Turn: My interview experience with Microsoft Asia Research Institute

 

Turn: My interview experience with Microsoft Asia Research Institute

I am from Class 1, LEVEL 01, department of broadcasting and television, School of Journalism, Guangzhou University. I stepped out of the school in July. In March this year, I was lucky enough to be recommended to the Microsoft Asia Research Institute. I applied for a graphic assistant researcher. After three months of progress, I finally received an oral offer in early June. However, it is a pity that at the beginning of July, when I was about to move to Beijing, Ig suspended recruiting new employees due to department adjustments, and my offer had to be withdrawn. It is only one step away from msra. Although there are still infinite regrets in the end, as a large number of students and a liberal arts students, I can go to the magma building in Beijing through three phone interviews, faced with the most famous Microsoft interview, and finally passed the interview, I feel very worthy of myself, worthy of years of efforts.

I would like to share this valuable interview experience with many younger siblings and hope to give you confidence. The entry into such a large institution as Microsoft Research Institute is not actually the patent of Tsinghua University's high-tech students. As long as it has the ability, its door will be opened to anyone.

[B] I. Background [/B]

I like programming very much and I like programming very much. Although I have been studying liberal arts for a long time and my scientific achievements are not satisfactory, I have spent almost all my spare time writing programs and researching graphics. After entering the mass news system, I have been studying graphics for the past four years and determined to be a set of Chinese Renderer, so I have made myself very sharp, c ++, ASM, raytrace, WIN32API, virtual machine, compiler, I have studied very deeply in every field related to Renderer. In my junior year, I have re-designed a complete object-oriented runtime system. In early 04, I started designing the Renderer.

In March, I chose Southern TV station, which is a professional counterpart, to serve as an intern reporter for the city special search column on the urban channel. I did this for half a year and I didn't get a penny. In March, I published a Renderer that has been formed and can run very well on the Internet. This graphic system that has reached the quasi-real-time Ray tracking level has attracted the attention of many people, especially the attention of many game makers. In the past few days, I have received offer from more than a dozen companies. Most of them are game companies, and there are also large companies like Shanda. But at last I picked a new company in Wuxi, the Hollywood (China) digital art R & D center. At that time, I thought it was a new company with a relatively large development space. I took a few days off and flew to Wuxi to see it. It felt very good, so even if the offer was actually quite low, the trial is only 3200 (before tax), and I decided to give it a try.

In this way, I spent five months in Wuxi from November to March. After the Chinese New Year in, I went back to Wuxi and started some projects. At that time, I talked about the right thing for the company, and the boss gave me a 5 K pre-tax plan ). To be honest, I felt quite depressed at the time, because I had a certain distance from my ideal number, and a foreign game company in Shanghai came into contact with me that day, they offered me two times the current salary and assigned company options, so I went to Shanghai on Saturday. After talking to them for three hours on Sunday, they started a 6.5 k trial and officially launched an 8 K offer after tax. At that time, although I was very happy, I still had no idea about the instant job-hopping, and I felt that there was still some room for discussion with the company. After all, it was more interesting to do Renderer than to do games. But in the end, the company only offered me a 6 K offer, and I felt that I had decided.

But just as I was about to jump to Shanghai, a friend I just met in Shanghai occasionally introduced me to his friends at Microsoft's Asia Research Institute. In fact, this was just an accident. It was the first time I had dinner with him. I joked that if I could go to the Microsoft Asia Research Institute, I would like to give it a month. Then he asked me, are you sure you want to go there? I said, dream of it!

Two days later, a associate researcher from Internet Graphics at the Microsoft Asia Research Institute contacted me and asked me to ask for VC first, and then asked me to do the first phone interview one afternoon.

[B] 2. First phone interview [/B]

That is Monday, January 1, March 13. At that time, I was very nervous and very nervous, because I did not have any bottom, this is my first formal interview. Before and after graduation, I basically only talked about jobs, talked with the owner, or talked directly with the boss, and did not have a formal interview. I am a vice researcher who published three papers in Siggraph and was invited to serve as a guest at Gates. I know that I am dealing with world-class people, in peacetime, this kind of mini-mix on the internet is completely incomparable, so be careful.

