My Interview at Microsoft

About two years ago I had an interview with Microsoft for a DBA position. This is how it went. First I received a phone call from a technical interviewer. We spoke for about 45 minutes on the phone. He asked me various questions about performance and optimization. He asked me about ACID - Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability. Backups and Recovery and of course replication. He seemed pretty easy going on the phone and when a couple of times I was not sure he even said okay don't worry about it, just remember to remember this if I received a person to person interview.

Well I must of did okay. Next thing I knew I had a plane ticket to Texas and a Hotel and car booked for me. I was on my way to Texas within a week for the interview.

I arrived the night before and they put me up in a decent business hotel. All expenses were paid for so I did not have to pay anything out of pocket.

I jumped in my prepaid rental car that Microsoft had arranged and took a tour of the area. I drove over to the campus to ensure I knew where to go.

My interview was set for 1 PM and I had a flight at 6:30 PM back home so I thought that would be plenty of time.
When I arrived I introduced myself and was given a temporary badge and I waited for a good 30 minutes before someone came to get me.

They brought me into a boardroom and sat me down and left. Then two of them came back in. Then the technical interview began. The two interviewing me are not people I would consider relaxed and easy going. I thought right off the bat what am I doing here. These guys were hard core geeks and want to be Gate'rs. I was not overly enthused. They were not overly prepared but neither was I. In all honesty I had just had a baby a month before and was looking for a little mini vacation when I got a call from a head hunter. My spouse thought it would be a good idea for me to get away for a night even if it was for an interview. I in no way was serious about taking the job it was in Fargo? I wanted to see what an interview at Microsoft was like and I had never been to Texas and you never know but my heart was not really in it.

The two that did the technical interview were nice enough but they seemed the type to laugh at byte jokes and not have too much of a personal life. Me being a new mom, I was wary of this type of environment. They asked me pretty much the same questions as the technical phone interview. I totally drew a blank on the ACID question and at one point I even said I am not sure if this is what I really want. They asked me about connectivity resolution and connection problems and I was spewing off answers left and right and I was out of ideas, I could not think of anymore diagnostic answers to give. They acknowledged nothing that i said was right or wrong. I was starting to get annoyed. They kept asking what I would do next. After a certain time of giving answer after answer I finally said I don't know. I said I thought I covered most of the possible causes. What am I missing here. That is when they said nothing, that I was right. I was furious. They were playing with me. I don't like to be played. What were they trying to achieve? After that question I pretty much shut down. The one thing that I had over them was I was not 24 I was 37 and experienced and I know how to manage issues and I know how to trouble shoot I also know how to talk to the business and I know what critical thinking is. I also know what is important and I know what wasn't. I thought to myself I could explain it in a practical sense but I would never repeat what I read in a book. I am not that kind of person. I don't like it when people expect a book answer. Sit me in front of a problem I will solve it and at the end of the day, I think that is most important. So if you want to cite "Technical Jargon" maybe this place is for you.

Finally when they left, their boss came in. A texan an average guy who probably enjoys football. A people person. The other two were not originally from TEXAS I can assure you this. He sat with me for about 25 minutes after he met with his staff. He asked me the every day questions like why I wanted to work with Microsoft, explained the position in detail, and where I see myself in the corporation. All in all I thought the experience was interesting. There were two things that came from the trip. A realization that I at this point did not want to work for Microsoft and that I had a better understanding of my niche as a DBA.

So what happened? The feedback I received was this. They had some concerns about a Canadian making a big move and they were not sure if I would fit in with the existing team. They mentioned a few weaknesses in replication and ACID (yah I know) but that was it. They wondered why I did not apply at the Canadian location. Hmm good point, but I didn't have an answer.

I figure if you contact me and put me on a plane and pay for everything I must be somewhat qualified enough. Or do they waste money like that on everyone that applies?
Have you ever been interviewed by Microsoft what was your impression?

I am sure there are people that really enjoy working for Microsoft and I am not putting anyone down, this is just my opinion and my interview.