Ali PartoviCEO, Neo · Sway & Code.org cofounder

“You need more empathy.” The feedback Satya Nadella didn’t expect in his Microsoft job interview

16 Oct 2026 · 0 min

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0:27

In this brief monologue, the speaker recounts the final moment of a day-long series of coding interviews. The interviewer poses a situational question: while crossing the street, a child falls—what would you do? The speaker instinctively answers, “I’ll call 911.” The interviewer counters, insisting that the appropriate response is to pick up the child and hug them, then tells the candidate, “You need more empathy,” and escorts them out, signaling that the candidate will not receive the job. The anecdote highlights how interviewers may assess soft‑skill fit—specifically empathy—beyond technical ability, and how a mismatch can abruptly end a hiring process.

The entire day was all these coding interviews. And at the very end, the last question the guy asked me is, hey, you're crossing the street, a child falls, what will you do? I eventually blurted out, I'll call 911. And he gets up and he says, when a child falls, you pick them up and hug them. And he walks me out. You need more empathy. I said, oh my God, I think that's it. I'm not— definitely not getting this job.