Online Application
This will take between 30 minutes to an hour. It requires you to fill out your educational career and previous work experience. It does not require you to submit any grades. At Microsoft, the recruitment process focuses on your personality and character rather than your grades. No cover letter is required either.
How to respond for success
Ioana submitted her details on a summer job she had for a couple of months. This role required manual repairs on hardware, like laptops and computers. Although this is not directly connected to Microsoft’s technology, Ioana was able to link this to her experiences of customer service, understanding what the client requires and demonstrates an interest in technology.
Expect a 2-day wait before progressing to the next stage.
Virtual Interview
This is a 30 minute discussion with a Microsoft assessor on Skype. The interview will not require you to answer technical questions, but will have questions which focus on your experiences and personality. They will also ask questions which link to day-to-day working life which require you to answer how you would act.
Example task
A typical question would be: "How do you make sure you understand a client's needs?".
How to respond for success
It is essential that you focus on Microsoft’s core values and link them to your work experiences. For example, Ioana answered a question on understanding client needs and responded by explaining how she would act to help a customer and linked it to her experience of servicing computers, by having conversations with customers to solve the problem, service the electronics and return it to them. Ioana then linked her experiences to one of the core values of Microsoft, in this case Integrity.
Microsoft uses this stage of the application to gage you as a person and to understand if you are a suitable fit to the Microsoft team. The atmosphere of this interview is relaxed and an opportunity to connect with the assessor by engaging in casual conversation whilst demonstrating your passion to work at Microsoft.
Expect a 1-week wait before progressing to the next stage.
Virtual Interview
This is a 30 minute discussion with a Microsoft assessor on Skype. The interview will not require you to answer technical questions, but will have questions which focus on your experiences and personality. They will also ask questions which link to day-to-day working life which require you to answer how you would act.
Example task
A typical question would be: "How do you make sure you understand a client's needs?".
How to respond for success
It is essential that you focus on Microsoft’s core values and link them to your work experiences. For example, Ioana answered a question on understanding client needs and responded by explaining how she would act to help a customer and linked it to her experience of servicing computers, by having conversations with customers to solve the problem, service the electronics and return it to them. Ioana then linked her experiences to one of the core values of Microsoft, in this case Integrity.
Microsoft uses this stage of the application to gage you as a person and to understand if you are a suitable fit to the Microsoft team. The atmosphere of this interview is relaxed and an opportunity to connect with the assessor by engaging in casual conversation whilst demonstrating your passion to work at Microsoft.
Expect a 1-week wait before progressing to the next stage.
Assessment Centre
The assessment centre is 4 hours long and is broken down into 4 segments. There will be 2-3 other candidates and 3 assessors from Microsoft, one of which will be your manager for the relevant team you are applying for.
Speed networking session
This is a 30 minute conversation with all of the candidates and assessors on a group call. The Microsoft assessors set the tone straight away by talking about topics non-work or tech related and has a very casual atmosphere.
Presentation
Before you attend the Assessment Centre, you will be emailed a couple of days before on what you are required to present. The presentation will focus on a randomly selected topic which is general, but includes technology that Microsoft has innovated. You will prepare a 10 minute presentation and deliver it to one of the assessors before a 1-to-1 Q&A for the remaining 20 minutes.
How to respond for success
Try and be as creative as possible and look at how Microsoft delivers presentations. Ioana presented her ideas in a style aligned with Microsoft’s corporate culture which made the presentation engaging for the assessor, demonstrating how she was a good fit for the team.
1-1 Interview
This interview will solely focus on Situational Awareness and lasts around 45 minutes. Your assessor will ask a series of questions which are related to how you would act in a particular scenario of a typical work day. There will be 7 to 8 questions asked, but will be asked in a more conversational style than a formal interview.
Example task
A typical question would be “If you are confronted by a colleague to help them on a project which requires immediate attention, what would you do?”
How to respond for success
Explain how you would act in each scenario with two things in mind. Firstly, try and explain how you would act by connecting it to your previous work experiences. This will give your answer more credibility and realism, demonstrating that you are prepared to react to different scenarios. Secondly, always link your answer to Microsoft’s core values by explaining why you would act in a certain way.
Group presentation
You will be asked to work with your rival candidates to deliver a group presentation. You will have 20 minutes to plan and 10 minutes to deliver the presentation which will focus on Microsoft’s products and technology.
How to respond for success
If you want to stand out against your rival’s in the right way, it is important to demonstrate leadership which is not obvious or “showy” but tactful and respectful to your team. For example, throughout the planning stage, Ioana always spoke last on a problem, but not ordering or demanding her team members, but by questioning and suggesting ideas. If you are bossy or speak over others, this is not an effective way to communicate in a team and will demonstrate that you are not a good leader.The assessors will be looking for how you communicate with your team, time management and other soft skills which are essential in a team project like conflict resolution and presentation skills.
