I applied through university. I interviewed at Cisco (Bengaluru) in Jul 2019
Interview
I applied through college/University. The first round was aptitude round. i got shortlisted and was called to their company to attend f2f technical round. The first round was excellent the interviewers were impressed with my answers they asked basic coding questions on stack and linked list and few other basic networking questions and they mentioned that i was selected and asked me to wait for hr round and while i was waiting for hr to call me.. after 2 hours i was asked to attend another technical round which was bit tricky and it was a pressure interview, well i managed to answer the questions well asked by the interviewer and later he too said i was selected and asked me to wait for hr round. Although my resume was sent to hr first she called all the other selected students first i was worried why my name hasn't been called yet..and finally i was the last person waiting to attend the hr round by then one of the hr co-ordinator says the job positions has been filled and asked me to leave.. This was a terrible experience i had in cisco where inspite of clearing all the rounds well i wasn't given a chance to attend the hr round. Although i believe they blindly select the students based on the academic score but i don't understand why do they send interview call letter to the students at first place if they don't consider the candidate skills and give more importance to academic score. i tried to contact the hr after a week and no response yet. I am disappointed with the overall experience.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Questions on linked list, stack and few other questions on academic subjects.
Standard panel, very simple leetcodes. reverse linked list kind of vibe s . I was literarly asked about how a linked list is structured and reversing it. there was almost no friction which I was shocked by one of the reason I did not accept
I applied online. I interviewed at Cisco (Bengaluru) in Jun 2026
Interview
The interview started well and covered backend concepts, Java, system design, and coding. I answered the questions confidently and had a positive interaction throughout.
After receiving the rejection, I spoke with HR to understand the feedback. I was informed that the interviewer believed I was looking at answers during the interview. This came as a surprise because I was not referring to any external material. I have a habit of looking away while thinking or recalling concepts, which I believe may have been misunderstood.
I wish this concern had been raised during the interview so I could have clarified it immediately. If there are concerns about a candidate’s behavior, discussing them in real time or asking for a room scan can help avoid misunderstandings.
Overall, the interview questions were fair, but I feel my evaluation was influenced by this misunderstanding rather than my technical performance.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Sort a nearly sorted array. I was asked for an optimal solution and discussed the time and space complexity.
They care about your skills, rather than your background. They have a template which they provide and you got to fill that, everyone is provided a unique number. You are instructed not to disclose any of your personal details in the due course of your interview.