Cisco conducted a Code-a-thon in July (mid) after an online coding assessment. unfortunately, our team was not shortlisted but we performed well in the coding test.
They gave another chance by conducting another online assessment for each team member (Individually) and if we did well in this coding round we would have an opportunity to participate in the Cisco interview process for the internship offer.
Out of 600+ students from our college 28 were shortlisted for this 2nd chance. After a month(Sept) they mailed us about the coding test.
Cisco is a good company not like others who take only girls. they asked us to remove our name, college name, logos, branch, CGPA details, contact details, and every personal and sensitive detail of us. we are allowed to mention only our skills, projects, position of responsibility, technical experience, co-curricular, and any other course certifications. No bias in the interview.
3 roles were offered Networking, Application development, Embedded systems software.
Online coding round (90min):
They did not provide all languages (C++ was not provided ) C, Python, Java, etc were available. This round consisted of 40 MCQs and 2 Coding problems and we were allowed to navigate between the questions simply.
Coding problems:
- Find Happy numbers given over an array.
- Snake and ladder problem.
MCQs:
There were 40 MCQs and were based on topics like Aptitude, DBMS, OOPs, C++ code snippets, and some Electronics questions were also there.
I had performed well in the MCQs and solved 1 coding question completely 2nd one only a few test cases ran.
Verdict of Online Round: 12 students were shortlisted for interviews.
Technical Round (80min):
This round started with introduction of mine. Then he asked me how many data structures I knew. he asked me the difference between an array and a linked list, and then he asked me to implement the linked list in my preferred IDE. I completed it in a minute and he asked the difference between class and struct, struct and object, and whether a class or object occupies space or not, then he asked about various memory segments (code, stack, data, extra) which I studied in the Microprocessor, then some general questions like stack applications, volatile keyword, variable defining and declaration, etc. Then he asked to check whether the string was a palindrome or not. I coded them and explained the efficient approach, space, and time complexities. It was like 2-way conversations he was asking and I kept on answering them. Then he asked which data structure I found difficult to implement. I replied heap. but he asked me to implement BST with insert, search, and delete operations. I replied with confidence and started coding it while I was implementing the delete operation he asked me to stop and said “You can do it I know” Let’s move to the next part. The interviewer was friendly and kept on encouraging me.
He saw Operating Systems in my CV and started asking questions about it. some basic questions like process, threads, and types of OS I knew, do we always need an OS to run hardware. Then he asked me some in-depth questions. I answered only some of them. Then he moved to Microprocessor as I am from an Electronics background and then moved to Networking. he told me Networking is an important part of Cisco and asked me if I had any idea about Networking. I replied that I didn’t have any idea in that field. he asked me about layers present in the OSI model, network protocols, etc.
At this point, it’s almost 60 min. He asked me as I am from an Electronics background why did I choose the software field. I gave my explanation. Then asked me about my preferred role of interest. I replied my Interest. Then he moved to my CV and asked me to explain my projects how they are useful to the real world the difficulties I faced in implementing them and if I would be launching them commercially or not. At the end, he again asked me if I had any questions left. I asked him a few questions about work culture and technologies and the interview ended.
Verdict of Online Round: 7 out of 12 students were shortlisted for the Managerial Round.
Managerial Round (40-45min):
It started with my introduction and this time interviewer was not that friendly and he kept his cam off. In my intro, I mentioned that I am a tech enthusiast to which he asked me do I follow the technological trends and asked me about Chatgpt. he asked me advantages and disadvantages and the difference between normal browsing and using chatbots. every time I answered he cross-questioned me and I kept on justifying the solution I gave. then he asked some general questions on AI. we had a friendly debate on AI.
Then he asked me why I wanted to join Cisco. what I know about them and my role of interest. I replied to him, then he started to cross-question me, why application dev and why not embedded sys. then there are many cross-questions on this thing. despite my branch being electronics, why I have chosen software if I am interested in software then why have I chosen Electronics? I gave my explanation about it clearly and explained how I manage coding with academics. then he moved to my academics part and asked the subjects that I am good at. Then I replied digital electronics Then he asked me to draw a half adder circuit and asked AND gate IC number. Then he moved to the microprocessor and asked many things about it. he asked me to explain 8085 architecture and the total no of registers and their names, length of physical address, types of bit processing, total memory size, what parameters affect the processor performance, etc. I almost answered all of them and he was satisfied then.
He did not ask anything about the technologies I mentioned in the CV. He said that as an engineer I should be thinking of innovation and solving real-life problems. I agreed with him. then he asked me to tell him about the innovative part that I could do or add to a refrigerator. I replied with my ideas. he was satisfied then. then asked him whether I could tell him about the real-life problem that I have solved in my daily life. he replied yes and I told him about my father that every time he makes a timetable for his workplace he spends a lot of time on it. so I said that to solve this problem I am currently working on an algorithm that generates a suitable timetable with some predefined conditions and inputs given to it. then he encouraged me and suggested to generalize it so that it can be used in any type of workplace.
At last, he asked me if I had any questions for him. I replied and asked him 2-3 questions and he ended the interview.
Verdict of Online Round: 4 out of 7 went to the HR.
HR:
It was very short. he asked me to introduce myself in brief and asked whether the location (Bengaluru) was okay or not, whether I would be available in the month of June-July, If I had any past internship experiences, and informed me about the stipend.
After 10 days they announced the results and I am confident that I will be shortlisted. but unfortunately, my name was not there in the list. out of 4, they have taken only 2 candidates from our college both from the CS dept (sometimes the branch matters a lot).
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