Vighnesh Shenoy - PPO at Microsoft
Written on September 22nd , 2020 by {"login"=>"jcbitshyd", "email"=>"journal@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in", "display_name"=>"Journal Club, BPHC", "first_name"=>"", "last_name"=>""}Q1. Hello, before we get started with the interview. Could you introduce yourself?
A1. My branch is Mathematics and Computer Science, and I got selected for Microsoft in my SI. I'm currently doing my PS2 in Amazon Hyderabad. The duration of the Microsoft SI was eight weeks, and it started around May 10. I don't remember the exact numbers, but around 34 people were selected for the internship, whereas the PPO numbers were about 25 to 30.
Q2. Could you tell us about the selection process, the testing process, and the interview you had for getting your SI?
A2. There was one online coding round that had three questions, and they were pretty easy. There were different sets. In general, they varied from difficult to easy, but not too difficult. It was followed by an offline coding round. There was one question, we were given a sheet of paper and asked to write the actual code, not the pseudocode. However, they were lenient about the syntax and everything. After that round, there was a technical interview where they asked me questions related to DSA, OOPS, DBMS, etc. This round was followed by another technical round with similar questions and format revolving around the same topics. After the second technical round, there was a final round with the HR.
Q3, How long did you prepare for your SI? How much time and effort would you advise for the same?
A3. I didn't exactly prepare a lot, but I think I got a bit lucky with the Microsoft tests. They were a bit easier compared to those of the other companies. The SI tests were happening in September. So, I think I started preparing in August when the semester started. I did have a bit of prior practice, though; I occasionally solved problems on Codeforces and CodeChef in the summer vacation, but that was not very regular. I'd do them whenever I felt like it. It was in August; I started solving questions on Interviewbit, Leetcode, visiting GeeksforGeeks for advice, solutions, problems, etc. So, I think one or two months of preparation should be enough. If you don't have anything else to do in your summer vacation, you can utilize it for SI.
Q4. What were the major resources you used to prepare for the interview process?
A4. I honestly did not prepare for the interview process, which I do not recommend to people. I just kind of winged it. I'm pretty sure there are resources. I think there are some interview experiences on GeeksforGeeks, the sort of questions people were asked, and the responses they gave and stuff like that. So people can go through that.
Q5. What resources did you use for competitive coding?
A5. For general computer coding, websites like Codeforces, CodeChef, HackerRank, HackerEarth, etc. These are pretty good. You can solve questions randomly over there. If you want an experience specifically targeted towards coding tests for internships or jobs, there's GeeksforGeeks, Interviewbit, and LeetCode. And the questions on these three websites will be comparatively easier than the other three because the other three websites are specifically for computer coding competitions. So you can use the latter ones but do visit the other websites to solve problems as well because at the end of the day, the more problems you solve, the better.
Q6.What were the courses which helped you with the same?
A6. The most important courses hands down would be OOPS; it is pretty important because, in the first technical round, the interviewer majorly asked me about various OOPS concepts like encapsulation, abstraction, etc. It was specifically steered towards that. DSA is obviously important as a course because, in the coding round and the technical interviews, you get DSA questions as well. Then there's also DBMS, which is kind of important. They will ask you questions about databases, normalizations. So, these three would be the most important courses that I would name.
Q7. Were there any other college-related resources like PS1 that companies look at extensively while selecting people?
A7. For me, they did not look at my PS-1. It depends on the interviewer you get. You can't predict these sorts of things. Besides this, there are other courses that can help you like Discrete Mathematics, which helps you indirectly. There are other college resources, like online college groups, for competitive coding, which can help you; people are always ready to solve doubts. They also have some weekly competitions where they list out the top participants. They also have summer competitive groups, which are helpful too.
Q8. What was your position at Microsoft while you had your SI there?
What work did that involve you doing?
A8. My position was as an SDE intern. Microsoft has software called Microsoft Exchange, which is like the backbone of Outlook and everything. It's an email and calendaring service that helps you maintain schedules and everything for your organization. So, I was a part of the team that worked on Exchange. I had to develop some features for it; the team was looking at some features, and I had to mostly develop them as a proof of concept, not a full-scale feature development. I also had to document the entire process so that when in the future, the team decides to implement it into production, they have a reference to go about. I had to mostly use C# (C Sharp) because it was a Windows app, and they only use C# for that.