At the beginning, the other party asked me not to be too nervous. Then, let me open the code I wrote and ask questions about each part of the code. The problem is not very difficult, such as the use of indirectdiffuse, some basic knowledge of photonmap, as well as some cutting-edge knowledge of CPU architecture, optimization algorithms, and graphics. The conversation lasted for about an hour. I felt quite satisfied with the conversation and kept saying "Good, good ". Finally, he asked me to wait for the message.

A few days later, he told me that VC had already been given to the boss and the real application SS started. At this time, I decided not to stay in Wuxi. I chose to go back to Guangzhou to prepare for Microsoft's interview and tried my best to rush to Microsoft. I learned from my friends that I still have a "great opportunity.

[B] 3. The second phone interview [/B]

After returning to Guangzhou, I devoted myself to writing the original Renderer and tried to sharpen some of my required capabilities, especially coding. But in fact I found that I was wrong. coding technology is not the focus, but algorithm.

I returned home at the end of March and received an email until mid-December April. At that time, I was very excited. It was sent by ig's team lead, about my phone interview time. From this email, all the contacts are transferred to English, and all my replies must be in English.

I forgot the last few days of April 10. In short, on an afternoon that I did not seem to have any preparation, the researcher with a PhD and Senior Graphics called. This is an unforgettable interview. Although I have performed poorly, the other party taught me a lot and gave me a lot of useful suggestions for my life.

At first, he asked some questions about BSP and the space acceleration Algorithm for ray tracing. In this regard, I am familiar with BSP, but his question is totally different from what I usually do, because I lack engineering knowledge and many things are understood by sensibility, I didn't make reasoning and calculations from a rational and abstract perspective, so my weak academic foundation was exposed to researchers with profound skill ...... In many cases, I can't say it, but I am afraid that I don't know it, so I want to confuse it. As a result, he told me, the question he asked is not a definite answer to me, but a reflection of my thoughts and ways of thinking. Therefore, I do not know what it means. As a result, I did not dare to install anything I did not understand.

Next I asked some questions about my algorithms, and then I asked questions about career planning. This aspect is quite good. I am a joke. I gave him a general introduction to how I learned and how to study on my own. He asked me why I didn't take a postgraduate student. I said that I spent a year fighting hard and doing what I did not like was not worthwhile. He said that at work, you may spend more time doing things you don't want to do for two, three, or more years, in exchange for a better opportunity to do your own business, so if you don't even want to pay for a year, how can we make a bigger sacrifice? I was speechless. In fact, I still wanted to take a postgraduate exam, but I had no foundation or courage.

Finally, he gave me a lot of suggestions and told me that if I want to take a postgraduate exam, he could give me a recommendation.

This time, I did very poorly, mainly because I stayed at home for a long time and did not maintain my work status. It was too far behind when I was in Wuxi, in addition, I was not very well prepared before the interview. I thought this meeting was as simple and smooth as the first one, but this time it was different-the focus of team lead is different from that of researchers, researchers only care about whether your technology has reached a certain level, while team lead attaches more importance to your work attitude and way of thinking.

After interview, I thought that such a bad performance would lead to the completion of this job application. As a result, in the second week, I received the third interview notification from team lead.

[B] IV. Offline interview [/B]

Beyond my expectation, I got an offline interview opportunity. TTG team lead contacted me and gave me a question. The content of the question was confidential, I have followed this agreement, so I cannot say it here. It can only be said that this is a question that is hard to say, easy to say, and difficult to understand. It covers a wide range from data structures and algorithms to interface design, and there are many "traps, we can see the programming skills of the examinee.

I receive a question on Monday afternoon and want to submit an answer before Friday. In fact, after I have read the questions, I am already aware of the algorithms used. It is really easy to implement, but the other party asks me to write the highest level of code as much as possible, so I spent more time looking for the best algorithm possible, it also takes into account the code elegance, stability, maintainability, and so on.

