I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Microsoft (Sammamish, WA) in Apr 2011
Interview
Contacted by IT Recruiter 1 week after submitting resume. Next step was a phone screen with Hiring Manager. He tested knowledge of concepts of technologies used in his division followed by questions about Agile and Waterfall SDLC.
After that I was invited for onsite interview. Initial loop had 3 ppl: Manager of SDET, Manager of SDE and another PM (peer).
Manager of SDET mostly asked about PM techniques and how I'll integrate QA into my Project Planning.
Manager of SDE mostly asked conceptual solutions about a real life problem they were trying to solve and also took me to lunch. Most of the talk over lunch was about the benefits of working for MS.
Post lunch, I met with another Program Manager from my group who mostly asked about my thoughts on Agile and situations where I have used it.
After that I was informed that I have another interview with hiring manager who mostly asked about my past experiences and situational questions. He had already talked to me over phone during the screening.
He then took me to another person's office without informing me who he was. That person asked me my first puzzle question and cut me short 25% into my solution. Then informed me that he was the Group Manager - hiring manager reports to him. After that he mostly talked about how wonderful the company is and how great this team and its impact is on the world.
That was the last interview for the day. He escorted me out and couple of days later I heard from the recruiter that they'll like to hire me and the negotiation process started.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Technical design question on high availability websites - a real problem they were trying to solve (or so I was told)
I applied online. I interviewed at Microsoft (Hyderābād) in Jan 2026
Interview
Not a great experience with interviews taking 1 month to complete. Despite ongoing communication, the role did not move forward, reportedly due to approval constraints. The overall experience highlights a gap in aligning internal approvals before progressing candidates to advanced stages.
Clearer communication and better alignment internally would improve the candidate experience
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Questions on Project Experience and Thought process
The interview process is grueling and I get why people do it but its more awareness, know that you'll spend an entire day and meet several people, so it's important to be mentally and physically prepared. Eat a good breakfast but not heavy stay hydrated. This was just for a PM role it's their standard process I imagine executive level is another thing altogether
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
Tell me about a time you didn't agree with someone who was a stakeholder on your project and how did you handle that?
Very smooth, thoughtful interview process. It showed the recruiter really cared what I had to contribute and asked great followup clarifying questions. Would definitely recommend everyone try an interview with them even if it doesn't pan out.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Name one project that you have worked on and tell us the outcomes?
Program Manager applicants have rated the interview process at Microsoft with 3.3 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 68% positive. To compare, the company-average is 66.4% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Program Manager roles take an average of 28 days to get hired, when considering 553 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Microsoft overall takes an average of 30 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Microsoft as a Program Manager according to 553 Glassdoor interviews include:
One on one interview: 39%
Phone interview: 22%
Skills test: 9%
Background check: 7%
Group panel interview: 7%
Personality test: 4%
Presentation: 4%
IQ intelligence test: 3%
Drug test: 2%
Other: 1%
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