Q9.How did the WFH aspect of your SI affect the general nature of the job?
A9. I'm pretty sure it would have been much easier physically than virtually because when you're in an office, you can walk up to someone sitting on the next desk and talk to them if you're stuck somewhere or have a doubt. When you're online, you have to message them, wait for them to read it, call them, and discuss it. It happens that you get stuck multiple times, and every time you have to go through this process. Sometimes you have to do it entirely over text. So, virtually, you don't have the same kind of interaction with the employees. When you're in an office environment, the team goes out to chill or hang out after work hours, like an informal interaction over dinner or something. So, when you're working from home, it feels like only you're doing all the work because you don't have the same kind of interaction you would have when in person. Some teams did have fun and recreational activities once in a while; my team also did, but it's obviously not the same. You feel detached from your colleagues because you have never met them, and you have barely seen their faces a few times on calls.
Q10.How did you find working with your team at Microsoft, and how big of a role did the senior colleagues play in guiding you?
A10. The colleagues are really helpful. Obviously, I was stuck in a lot of places because it was something new and not what I was normally doing. I've never written C# code, nor have I written code with such a big application. In these cases, you will get help from your team. Also, considering you're working from home, you need help setting up your environment and making sure everything's working right. So they did help a lot like anytime I was stuck, I could message anyone in the team. I even had a direct mentor allotted to me, responsible for helping me and a manager. Besides these two people, I could also message anyone else for any queries that I had. You could message them, and whenever they were free after work, they would help me, even set up calls, spend almost an hour talking to me, and help me go through the process.
Q11. Could you tell us a bit about your profile (including your projects and research experiences)?
A11. I have a few informal projects that I did, which kind of helped me with the interview process. Besides that, I have a few college projects - in Information Retrieval. In OOPS and DBMS, I had to do a few course projects, which were also helpful.
It's very rare that you work on a personal project, and it ends up being directly related to the kind of work you get in an office. You might have used the same technologies; in website development, you would've used React. If the office you work at has a website that uses React, it is helpful as you don't have to scratch.
I don't have any formal research experience. From an SI or a placement perspective, research experience isn't going to matter a lot unless it's a data science project, and it's a data science profile that you're applying for. In these cases, the research experience might help a lot. In some cases, the research experience can be a drawback, maybe during placements because they will think you are planning for a Master's or something.
Q12. Could you tell us more about the SI-PPO conversion process?
A12. At the end of the internship, in the last week, they set up interviews with each of the candidates. So there was a technical interview again. Some people had one interview, some two, some three; I don't know on what basis they decided how many interviews each person was going to have. So, based on these interviews, the selection was made. Along with the interview, they also took in your manager's recommendation, where the manager had to review the work that the intern did. These form the criteria to get a PPO. A good review from your manager and a good interview will convert an SI to a PPO.
I had two interviews. My first one was a technical interview, while the second one was like an HR interview. In the first interview, the interviewer asked me a tough question; I fumbled around with it for like a while; I gave an approach that didn't turn out to be the correct approach. But the interviewer then nudged me in the right direction, and I ended up making some changes, etc. Apparently, that was enough for him, but some other interviewer would have focused on how much I fumbled and would have concluded that I was not capable or eligible. So it depends on a lot of factors like the interviewer and the questions you get.
Q13. How heavily do you weigh the role of soft-skills, CGPA, and technical skills, in your SI process and the SI to PPO conversion?
A13. CGPA is not an important factor for conversion or even an SI as long as your GPA is above the SI criteria for eligibility. Beyond that, it is completely irrelevant.
Technical skills obviously help because if your technical skills are good, it directly correlates to your work, you'll have an easier time doing it. And, better the work, better the review you get from the manager and hence, better chances for a PPO.
Your soft skills help - being able to interact with your team members, coordinate with them, take responsibility for the work you're doing, schedule meetings, set up tasks, etc. It's never really about technical prowess completely. You need to communicate with your colleagues and team members and your managers or seniors to show that you are taking responsibility for everything you are doing. You need to meet the requirements for your task, meet the deliverables by the end of your deadline. So, technical skills are the most important.
