I applied in-person. I interviewed at Microsoft (Redmond, WA)
Interview
None, I had worked on the team before and the hiring manager knew what to expect. He also had very specific tasks in mind and needed help asap. I think my language skills came into play as this was a China project. I speak Mandarin natively.
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Microsoft
Interview
I was an FTE for several years and now an external doing an informational interview. Pretty sad and disappointing to know the process is so broken. Had heard negative stories from others but didn't believe it until I became an external again. They simply do_not respond to you if they aren't moving forward with you. Not even a courtesy email. I wish they put some feedback process in place to check on these vendors-recruiters' work. They leave bad impression, which is totally against their hiring principles.