What can I expect as I go through the interview process?
Typically a Recruiter, such as myself, will contact you via a phone call, e-mail or both. The very first thing EVERY Microsoft recruiter will ask you to do is to apply online for the position that interests you most. If you are interested in Services/Escalation Engineering (my first love), all of the positions are just right above this blog posting for your viewing pleasure.

Once you have applied to the position it is important that you immediately let your recruiter know you are ready to proceed. At that pointhey will 1) either arrange a time to talk 2) send you an E Screen. HINT: Read the directions in ANY screen VERY carefully .

Once the initial screen is complete, it is coupled with your resume and sent to a group of Hiring Managers for review. If there is mutual interest, you will either 1) Be invited to tech screen 2)Your recruiter will follow up with you and ask additional questions. The Technical Screen is conducted by Phone and is typically just one hour with either the Hiring Manager or a Senior member of the team. During the screen you will be asked many problem solving questions, so take some time to prepare.

Within 24-48 hours after your technical screen your recruiter will contact you to let you know if they will be proceeding with On Site Interviews. 

You made it to On Site Interviews, what happens now?
First, a recruiting coordinator will touch base with you to confirm an interview date and make necessary travel arrangments. Now its time to prepare for the big day:  

The goals of the Microsoft interview process are for us to get to know you and for you to get to know us. We pride ourselves on an in-depth experience that allows that to happen. The process includes actually having you “do the job” during the interview. Expect that beyond asking questions about your background, we’ll also have you test features and write code. If you don’t feel comfortable with that, please let me know.

The Escalation Enginner Position 
Beyond practical questions, we want to learn more about how you think. When questions are ambiguous, you should ask for clarification. And for any situation, you should be able to put yourself in the position of the customer—how would you expect this product to work?

During your interview day, you can expect to meet with three-five people for one hour apiece, so be sure to get a good night’s sleep—it’s an exhausting day!  We have a healthy supply of beverages; however, you may wish to bring a snack or two. Bring your questions as well—what do you want to learn about the position, the team, the company in general. Your interviews will be with other Escalation Engineers and Managers, so you’ll have the chance to have those issues addressed by the people doing the job. By the end of the day, we want to make sure that you’ve had a chance to learn what you need to know.

We’re very excited to have the chance to get to know you better, and we hope you’re excited to learn more about us. 

Longer term, an Escalation Enginner career can lead you down a management path or deep into technical engineering (or both!). Microsoft has a road map for success in both arenas, whether it’s leading the teams that create products, managing a project and all the parts of it, or understanding patterns in the problems we encounter and engineering solutions that prevent them from happening again. At Microsoft, we understand the value of a true Escalation Engineering discipline with a solid career path—something that many companies don’t have.