Q14. How important do you think doing an SI is for a single-degree student and for dualites?
A14. I would say that it's really important for single degree students because you have something to do in the summer, instead of just sitting at home and having just one PS. So you're going to be on campus for the other semester anyways, so you might as well make that semester on campus as the first term and do a summer internship in the summer vacations of the second last year. The advantage of an SI is you have something to mention in your resume. You have an experience of how corporate works. If you do get a PPO, then you can completely chill. You don't have to sit for placements; you have nothing to stress about in your final year. If you don't have a better alternative than this, there are no cons to this for a single degree student unless you're going for MITACS or some other research program. Every dualite has confusion about picking up a summer intern at some point, given the fact that you won't get an opportunity for the double semester PS because they overlap.
I was confused too. But the way I looked at it was: If I were to take a double semester PS and had managed to get a PPO, I'd end up working in the same company in the future. The internship allowed me to gain experience in two companies, I could do an SI in one company, and I could have a PS in some other company. The chances for PPO were a bit lesser because I was not going for a double semester PS, but I was satisfied. I was prepared for the worst-case that I'd have to sit for the placements. So you have to be prepared for that. You can't just completely assume you're going to get a PPO. You need to have a backup plan, which is your preparation for placements.
Q15. Do you have any suggestions for your juniors who are appearing for the SI cycle this year or would be appearing for it in a year from now?
A15. The SI cycle is stressful because you're worried about your future, but don't get too disheartened if you don't get an SI. An SI is not a certificate that your career is going to be successful. It's not a guarantee in any form. Nor is it a bad thing if you don't get an SI. It's something that is helpful even without which you can spend your time productively - you can prepare for placements in that time, get a good company or prepare for research or whatever you're interested in. On the other hand, don't get too overconfident on getting an SI; you still have to work hard towards a PPO and be prepared for placements if you don't get a PPO.
Q16. How did you spend your 3rd-year summer?
A16. I didn't have anything to do in my third-year summer, so I decided to take up a summer term. But honestly, I would not recommend it.
First of all, I feel like the effort I wanted to put into studying was much lesser than the normal semester, so it wasn't a good idea. Secondly, I didn't really like some of the professors during the summer term, so I dropped some courses in the summer term, which is honestly a waste of money. So, I did a summer term, but if someone else had asked me what to do during the summer, I'd have said stay at home, prepare for placements, and/or work on projects.
Q17. What are your plans for the upcoming placements or PS2 cycle? Do you have any off-campus placement or internship plans?
A17. Not really, I'm honestly going to chill. Thanks to the new scheme, I do not have to go through the entire process of sitting for placements, preparing for placements because it is really stressful. Even the SI process will be a bit stressful, but the placement cycle is going to be much more stressful because you're nearing the end of your college life. So I am happy that I don't have that to sit for that. Now I have my PS to look forward to. So, this was one good thing that came out of COVID: I got to do a double semester PS as well as an SI.
I'm not preparing for placements. When the placement form was floated, I enrolled for semester one. So technically, my placement cycle is going on now. So I have my PS to look forward to. No other plans.
Q18. Do you have any advice for juniors, academic or otherwise?
A18. Do engage in recreational activities on campus, be a part of clubs and departments because you do get to meet many smart people. And, you get to grow as a person by meeting very talented people on campus. So definitely join some clubs and departments. However, don't waste time because I definitely wasted some time in my college life, which I could have spent doing something else. There were a lot of times where I would binge a TV show or do a movie marathon. I mean, you can do that once in a while, but don't make it a habit and ignore everything. Also, I did say that CGPA is not important, but please keep it above seven. Plan your time accordingly because I am doing my PS right now, and I can say that college gives you much more free time than most people have when they work because when you work, your schedule is just going to be almost from nine to five or the like and you come home tired. You might want to work on a side project, even when you're working, but you don't have the energy. So your college is the best time to explore, learn, dabble into whatever you're interested in, be it technical or non-technical, literature, drama, or any skill you're interested in. Honestly, make the most of your college life. That's it.