
• Total CTC/Year: Approximately 40L INR

I attempted to negotiate for an L61 level, considering my 3.4 years of experience, but unfortunately, it was unsuccessful. I also realized that I might have been able to secure a joining bonus of 2-3L INR if I had negotiated for it initially. Ultimately, I decided to reject the offer.