I applied through university. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Cisco (Waterloo, ON) in Mar 2022
Interview
A manager saw me resume at a virtual Job Fair and recommended me for the position.
A week or so later, I had a video call interview for one hour with one interviewer. She asked me simple questions about threading and operating systems. Also gave me a coding question, a simple one involving something to do with linked lists. I forgot, but it was simple
Then I got called for second interview, video call for 3 hours, 1 hour - technical, 2 interviewers, 1 hour - technical, 2 interviewers, ~1 hour - Manager, 1 interviewer
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
1) Write a program to print a NxN dimensional array in spiral order, starting from indices 0,0 and ending at N/2, N/2
2) Write a program to reverse a linked list
3) Write a program to insert an element in a sorted linked list
4) Write a program to delete an element from a linked list
5) Dry run a simple C program using cstrings and pointers (turns out [] operator has higher precedence than & operator)
- - -
Behavioural:
1) Describe a challenging, uncertain experience where you achieved something
2) Asked about my grades
3) Asked about prior job experience
4) Asked whether I had any other interviews
5) Asked if I had any questions about the company/role
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.
The interview process was two rounds. The first round was a behavioral interview. Straightforward questions, like tell me about the most technically challenging project you have worked on. The second round was a system design interview.
I applied online. I interviewed at Cisco in May 2026
Interview
Series of 4 interviews, First screening with HR Recruiter, reviewed resume and qualifications, second was hiring manager, reviewed experience and skills. Technical interview with team as a panel type interview, Last with hiring Director.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Technical questions on networking. Experience with work enviroment