As a result, I used one day for algorithm Testing, one day for code testing, and one day for final testing, with almost no sleep. Code submitted on Thursday evening. Then I found a fatal error that night and submitted more revised code.

Even though I was notified of please stop working on that problem the next day, I was also told that HR will soon inform me that I will go to Beijing for a formal interview.

[B] v. formal interview [/B]

I have to admire the rigor of Microsoft interview. Even though I have experienced interview in Autodesk and Netease, I still look back at Microsoft's most perfect and meticulous recruitment.

First, HR will send an email to confirm that you have obtained an opportunity to interview in Beijing, and remind you that you need to provide your identity and diploma certificate. Microsoft will reimburse you for the round-trip ticket and book a two-day hotel for you, so that they will pay the basic cost of your journey.

I have made a reservation with HR for formal interview on April 9, May 11, and I will arrive in Beijing on April 9, May 10 and leave on April 9, May 12. The two-day schedule was very compact, and I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to visit Beijing for the first time, but later I decided to give priority to the interview, and there will be many opportunities to visit in the future.

Before that, I have heard about Microsoft's interview and many descriptions, including their mental skills and lunch interview. After confirming that I can go to Beijing, I carefully searched the internet for all the information about the Microsoft interview, including foreign and domestic documents, and collected a variety of smart questions and programming questions, there are also a variety of questions about how to assess emotional intelligence. After reading these questions and the interview process over and over again, I can almost "Virtualize" my own interview pieces.

On the 9th, I deleted all the interview materials and then started to pack and prepare for the journey. Just at the last minute, I suddenly found myself a very large vulnerability-I did not write the Sorting Algorithm until two days before the interview! Because regular sorting is rarely used in graphics, I usually use STL or CRT. So I took algorithm and data structure with me and prepared to review the last night of the interview.

On the 10th, I took a noon flight to Beijing. After arriving in Beijing, it was already afternoon. By taking the airport bus, you can go to Beihang -- Microsoft booked a reception room in Beihang training center for me. After arriving at Beihang and finding the guest house, I checked in the Microsoft interview name. The room is a pretty double room with complete facilities, which is about three-star standard and comfortable. This provides a good environment for the examinee to rest.

After sorting out my luggage, I decided to buy bread for dinner first, because I had to interview the next day. I was afraid that eating would lead to bad stomach (although the chances are low, but I absolutely cannot take this risk), and then I need to buy a few mineral water, because Microsoft will talk about a day's interview, there are many things to say, therefore, ensure that there is enough water (at least one with water, others are put in the room for drinking, Beijing is dry, and enough water must be added ).

After returning to the room from the supermarket and having dinner, I decided to explore the road first. It was expected that the time should be good, so that I would not be late the next day. After all, being late is a big headache for the interview. Before I arrived in Beijing, I checked the road conditions from Beihang to the magma building in go2map. But after all, it was just an electronic map, which is quite different from the actual road conditions, so I noted down the general direction and route, and decided to take a walk to the magma building, perform a drill, and first conduct a field trip.

After walking through the light rail for a long time, I finally arrived at the magma building. Looking at the glorious Fifth floor, I feel infinite yearning. On the top floor of the magma tower, there is a Microsoft billboard. It seems to have been a few days and the color is pale. It says "your potential, our power ".

I am familiar with the route. I guess it will take me half an hour to finish. So I decided to start at, go to the magma building at, and get an interview on time.

When I got back to the room, I opened my notebook and looked at the raytrace code. Then I figured out several common sorting algorithms to master the main principles. Finally, let's look at some graphics concepts and consolidate them. I am asleep at around 11 o'clock.

It's a sleep night, not a sleep, but a sleep, a sleep, And a sleep. I am very nervous and very nervous. It feels worse than the night before the college entrance examination. It may be such an opportunity all my life, so I cannot force myself to seize it. Early in the morning in Beijing, it was very early. I remember that I woke up more than and forced myself to sleep until. Then I started the TV and watched the Phoenix morning shuttle bus while preparing for the work. After eating bread as breakfast, I changed my clothes and took a deep breath and set off.

