Microsoft L61 | In person drive | Accepted

I had an engaging interview experience at Microsoft, spanning multiple rounds, culminating in an offer. Here's how it unfolded:

Round 1: Data Structures & Algorithms + Resume

This round began with a Data Structures & Algorithms problem where I had to solve Populating Next Right Pointers in Each Node. Following that, the discussion shifted to my resume, where I elaborated on my past projects and experiences. The interviewer also asked me some specific questions related to C#.

Round 2: Data Structures & Algorithms

The second DSA round presented two problems. First, I tackled the Bottom View in Binary Tree problem. The second problem was a more straightforward hashmap question that required me to find the maximum occurring element from a given input. After successfully completing the DSA questions, we had a brief non-technical chat.

Round 3: High-Level Design (HLD)

This was a System Design round where I was challenged to design an autocomplete system, similar to what Bing uses. The interviewer was particularly interested in how I would handle a large volume of requests and scalability aspects. The discussion then delved into the CAP theorem, and while there was initial disagreement on my reasoning for prioritizing availability over consistency, we eventually reached a consensus.

Round 4: As Appropriate (AA) Round

The final round, the AA round, typically focuses on the candidate's perceived weakest interview performance. For me, this was the design round. I was asked a trivial question related to a Parking Garage System, which I found easy to answer.

Approximately 2-3 days after completing all rounds, I received an offer from Microsoft.