First, I had a phone screening. Because I was applying for the PM role, the questions were centered around how I manage my time, how I prioritize tasks, and how I have effectively managed a team in the past (and what I did right/wrong on that team). This screen took around 30 minutes and, at the end of it, I was told that I would be offered an on-campus interview.
The on-campus interview was about a month later. I was scheduled for some interview event at first, but then they contacted me saying they had 'overbooked' the event and that I needed to reschedule. This was frustrating to say the least.
The actual interview experience was excellent. I was treated better than I ever have been at an interview. I was flown from Ohio, treated to a nice hotel and rental car, and was given a food allowance that allowed me to eat basically whatever I wanted. I had the option of coming in early enough to explore Seattle, which I took eagerly.
The interview day was a long one, characterized by a good amount of thumb-twiddling in between fairly relaxed interviews. I had a total of 4 1-hour interviews, although the last one was more of me getting convinced that I needed to accept the offer that was (although he never said it) clearly pending. Each interview focused on a different skillset. The first was about my design abilities. I had access to a whiteboard but never really needed it. The second was a lunch interview (I didn't have to actually interview during lunch, but I was escorted there by and sat with my interviewer) where I talked about how I would do the job of PM. It was all hypothetical situations, and the questions were open-ended. The thing that helped the most here was my prior knowledge of the PM role. My last interview was about projects I had undertaken on my own (outside of work and school) that I liked. Here, I got to talk about stuff that I couldn't fit on my resume, which was a lot of fun.
The fourth interview, as I mentioned, wasn't really an interview at all, as it was clearly meant to be an opportunity for the hiring manager to convince me that Microsoft is great and that I wanted to work there. We talked about the cool things happening at MS and the department where this manager worked (the Live team). At the end, he hinted strongly that I would get an offer but that he couldn't officially extend the offer to me at that time.
A few things I noticed about the culture and the people:
The most important was how nerdy people *weren't*. I find myself to me a socialite, especially as techies go, so I was ready to feel overwhelmed by nerdiness. This was not the case, as everyone I talked to was polite and engaging, but also clearly brilliant.
The offices were really cool. I only saw three buildings, but I saw no less than 3 ping pong tables, 6 refrigerators full of free beverages, and tons of aesthetically pleasing furniture and architecture. Most everyone was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, except the front-facing employees like receptionists.
Overall, this was a great interview experience, easily my most enjoyable so far.
On the difficulty rating: I found this interview to be difficult, but much of it stemmed from my jumpy nerves. If I had been able to keep a cool head, I would have found the process much easier.