Introduction

Microsoft clocked in at a whopping 16,800 crores USD in 2021 financial year making it one of the best and most profitable tech companies in the world. 

This is the primary reason why young aspirants aim to secure a reputed job in this prestigious company. 

Therefore, if you are like most people looking to make it big in tech, there is one question that will always plague you: "How can I get past this interview?" 

After all, the Microsoft software engineer interview is a tough one—and it is not just for experienced developers either. 

If you have around 2 months to prepare for the interview process then this blog post will help you ace your  Microsoft coding interview preparation.

Preparation for the 1st Month

Week 1 and 2

Pick a language.

It's important to choose a language that you are familiar with, enjoy using and can get help with. You can generally start with Python (an easy to learn and user-friendly language), C++ (to give you a basic understanding of computer systems and more), or Java (a language chosen by many to master data structures and algorithms). 

If possible, try to find some online resources for the language so you know what's going on and how to use it properly. 

This will also give you some time to practice if needed before the interview!

Practice some coding questions.

For Microsoft coding interview preparation, you should practice numerous coding questions. There are many websites available where users submit problems and receive points based on how quickly they solve them. 

These sites also have a community of people who help each other by answering questions, so if you have trouble with one of their problems you can ask others in the community for help! This will surely give you a boost in your early stage of preparation.

These websites also have a lot of questions that are similar to those you'll encounter during an interview—like "Given an array containing [1..100] integers, return all possible ways to sort this list."

 You'll be able to see how far along your skills are when faced with these types of problems on an actual day-to-day basis without having access

Get used to a whiteboard and text editor.

One of the best ways to get used to using a whiteboard is by using it for coding. This can be done by writing code in your text editor and then transferring it over to the board.

If you are not familiar with how this works, it's pretty simple: write down the steps in an algorithm on paper or on an app on your phone so that they're visible on one side of the screen while they're being executed on another side. When you're done writing out each step, cross off each one as you go along until all of them are crossed off at once. 

At that point, hang your whiteboard up somewhere where there's enough light coming through so that everything looks bright enough but not too bright where people might get headaches from staring at their screens too long without blinking (or without taking breaks). 

Practicing on a whiteboard gives you a clear understanding of how your code works. This is because in the coding editors we use, many provide the facility to auto fill or auto complete the code you are writing. Practicing without this aid will immensely help you in your Microsoft coding interview preparation.

Week 3 and 4

Pick up your textbook.

Microsoft interviews are all about problem-solving. They want to see that you have a deep understanding of coding, and they want to see that you can think on your feet. You need to be able to explain how your solution works, as well as how it solves the problem at hand.

You might be thinking "what's this got to do with me?" Well, let us tell you: in today's job market there are very few places where people get paid $150K+ per year without having some sort of technical background (and I'm not talking about CS majors). 

So, if your goal is getting into software engineering at Microsoft or elsewhere then being able to talk about problems and being able to write them down in your textbook and explain will help immensely!

Practice textbook problems without looking at solutions.

Practice problems are meant to help you learn the material and get used to the format of a question. There is no need to worry about getting them right or wrong—just focus on your goal: learning how to think like a software engineer! 

If you spend too much time worrying about time and whether or not you are doing it correctly, then it will be impossible for your brain to process the information that's being given in the book. 

Don't worry about whether or not this method works well for everyone. Instead, try out different ways of approaching each problem until one feels comfortable enough for its solution. Also begin practicing the basics of data structures and algorithms if you haven’t yet!

Preparation for the 2nd Month

Week 5 and 6

In week 5, you should review all the coding problems that you have solved so far. This will help you get familiar with the format of questions and the types of solutions that are asked for.

In addition to reviewing your solutions, it's also important to practice textbook problems without looking at solutions first (this is called dry run). After solving a problem in your textbook, go through it again without looking at its solution until after you've finished answering all other questions on your test. 

This way, when they ask, "what would happen if...?" during an interview or programming exercise, they'll think about how their answer could impact other parts of their program—and not just how things would look if everything happened perfectly right away!

By week 6, you should be well versed with basic (and advanced) coding questions related to your specific and chosen language. These would surely include some data structure and algorithm questions as well. But from now on, your main focus should be on DSA itself. DSA are also among the most asked ey java interview questions.

Week 7 and 8

The last week before the interview is your chance to test yourself. You should be able to answer most of the questions from previous weeks, as well as some new ones. Make sure you are prepared for each one with a note about what resources you used.  

If there is anything specific that needs attention, like writing code or preparing a presentation, then this is where you can get started on preparing those elements of your skillset at least one more time before heading out into an office environment without distractions!

Microsoft Coding Interview Questions

Here are some of the frequently asked Microsoft as well as ey java interview questions:

• What is the best way to pass a test?
• What is a loop?
• How do you format an array in C#?
• How do you find out if two strings are equal or not?
• How do you create an array with two elements at once in C#?

Conclusion

With these tips and tricks of Microsoft interview preparation, you are well on your way to filling out your application for an exciting new career. If you followed all of these steps and found that they did not work for you, don't be discouraged! 

It can be hard to see how much time different choices add up when planning your own interview prep plan but remember: at the end of the day. It is not about how much time or money was spent on preparation. It’s about whether or not what was done resulted in success!