How many sections are in Microsoft placement paper?

Microsoft placement paper has 3 sections: Coding Round, Technical Interview, Behavioral Interview. Total 13 questions in 180 minutes.

Is Microsoft placement paper negative marking applicable?

Negative marking policies vary by year for Microsoft. Typically the aptitude and reasoning sections do not carry negative marking, but the coding and technical sections may. Always check the official Microsoft recruitment portal for the latest exam rules before your test date.

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Microsoft India Placement Papers

Q: What is the difficulty level of Microsoft placement test?

Microsoft placement test is rated Hard difficulty. Microsoft 2026 campus hiring across IITs, NITs and top engineering colleges. The HackerRank assessment in 2026 includes one system design question in addition to coding problems. Microsoft is specifically hiring for AI, Azure, and Security roles.

2025 & 2026 — Questions, Answers & Tips

Hard Difficulty13 Questions180 minutes3 Sections

Year-wise Papers

Microsoft 2026 Paper →Microsoft 2025 Paper →

About the Microsoft Placement Test

Microsoft 2026 campus hiring across IITs, NITs and top engineering colleges. The HackerRank assessment in 2026 includes one system design question in addition to coding problems. Microsoft is specifically hiring for AI, Azure, and Security roles.

Section-wise Breakdown

Coding Round

3 Questions

Data StructuresAlgorithmsDynamic ProgrammingSystem Design Basics

Technical Interview

5 Questions

OS ConceptsDBMSNetworkingOOPProblem Solving

Behavioral Interview

5 Questions

Growth MindsetCollaborationLeadershipAdaptability

Sample Questions

Coding Round

Q1. What is the output of this Python code? arr = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] print(arr[-2])

A. 3

B. 4

C. 2

D. 5

Explanation:

arr[-2] accesses the second element from the end. In [1,2,3,4,5], that is index 3 which has value 4.

Q2. What does this code return? def f(n): return n if n <= 1 else f(n-1) + f(n-2) f(5)

A. 5

B. 8

C. 13

D. 3

Explanation:

This is a Fibonacci function. f(0)=0,f(1)=1,f(2)=1,f(3)=2,f(4)=3,f(5)=5.

Q3. What is the space complexity of an algorithm that uses a single variable regardless of input size?

A. O(n)

B. O(log n)

C. O(1)

D. O(n²)

Explanation:

O(1) or constant space complexity means memory usage does not grow with input size. A single variable takes constant space.

Q4. Which sorting algorithm has the best average-case time complexity?

A. Bubble Sort

B. Insertion Sort

C. Merge Sort

D. Selection Sort

Explanation:

Merge Sort has O(n log n) average and worst case. Bubble, Insertion, and Selection sort are O(n²) on average.

Q5. What is printed? for i in range(1, 6): if i == 3: continue print(i, end=' ')

A. 1 2 3 4 5

B. 1 2 4 5

C. 1 2

D. 1 2 3 5

Explanation:

The continue statement skips the rest of the loop body when i==3. So 3 is not printed. Output: 1 2 4 5.

Technical Interview

Q1. What is the output of: int x = 5; printf('%d', x++);

A. 5

B. 6

C. 4

D. Compiler error

Explanation:

Post-increment: x++ returns current value (5) then increments. So printf prints 5, and x becomes 6 after the statement.

Q2. Which SQL clause is used to filter groups after GROUP BY?

A. WHERE

B. HAVING

C. FILTER

D. CONDITION

Explanation:

WHERE filters individual rows before grouping. HAVING filters groups after GROUP BY. Example: GROUP BY dept HAVING COUNT(*) > 5.

Q3. What data structure is used for BFS (Breadth First Search)?

A. Stack

B. Queue

C. Tree

D. Heap

Explanation:

BFS uses a Queue (FIFO) to explore nodes level by level. DFS uses a Stack (LIFO) or recursion to explore depth-first.

Q4. What is the time complexity of binary search?

A. O(n)

B. O(n²)

C. O(log n)

D. O(n log n)

Explanation:

Binary search halves the search space at each step. With n elements, it takes at most log₂(n) comparisons. Time complexity = O(log n).

Q5. In OOPS, what is method overloading?

A. Defining same method in child class

B. Multiple methods with same name but different parameters

C. Using a method from parent class

D. Making a method private

Explanation:

Method overloading (compile-time polymorphism) allows multiple methods with the same name but different parameter types or count. Example: add(int,int) and add(double,double).

Behavioral Interview

Q1. A can do a piece of work in 10 days and B can do it in 15 days. In how many days will they finish the work together?

A. 4 days

B. 6 days

C. 5 days

D. 8 days

Explanation:

A's rate = 1/10, B's rate = 1/15. Combined = 1/10 + 1/15 = 3/30 + 2/30 = 5/30 = 1/6. So they finish in 6 days.

Q2. If the selling price of 12 articles equals the cost price of 16 articles, what is the profit percentage?

A. 20%

B. 25%

C. 33.33%

D. 28%

Explanation:

SP of 12 = CP of 16. Let CP of each = 1. CP of 12 = 12, SP of 12 = 16. Profit = 4. Profit% = (4/12) × 100 = 33.33%.

Q3. The simple interest on ₹5000 at 8% per annum for 3 years is:

A. ₹1000

B. ₹1200

C. ₹1500

D. ₹800

Explanation:

SI = (P × R × T)/100 = (5000 × 8 × 3)/100 = 120000/100 = ₹1200.

Q4. A train 150m long passes a pole in 15 seconds. How long will it take to pass a platform 300m long?

A. 30 seconds

B. 45 seconds

C. 25 seconds

D. 35 seconds

Explanation:

Speed = 150/15 = 10 m/s. Distance to cover = 150 + 300 = 450m. Time = 450/10 = 45 seconds.

Q5. What is 35% of 80% of 500?

A. 120

B. 140

C. 130

D. 160

Explanation:

80% of 500 = 400. 35% of 400 = 140.

How to Crack Microsoft Placement Test

1.AI/ML roles: basic ML concepts (overfitting, bias-variance) now in scope
2.Azure roles: know cloud computing basics — IaaS, PaaS, SaaS definitions
3.Coding: practice LeetCode Hard problems tagged 'Microsoft'
4.Behavioral: 'model-coach-care' management philosophy shows in questions
5.FAANG-level DSA preparation is non-negotiable for Microsoft

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