I just finished taking a student to fight Microsoft corporation The first round of VO, while the memory is still warm, I'll give you a complete review. Microsoft's interview style has always been the type of "gentle but not standardized", and this round is the same - the interviewer is very friendly, chatting in a relaxed atmosphere, but every question is asked in a very accurate way, very much depends on the candidate's real ability.
Background of trainees
- Masonry CS
- 1 internship as Software Engineer in a medium-sized company
- Not a lot of questions (less than 200), belongs to the category of "solid foundation, average depth".
- BQ was a bit scattered before, so the day before this time I helped him with a 40-minute structured presentation.
The overall position belongs to: basic ability OK, but need someone to express the logic and the rhythm of the scene to stabilize the type.
Part BQ: Microsoft's style is "soft but deep"
This round of BQ was typical of Microsoft flavor: instead of going after big words and platitudes, it was all about whether or not you had actually solved a problem. There are three channels:
- How do you break through technical bottlenecks?
On the spot, I let the trainees walk through the logic of "problem splitting → information collection → small-scale experimental verification", and the interviewer listened very carefully and nodded several times. - How do you explain technical solutions to non-technical colleagues?
Teach him to use Microsoft's favorite structure: metaphors and analogies + de-technical words + display constraints and trade-offs. the results are outstanding. - Chat about an experience improving the maintainability of a project through refactoring.
I prepared a small closed loop of "bad smell → refactoring → quantitative enhancement" for the students in advance, and it went very smoothly on the spot.
Overall, the interviewer clearly felt that his project experience was "really done", not memorized.
Coding: basic questions also show basic skills
The question is about reversing strings -- no built-in reverses allowed -- which is very basic, but Microsoft favors the "people with bad fundamentals will mess it up" type of question.
The robust solution we chose is:
- String to list (because Python strings are immutable)
- Left and right pointers to the center
- Swap elements one at a time until they meet
- The last join is back to the string
Time complexity O(n), space O(n), clean readable implementation, no tricks.
As the trainee wrote, I voice-reminded two points from the sidelines:
- Note that the index recursion is not reversed.
- Be careful not to misuse Python's slice (interviewers will catch it)
Overall one pass.
Follow-up questions are also quite routine:
- What if I ask for in-place?
Make clear the restriction of "language immutability vs. in-place support for arrays", and by the way, give the list double pointer. - Reverse word order?
split → reverse → join, or handwritten parse will work, depending on your style.
The interviewer listened and said on the spot:
"Great explanation. Very clear."
FAQ: Microsoft VO Round 1 Frequently Asked Questions Organizer
Q1: Will Microsoft definitely ask BQ in the first round of VO?
Basically, they will ask. Microsoft is very interested in "team communication", "cooperation" and "ownership", especially in the first round.
Q2：Does Coding have to be basic questions?
The odds are. Microsoft's below mid-level positions look more at the basics and don't give too many demon questions. But writing messy is easy to cool.
Q3：Do I need to prepare system design?
Usually not in the first round. Unless it's SDE2 / senior.
Q4: What should I do if I can't express myself well in English?
Microsoft looks at clarity more than whether you are native or not. structural clarity is more important than syntax.
Q5：Does Follow-up affect the final result?
Follow-up is a key part of Microsoft's test of "scalability" and "boundary awareness".
Q6：Can I use Python for VO?
Can. Microsoft is very lenient on language, as long as it's readable.
Final result: smooth through!
The pace of the whole session was very comfortable, and the difficulty level was not too high, but belonged to the Microsoft standard process of "basic skills + structured expression", which is indispensable. Participants' performance was also very stable, and they seemed to be well-prepared, well-organized, and had real experiences.
If you also have a Microsoft VO behind you, it's recommended to put in ahead of time:
- BQ's logic line is clear.
- Coding's implementation habits are polished
- Boundary conditions for common follow-ups
Easily get through this round.
If you need our VO assists , you can also come to me at any time. Our line has steadily taken a lot of Microsoft VO, the rhythm, question types, routines are very familiar, the scene is more not easy to panic.
Good luck with your landing Microsoft!