Today, the sun is shining and the sun is shining. I feel like it will be a smooth day, so I have a lot of confidence. In any case, I am heading towards the magma tower.

When I walked to the higemma building again, I felt a little awkward, but it looked like the time had reached. Now that the time has reached, I have to rush to the building! Then, a group of Microsoft elites at work answered the elevator.

On the fifth floor, the front desk of Microsoft Asia Research Institute is displayed at the entrance of the elevator. Although not luxurious, It is very elegant and elegant. The silver Microsoft logo is very conspicuous. There are also some other candidates at the front-end. It is said that there are an average of five interviews a day. It seems that the interview pass rate is quite low. Because I belong to social recruitment rather than planning recruitment, my interview is conducted independently. If it doesn't belong to the kind of collective interview, then I am responsible for one HR.

HR sister came out, the legendary Stella. She smiled and took me to the third floor. The legendary Microsoft Asian Engineering Institute Act took me to a rest room on the third floor. Then I saw that the second interview team lead, the boss of the IG Siggraph group, was already sitting there waiting for me and holding a copy of my resume in his hand, there is also a piece of paper, such as the score table. HR Sister handed me over to him and then left. After a warm greeting, the interview will officially begin.

 

Gorgeous split line --------------------------------

For now, lead is called T. T is very kind and has no shelf. He said hello to me and started chatting with me. In fact, this interview is not an "exam" interview. It just keeps chatting and focuses on a certain topic. In communication, we can observe the examinee's abilities and technical skills. I like this interview method very much, because there can be interactions and exchanges during the conversation. On the one hand, the examiner will examine you, and on the other hand, the communication with the examiner will also improve his knowledge and skills, I am very fond of this interview because I can still make friends.

At the beginning of the conversation with T, I got a little nervous, and then I gradually relaxed. Maybe because T was very kind, I also spoke a lot of words to encourage me. After Entering the topic, the focus is on the communication content. I am such a person. Once I talk about topics that I am familiar with and like, I will be so excited. But I still keep controlling myself and tell myself that this is a very important interview, and I need to control the scale.

T has already interviewed me by phone, so he has a general understanding of me, asking for some supplements and some details. Then T gave me a question and asked me to calculate it on the draft paper and try again. This is a graphics question, a geometric class, and it is very basic. I have some related ideas in my mind, but t expands the question, I only know the solutions under special circumstances, but I do not know a solution that covers all situations.

The opportunity is reserved for well-prepared people. Before coming, I have browsed many blogs of candidates with Microsoft interview experience and read many suggestions and lessons, it is very important to know how to constantly communicate with the examiner. The examiner does not need to get an answer, but to look at the ideas of the examinee's disintegration and the attitude towards difficulties.

Everyone has a different reaction to the problem. What Microsoft needs is the ability to face the challenge. The harder the questions are, the deeper the technology is, the more excited and fearless the questions are. This is what a qualified researcher wants to do. On the contrary, in the face of difficulties, you will not be given the opportunity to go to the next round of interview.

At the same time, we must understand how to express our own ideas, and how to communicate with each other. Do not think that we are only solving problems. The other party is an invigilator. This is not an exam. An important feature of Microsoft's interview is that you and the examiner need to solve the problem together when doing the question. He is a guide role and a temporary partner. If you solve the problem independently without communicating with him, this will be considered a lack of teamwork ability. What the team needs is not a standalone. Microsoft can solve these problems independently. What they need is to be integrated into the team and have the ability to communicate and collaborate.

So when I solve the problem, I paid great attention to the communication with T, and constantly expressed some ideas, expressed my own ideas, and obtained sufficient information from him.

Finally, I worked out the correct algorithm with T's prompt and assistance, and t also determined my abilities. Before starting the next round of interview, t took me to the tea room and asked me to take the drinks in it. The whole tea room is like a canteen, but everything is yours! This is the practice of large enterprises. I think that in Wuxi, a small cup of coffee also needs an iron cake. Later, when I came to Autodesk, I saw that they were also like this. I heard that there was iyun mineral water renale in the tea room ...... When can Chinese enterprises be people-oriented?