33
eNPS Score
Q&A With Microsoft Employees
One of the most important drivers of our success is our culture. We fundamentally believe that we need a growth mindset culture. This starts with the belief that everyone can grow and develop; potential is nurtured, not predetermined; and anyone can change their mindset.
How employees describe working at Microsoft
great awesome. this is the best company
Review from Product Dept
Microsoft pays for a part of it.
Too many things to list!
Review from Marketing Dept
Challenges and Hiring Process really needs improvement.
Review from IT Dept
Microsoft has been hands-down the best place to work. It's hard to find a company that has a great brand, bright future, world-class employees, a generous compensation package, and positive culture.
Review from Engineering Dept
What it's like to work at Microsoft
- Microsoft employees generally work 9.2 hrs a day
- Employees at Microsoft report the work pace is comfortably fast
- On a typical day, employees at Microsoft have 2 meetings
- 84% of Microsoft employees look forward to interacting with their team every day
- Microsoft employees most often take 20-30 paid vacation and sick days each year
- 73% of Microsoft employees report they are happy with their work life balance
- Microsoft employees typically get valuable feedback on how to improve at work Once a quarter
- 82% of Microsoft employees call their work environment positive
Q&A With Microsoft Employees
IDX: 50 TOT: 163
What's the best part of your job at Microsoft?
The people I get to talk to and work with.
flexible work schedule. benefits. product set is beyond reproach
People on the outside think it's cool
How do you feel about going to work at Microsoft everyday?
GREAT! I feel very blessed to have this job.
Neither excited nor unhappy
enjoyable and not that stressful
What's the vibe like in the Engineering dept at Microsoft? How many hours are you working?
Self-absorbed and consisting mostly of busy work to fill the requisite 35 hours.
There are about 50000 engineers across several hundred teams so there is quite a bit of variability. My team specifically, is pretty chill. I generally don't work more than 40 hours/wk.
It's OK Approx 10 hours a weekday and 2 hours a weekend day
How's the morale at Microsoft?
Depends highly on the team
good as far as company health. bad in terms of teamwork due to the 5% good attrition target
Mid to low
How rewarding is your job at Microsoft?
Not much rewarding.
medium, although the product set is exciting and top notch
great
What are you most excited about working at Microsoft?
Microsoft 365 will change the business world
So many different things that you can work on if you are lucky to find a good team
Making changes
does the company pay for dinner if you stay late?
"It depends". If the group has a major push going on, then the GM will often have the admin order-in dinner, which is set in a conference room for the team. If it's just normal evening, then not in general. However, they WILL pay for a ride home if you're at work really late, say if you took public transport. This is as of a year or so ago (~2016)
MICROSOFT does not even pay for lunch; not to mention dinner.
The last time I saw this happen was well over 5 years ago when the team had extra work to get done, but then they did pay for dinner. There has not been any reason for people to need to stay late since then, so if we stay late then we are on our own for dinner.
What benefits does Microsoft provide?
Above average
benefits in Microsoft are better than most companies in the US, we have 50% 401K matching, medical, etc.
Honestly, too many to list. Free transportation to/from work via the largest private bus fleet in the world. Free public transportation card. Discounts at the employee store up to 50%. Tons of places to eat on campus. $0 premium health care. the list goes on and on.
how often do people at work eat at their desk?
On my current team, rarely. Other teams I've been on, often. Really depends on the team and people.
It depends on the location to some degree. In offices near Redmond, where company cafeterias are present, I think people eat in those cafeterias. In other offices that don't have those facilities I think more people tend to eat at their desks or congregate in a kitchen to eat with co-workers. I probably eat at my desk 4 days out of 5, but I am in a satellite office in an area without many affordable lunch places and bring lunch from home.
Usually lunch during meetings is more frequent, at desk is next most frequent. Always working through lunch one way or another
is advice and help given or do you feel like it’s “each man for itself”
On good teams, people are very cooperative. On bad teams, there is lots of politicking. Big companies have both types of teams. Microsoft is no better or worse in this regard.
I'm my org help is freely given
Depends on your effort and your coworkers willingness to help. Some teams have great support structure others do not have any. In my experience, new employees that try really hard get as much help as they need.
