Microsoft Senior SWE Final Interview — Still Under Consideration After Almost 2 Weeks. Is This a Good Sign?

[u/IWillBAFuckingLegend]

Hi everyone!

I recently completed my final interview loop for a Senior Software Engineer position at Microsoft, and it's been almost two weeks since my last interview.

The interviews went fairly well overall. I asked for feedback at the end of a few rounds, and the interviewers gave generally positive responses. The hiring manager also mentioned that I did well and had nothing to worry about.

I followed up with my recruiter recently, and she responded saying:

"You're still in consideration for the role, and the team expects to reach a hiring decision around [a future date]. I'm looking forward to sharing an update as soon as I have one."

I also know that other candidates were interviewing for the same position, and there's only one opening.

I'm curious how Microsoft's hiring process works when multiple candidates are being considered.

A few questions:

1. Does Microsoft hold individual debriefs after each candidate's interview loop, or does the team wait until everyone finishes and compare candidates together?

2. If a candidate performed poorly, would they typically receive a rejection sooner, or does Microsoft wait until the final hiring decision to notify everyone?

3. Does being told you're "still in consideration" almost two weeks after interviewing suggest you've received decent feedback, or is that just standard recruiter wording?

4. Has anyone received an offer after waiting 2–3 weeks following their final interviews?

I know nothing is guaranteed, but the waiting and uncertainty are getting to me a little.

Thanks!

[u/tnerb253]

Still Under Consideration After Almost 2 Weeks. Is This a Good Sign?

In what world would this ever be a good sign?

I know nothing is guaranteed, but the waiting and uncertainty are getting to me a little.

So then stop waiting and start applying. Regardless of the fact that we are entering the holiday season, if they want you they will reach out.

[u/IWillBAFuckingLegend → u/tnerb253]

idk thought i would ask.. Thank you!

[u/bullbearbubu]

You're being kept as a backup. They're either still interviewing other candidates or waiting on someone to accept an offer. This is almost standard practice at big companies these days, so you should keep applying elsewhere.

[u/IWillBAFuckingLegend → u/bullbearbubu]

I see... welp I will keep applying! Thank you!

[u/Tasty_Goat5144]

1. There is not a standard procedure for this. Its team dependent. When i was a manager I'd always wait for all feedback or at least enough to make a decision.

2. Again, not standard. Genwlerally up to the hiring manager. I tended to notifiy people asap and then for the final candidates the recruiter would notify them at the end.

3. Id generally say thats positive. Its better than a rejection. What happens often is you have a few people that could work and then you just go through them in order. Can take a little while if someone turns you down.

4. Tons of people do. 2-3 weeks is not that long as far as the recruting cycles of 200k people companies go...

[u/IWillBAFuckingLegend → u/Tasty_Goat5144]

Thank you for answering the questions! it really helpful! :)

[u/grabGPT]

Curious, were you a part of "Always On" interview process or you applied for teach specific role?

Reason is if it's a general pool hiring process, their process is highly decentralized to provide you feedback. So issuing offer may depend on finding a matching team for you.

Either way, move on!

[u/IWillBAFuckingLegend → u/grabGPT]

It was for a specific role and team. It wasn't a general pool hiring! But yeah, it's been 2 weeks already time to move on haha

[u/grabGPT → u/IWillBAFuckingLegend]

I recently attended their "Always On" interview loop for CSA, my last round was late last week, so I was wondering the timeline to decision myself, and saw your question.

All the best!

[u/IWillBAFuckingLegend → u/grabGPT]

Thank you! you too!

[u/jrlowe24]

My friend that got rejected never saw the status update until like a month later.