PM at Microsoft - Steven Sinofsky
http://blogs.msdn.com/techtalk/archive/2005/12/16/504872.aspx
Program Managers help drive product development through designing specifications and product goals, vision, and features. They are technically proficient and have a clear understanding of the algorithmic ideas behind code. PMs have very strong communication skills and project management skills. Coding is not necessarily part of a PM's daily responsibilities, but we do look for people with experience coding in C, C++,C#, and/or Java, and your coding skills will likely be evaluated during the interview. JobsBlog posts that mention PMs can be found here, and a video PM job description is available on View<myWorld>
http://blogs.msdn.com/jobsblog/pages/JobsBlogFAQ.aspx
http://blogs.msdn.com/jobsblog/archive/2004/04/26/120598.aspx
http://blogs.msdn.com/chris_pratley/archive/2004/02/09/70474.aspx
http://blogs.technet.com/kclemson/archive/2004/03/05/85011.aspx
4 levels:
Group Program Manager, Sr. Program Manager, Program Manger Management, Program Manager.
http://blogs.msdn.com/jobsblog/archive/2005/05/31/423623.aspx
http://blogs.msdn.com/jobsblog/archive/2005/07/29/now-who-reports-to-who.aspx
software development process
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_development_process
Interview of Program/Market Manager position
http://adamjh.blogspot.com/2007/03/microsoft-program-manager-interview.html
Program Manager (PM) Interview tips
http://blogs.msdn.com/descapa/archive/2007/03/24/program-manager-pm-interview-tips.aspx
sample Program Manager interview
http://blog.mattgoyer.com/technical-interview-at-amazon-sde-and-microsoft-program-manager
Interviewing at Microsoft
I arrived early to the Microsoft interviewing building, filled out my forms, and sat and watched all the other nervous candidates trickle in for their 8:30 appointments. A number of other students were called up before me, but then it was my chance. The day started with HR.
This is by no means a comprehensive list but it highlights some of the bigger questions. I got a lot of repeats of the usual questions like:
* Where do you want to be in 2-5+ years?
* Why Microsoft?
* Why PM?
* Talk about past experiences, what would you do differently?
The day started at 8:30.
* HR
* Introduction to how the day will work
* General HR type questions
- PM - Windows Media Player
* How would we design Windows Media Player to run on a TV
* Talk about putting a 1.5 mile runway on a 1 mile by 1 mile plot of land
* What are the differences between C and C++
* Explain Object Oriented programming to your grandmother
* You have 6 months to do a 9 month project. What do you do?
- PM - Windows Media Player
* Why don’t you use Windows Media Player?
* What are 4 improvements you would make to Windows Media Player 9?
* Prioritize them
* You do not have enough time to do them all, now what?
- I now cut all those improvements and ask you to do something you do not want to do, how do you react?
- Talk about Windows Media Guide, how do we make it more relevant?
- Talked about a lesson learned from a past experience, how do you apply that lesson today?
- PM (lunch) - eHome
* Design a 1m x 1m bathroom
* Teach me how to sail
* What was your most difficult project?
* How have you demonstrated leadership at a previous company?
- PM - eHome
* Demo’d the technology of one of the teams I was interviewing with
* Talked about a problem with a Microsoft product and brainstormed ways of resolving it
* We talked about the future of the technology and some of the problems they currently have
- Head PM - Windows Media Player
* What haven’t you been asked?
* Asked a brainteaser about tribes and people being marked and having to jump to their deaths. It’s a logic puzzle. I might have only been asked this because I answered that I had not been asked any brain teasers for the above question.
* How do you motivate developers?
* Urged me to ask *any* questions about Microsoft (salary,…)
- ‘As appropriate’ - Executive for Outlook
* We are a car company and want to make our key fobs our competitive advantage / the reason why people buy our cars. Talk about a framework for evaluating ideas and then generate some.
* Where do you want to be in five years?
* If you were an absentee landlord how would you take care of your house?
* How do you handle renting to friends?
* What advances are we going to see ten years from now? What are the impacts?
* Talked a lot about my goals and future. Lots of drilling deep down into them.
- HR
* Recap of how the day went
* What would lead me to choose Amazon over Microsoft? Microsoft over Amazon?
* Talked about what happens next
- Dinner w/Microsoft employee of my choice (Robert Scoble)
* Dinner person was not in on the ‘interview loop’
question to interview a manager
http://www.martincmartin.com/blog/?p=72
http://projectmanagement.ittoolbox.com/documents/popular-q-and-a/project-manager-interview-questions-785#