RyanRead Part Two: The anatomy of the big day here.
Read Part Three: Question and answer game plan here.

No matter if you are just out of college or an experienced professional, your upcoming interview at Microsoft is bound to conjure all sorts of emotions. Most candidates are excited, nervous, anxious, ecstatic or some combination of all of the above.

Regardless of what you might be feeling, this three-part article is intended to help you prepare for your interview. It will give you a sense of what to expect on the day of the interview, as well as some hints and tips to help you be successful.

Part 1: Preparation and the day before your interview...

It’s important that you do your homework before you arrive at Microsoft. Always study the group with which you will interview. Research the product(s) developed by that group and check for news mentions. Come prepared with questions about the product and feature ideas. Also give thought to questions that will help you understand the team and Microsoft as a whole (i.e. What do you like about working on this team? What do you think sets your group apart from others at Microsoft? etc.)

It is useful to imagine yourself as the person interviewing a candidate for their team. A candidate who is not familiar with the product or isn’t curious about the team will likely not leave a good impression with the interviewer. If you don’t show passion and excitement about the team and their product, they’ll wonder why you’re interviewing for their team.

If you’re interviewing for one of our engineering disciplines, you might want to brush up on your core computer science knowledge. While you can use any language in a coding problem, often times, the interviewer will want you to understand what a class is handling for you on the back end (think memory management, etc.). You may even want to do online research for sample coding questions in order to get some practice.

Spend some time reviewing your resume. Make sure to have examples of how you’ve used your listed skills – even if it was three years ago. Also, brainstorm a couple accomplishments for each position you’ve held. What I’ve found works for me is to jot down some bullets next to each position so I will remember what I want to highlight during the interview.

After you’ve prepared mentally for the interview, it’s time to figure out what to wear. Microsoft is known as a very casual workplace when it comes to attire. You’ll probably have at least one interviewer in jeans and a T-shirt and I’ve even had managers come to my office without wearing shoes. The most important consideration when choosing what to wear is: comfort. Don’t wear a suit or anything formal. Not only will you will stick out like a sore thumb, but you may feel awkward and uncomfortable.  I recommend dressing business-casual for your interview – as an example, khakis or jeans with a collared shirt for guys.

To make sure you’re able to give your best, plan to get a full night’s rest prior to the interview. If you are arriving from out of town, make sure to get to the Seattle-area no later than 6:00 pm the night before. This guarantees that you have plenty of time to get to your hotel, find a restaurant for dinner and relax before you turn in for the night. While this may not seem like a big deal, I’ve found it makes a big difference in how candidates perform during their interview day. Once, I had a candidate book the latest flight out of his local airport the day before the interview. His flight was cancelled and since his flight was the last one of the day, there weren’t any alternate flights available. He missed his interview and we had to reschedule everything.

That’s it, you should be ready for the big day. Also, check out Part Two where I describe the interview day itself. Part Three is coming soon...

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