Explore Intern
Department: Xbox Game Studios (343 Industries)
My experience
Overview
Worked with my explore pod on cinematics for Halo's Narrative team. Out project dealt with internal tools. Not gonna say much else, just to be sure I don't break my NDA lol.
One of the best summers of my life in and outside of work; felt like a huge summer camp. Intern housing was at hotels then UW dorms with Amazon interns. I made so many meaningful life-long professional and personal connections th8is summer, but the experience is what you make of it. I know some interns that had completely different experiences than I did because of the choices they made in terms of housing and who they chose to interact with and reach out to.
Pros
amazing people, flexibility to network and explore other sectors you're interested in, very uplifting environment, soo many events and random stuff they do for interns throughout your time there (sent us to professional sports games, sent us all snack boxes, gaming tournaments and lots of sweepstakes for merch/prizes, random gift cards, etc.)
Cons
explore interns don't have team match anymore - they assign teams now (wasn't a con for me; I loved my team, but a lot of others did wish otherwise)
Impact of work
Time spent working
Interview advice
How did you find the job / apply?
Interview Rounds
Interview type
Interview questions
Phone Screen - Background/Resume Questions: - what is your favorite Microsoft product? What is your least favorite feature about this product? - Why Microsoft? - How would you explain a computer to someone? - Favorite Computer Science concept and why? First Final Round (Past Experience/Behavioral): Can't remember the exact questions, but they were the basic questions where they asked what I would do in certain situations when I would be working with a team, etc. They also asked some behavioral questions in terms of my past experiences as well. Second Final Round (Technical/Logic): A lot of PM questions where they would ask me how I would go about dealing with certain gaming industry situations as an FTE. I also received 2-3 riddles. Received a technical question in which my interviewer asked me to explain without coding anything at all (which was a lot harder than I realized lol).
Advice on how to prepare
Make sure you apply early and make sure to present your best (relevant) self in your resume! The resume hump to get a phone screen interview is the hardest to get past for a lot of people. Also, breathe and relax during your interviews to give yourself the best chance at answering the questions confidently and in the best way possible. Sometimes nerves can jeopardize people's chances since it blocks them from focusing on the questions they're given.
More questions? Send the reviewer a message!