Microsoft Software Engineer interview: correct solutions that still timed out

Microsoft·Software Engineer·Reported Jul 2026
Technical ScreenMedium

My technical rounds were mostly classic DSA questions, but efficiency mattered most. I could tell they were judging more than whether my logic worked. My approach also had to be optimized enough to pass the last few tests. Time limits were part of the challenge, and if I wrote something too slow, the end of the test suite failed.

The process stayed focused on performance. The stressful part was not surprise topics, but making sure a solution would hold up under the constraints. I finished without an offer. My honest reflection was that the real barrier was recognizing when an answer could be correct but still too slow.

Location: Belgrade, Central Serbia. Overall feedback: positive. Offer status: no offer.

Published

Curated and edited by PracHub

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Interview at a glance

Company
Microsoft
Role
Software Engineer
Rounds
Technical Screen
Difficulty
Medium
Date
Reported Jul 2026

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