Microsoft | SWE 2 | Rejected
Summary
I attended a Microsoft hiring drive for an SWE 2 role, which consisted of two Data Structures and Algorithms rounds and one System Design round, ultimately resulting in a rejection.
Full Experience
I attended a Microsoft hiring drive on October 31st for an SWE 2 position. The interview process consisted of three rounds. The first round involved two Data Structures and Algorithms questions, which were Max Consecutive Ones III and Rotting Oranges. The exact same questions were asked. The second round also focused on DSA, where I was asked the Word Ladder problem, with an additional requirement to print one of the shortest sequences. The third round was a High-Level Design discussion, focusing on adding a 'top K songs in the last 7 days' feature to a music streaming service like Spotify. Unfortunately, this round did not go well, and I was subsequently rejected after the third round.
Interview Questions (4)
Max Consecutive Ones III
Rotting Oranges
I was asked the exact same question as Rotting Oranges.
Word Ladder with Shortest Sequence
I was asked the Word Ladder problem, with an additional requirement to print one of the shortest sequences.
System Design: Top K Songs in Last 7 Days for Music Service
Given a music streaming service like Spotify, I needed to design a feature to return the top K songs in the last 7 days. The interviewer asked me to focus only on components related to this new feature.