Do they drug test at all there?
No, but it's an odd question.
Not once in 14 years including 2 re-hires.
Not for developer role
how should i dress for an interview?
Smart casual. Polo and jeans.
Casual
suit and tie is always best
How does Microsoft handle HR issues?
Like Washington State, they don't. EOE is non-existent. You put in a complaint and nothing happens.
Broom, rug, do the math.
Extremely well and efficiently
In your opinion, what are the most common interview questions that Microsoft asks?
Why do you think you are a good fit for this position? And Why are you a good fit for Microsoft? And Do you have the schematic worked out for teleportation?
How you react within certain circumstances, they also ask about your background and future plans. Pretty standard stuff, I was hired via Skype, fairly quick and easy interview process.
Tell me a time when you ...... Behavioral for the most part. How you've dealt with difficult employees, situations, etc.
What's the pay like for Engineering roles at Microsoft?
College hires are paid very competitively, especially if they have an offer from a significant competitor (Amazon, Google, Apple etc). Industry hires are not paid as competitively with top companies but still higher than most. Microsoft is rethinking its compensation strategy to attract talent in an increasingly more competitive environment. The start of this is illustrated in the special stock awards that product facing engineers received this year (in addition to normal compensation) in amounts ranging from $30,000 (for lower level employees meeting expectations) to $125,000 (for higher level employees exceeding expectations).
Lower six-figure salary is common, "high-end" developers can make mid-six-figures.
Very good compared to the economy as a whole, roughly average compared with other tech companies.
How would you describe your overall experience interviewing at Microsoft?
The interview process is no overly difficult. Most managers focus on technology, unless interviewing for a services strategy position.
Technically challenging, good interviewers.
Pretty positive as people are nice to help you through the process.
What's the office vibe like at Microsoft?
Collaborative, celebratory, educational, fun
offices can be empty due to working from home policies. otherwise they are laid back and casual
Depends on product
What's the office layout like at Microsoft?
Open space and offices mixed
open office. very few meeting spaces.
Everything is moving to community office space. This has big drawbacks and does not always have the advertised benefits of closer development team integration.
What are the team outings like at Microsoft?
very extravagant and fun
What team outings?
great
What interview questions does Microsoft ask?
Technical and none technical related specifically candidates with growth mindset
Bored now
mostly related to previous work experiences
Are people proactive or do they wait for someone to tell them to do something
more and more people are running in place, but really waiting to be told what is to be done
Depends on the person
wait for someone to tell them to do something. although microsoft claims to encourage risk taking, they really punish people for failing. this is because mid level management is so very poor
What’s the best way to get an interview? any tips?
Know someone.
get an employee to submit your resume
Find an employee who can help share your resume. Personal referrals are the fastest way to the top of the potential candidate list.
How innovative is Microsoft?
Not very much. They tend to copy others first.
Steal like an artist.
Pretty innovative. They've made many advances in computing including areas like AI, speech recognition, motion tracking, virtual reality and quantum computing.
How do you feel about Microsoft's future?
This is a silly question. I started working at Microsoft before any of the current big competitors was even a company except for Apple, which was on its last legs. Microsoft had some slower times but has reinvented itself multiple times. Microsoft is still around and will be for a long time to come.
Microsoft's future is secure and bright.
NOT VERY GOOD. TOO MANY RACISTS IN UPPER MANAGEMENT.
What's the internship program like at Microsoft?
very fancy and welcoming, they do their best to get you to stay, but once you're committed you'll be regretting it.
Interns are treated much better than employees
The main thing about Microsoft's internship program, is that interns are given meaningful work during their internship. Interns are encourage to participate in team meetings and things like that to get a sense of what working in the group would be like.
Curious about what work's like at Microsoft?
Anonymously Ask Microsoft Employees Any Question
Should I work at Microsoft?
54% of Microsoft employees would encourage their friends to become coworkers, whereas 25% are neutral and 21% would not recommend working at Microsoft to their friends.
| 54% | Promoters |
|---|---|
| 25% | Passive |
| 21% | Detractors |
Recently Asked Questions about working at Microsoft
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- How does Microsoft measure success and growth in the Executive department?
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