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I interviewed with most of the "tech giants" and Microsoft's process was by far the best (professional and down-to-earth). Maybe this was due to the target (language team), maybe due to the location (Redmond), but at least with me they left a great impression.

I think it really depends on the individuals you interview with. I've been through Google's supposedly infamous interview process and had a very positive experience (even tho I didn't get an offer).

One interviewer blew cigarette smoke in my face, for example.

Literally? That sounds like something you'd experience in the first half of the last century, but not with a tech company today.

Literally. It was outside between buildings, as punctuation for declaring that if I wasn’t an expert on X, I couldn’t know anything about Y. X being a common tool in some areas of Y, which I’d done for several years.

"One interviewer blew cigarette smoke in my face, for example"

lol. Usually that costs extra.