Interview tips to get a great job at Microsoft or Google

I have been working at Microsoft, Redmond, WA for 10+ years. It is amazing to see the talent competition in India! It is important to learn the latest technologies and sharpen your skills prior to applying for positions at high tech companies such as Microsoft and Google. Here are a few fundamentals on how to ace the interview and get a great position:

General Guidelines:

• Be confident and systematic. Try not to be all over the board while solving problems as you might be construed as a hacker rather than a true thinker.
• Approach a problem from multiple ways and always propose multiple solutions from brute force method to most elegant solutions.
• Break each complex problem into pieces and solve them individually and put them together.
• If a solution is too obvious, stop and think. Look beyond the obvious.
• Expect ambiguous questions and ask more clarification questions.
• Recognize gotchas and call them out immediately.
• Do not frown or express “What is the intention behind this silly question” feeling.
• Exhibit confidence and show genuine enthusiasm for the job, team and company.
• Think out loud. Continue to talk and keep the interviewer informed of your thought process as that is primarily how s/he might be judging you.
• Be smart and ask smart questions, but don’t be a smart ass. Avoid using phrases like “That’s too easy”!

Feel free to ping me if you need more information on these thoughts. I will add more tips every week over the next few weeks. You can also visit http://digitalbhoomi.in/blog/category/technology for more information.

Happy Interviewing!