I applied through college or university. I interviewed at Cisco (Waterloo, ON) in Oct 2020
Interview
I was called to interview with Cisco after meeting with one of their engineers at Job Fair. I had 4 rounds of interviews with 3 different teams. Each round of interview lasted at least 2.5 hours and would consist of multiple interviews lasting 45 mins each with different members of the team.
The complete interview process lasted for about 2 months.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
All of the interviews were technical and consisted of asking me about one of my projects and then moving on to technical questions regarding the field and then a set of coding challenges.
The following are the areas in which I was asked technical questions:
- Networking
- Linux Programming
- Processes + Multithreading
- Memory Management
- General questions about C/Python
These are the coding challenges I was asked about:
- Check the error in the code and fix it
- Count the number of 1's in a binary number
- Reverse order traversal of binary tree
- How to copy a string in C
- Find the missing number in an array when given 1->n numbers
Most of the coding questions were followed by some analysis + questions regarding possible errors.
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.