Microsoft - interview guide

Microsoft interview questions - a complete guide

In Microsoft's loop, almost every interviewer also asks a behavioural question. Here is how to prepare for coding, design and collaboration.

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About Microsoft

Microsoft is a global company behind Windows, Office, the Azure cloud and many other products, with large engineering centres in Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Collaboration questions come up a lot alongside coding in the interview loop.

This guide covers 12 Microsoft interview questions with answers - what each question checks and how to answer it - plus the Microsoft interview process, round by round, a 7-day preparation plan for freshers, tips and the mistakes to avoid.

Microsoft hiring process

  1. Step 1: Recruiter screen

    A short call on your background, your interest in the role and logistics.

  2. Step 2: Technical screen

    Coding in a shared editor - thinking out loud is essential.

  3. Step 3: Interview loop

    Several interviews (often 4-6): coding, sometimes design, and behavioural questions in almost every round.

Microsoft does not publish its interview process for India freshers in detail (as of our check). This information is based on candidate reports and varies by role, level and team.

Sources (checked 15 October 2026): Microsoft Careers (careers.microsoft.com). Hiring processes change - read the official notice before you apply.

Microsoft interview questions and answers

Coding and design

  1. 1.Reverse a linked list in groups of k.

    What they're checking
    A deep understanding of pointers.
    How to answer
    Reverse each group of k nodes and connect it to the previous group; leave the remaining nodes (fewer than k) as they are. Explain with a diagram.

  2. 2.Clone a graph.

    What they're checking
    Graph traversal + a hash map.
    How to answer
    Keep a map from each original node to its copy during BFS/DFS. For each neighbour, create a copy or take it from the map.

  3. 3.Build a queue using two stacks.

    What they're checking
    Data structure design.
    How to answer
    Push onto one stack; to pop, if the second stack is empty, move all elements from the first into it. Amortized O(1).

  4. 4.Design a parking lot (low-level design).

    What they're checking
    OOP design.
    How to answer
    Classes: ParkingLot, Level, Spot (by size), Vehicle, Ticket. Ask about requirements first, then the classes and how they relate.

Behavioural

  1. 5.Tell me about a time you worked with another team.

    What they're checking
    Cross-team collaboration - asked a lot in Microsoft interviews.
    How to answer
    In STAR: which team, what was hard (different priorities), how you aligned, the result.

  2. 6.What did you learn from a mistake?

    What they're checking
    Growth mindset.
    How to answer
    Admit the mistake, say what you learned and what you do differently now - don't blame.

  3. 7.How did you persuade someone without having authority?

    What they're checking
    Influence.
    How to answer
    With data, a prototype or by showing the other person's benefit - a real example.

More coding questions

  1. 8.Serialize and deserialize a binary tree.

    What they're checking
    Trees + design.
    How to answer
    Write the values in preorder, with a marker for null; rebuild them in the same order with recursion.

  2. 9.Rotate an array by k steps without an extra array.

    What they're checking
    An array trick.
    How to answer
    Reverse the whole array, then the first k, then the rest. k = k % n.

  3. 10.Find the lowest common ancestor of two nodes in a binary tree.

    What they're checking
    Tree recursion.
    How to answer
    If nodes are found in both left and right, the current node is the LCA; otherwise pass up whichever side found one.

  4. 11.Design a file system (folders, files) - low-level design.

    What they're checking
    OOP design.
    How to answer
    Entry (base), File and Directory; a Directory holds a list of children; find, create and delete by path.

  5. 12.When did you do something extra for a user that nobody asked for?

    What they're checking
    Customer focus.
    How to answer
    What you noticed, what you did, and the effect on the user.

7-day preparation plan for the Microsoft interview

  1. Day 1: Linked lists and trees.
  2. Day 2: Graphs - clone, BFS/DFS.
  3. Day 3: Design - queue/stack, LLD basics.
  4. Day 4: Arrays - rotation, two pointers.
  5. Day 5: Behavioural - collaboration and growth mindset stories.
  6. Day 6: A mock loop - 2 coding + 1 behavioural.
  7. Day 7: Revision.

Preparation tips

  • Preparing only for coding isn't enough - behavioural stories matter just as much.
  • Asking for clarification or saying 'I need a moment' is perfectly fine.
  • Understand patterns rather than memorising questions - the questions keep changing.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Preparing only coding and skipping behavioural.
  • Staying quiet when in doubt - ask for clarification.
  • Not testing edge cases.

Frequently asked questions

How many rounds are in the Microsoft interview loop?

Commonly reported: about 4-6 interviews, each about an hour.

What are Microsoft's behavioural questions based on?

Commonly collaboration, cross-team work, influence and the habit of learning.

Do freshers get system design at Microsoft?

More in senior roles; freshers may get low-level or OOP design.

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