Round 1: REGISTRATION: Candidates had to register in either of Cognizant’s job profiles (GenC or GenC Elevate), through the Superset platform. I applied for GenC Elevate.
Round 2: ONLINE TEST ASSESSMENT: Candidates who were shortlisted via the resume shortlisting process after application proceeded to attend the online assessment. The online exam was a virtual drive conducted on Mettle Secure Browser (MSB). It consisted of 5 questions (3 coding questions, and 2 based on MySQL and DBMS).
For me, the overall difficulty was a 7.5 on a scale of 10!
Round 3: ONLINE COMMUNICATION ASSESSMENT: The candidates who had successfully cleared the online test assessment now had to undergo a communication assessment. This too was conducted virtually on Mettle Secure Browser (MSB). This section mostly focused on speaking, thorough listening, and reading grammar.
This was an easy assessment. Just a test of your speaking and listening skills. Hehe!
Round 4: TECHNICAL INTERVIEW ROUND (35-40 minutes): The final shortlisted candidates were sent interview links from college, through the Superset platform. Batched timings were allotted to individual candidates, over a period of 3-4 days. I had my interview on the third day.
I received the video call from the interviewer (or panelist, as you might mention it). These were the questions asked him.
- Describe yourself.
I explained to him my background, the projects I had worked on, my certificates, and my other pursuits. He seemed satisfied. Remember to be brief, short, and crisp! Don’t brag about a single topic.
- Describe your project. About the tech stack, you have used?
I explained to him one of my latest projects in detail. It was basically a full-stack android chat application, that I had designed using Flutter, Dart, and Firebase.
- Do you know about Python, Cloud, and Azure?
I let the interviewer know about my unfamiliarity in those fields. Yes, if you don’t know about the question you have been asked, better disagree. Never bluff the interviewer.
- Do you know about Java, HTML, and CSS? What language are you proficient with?
I told him about my proficiency in C++.
- Tell me about the OOPS concepts in C++.
I gave a brief overview of every OOPS concept available in C++ (Encapsulation, Polymorphism, Inheritance, and Abstraction).
- Can you describe Encapsulation?
I gave a detailed explanation of the importance of Encapsulation in Object-Oriented Programming, and how is it implemented through C++.
- What about Polymorphism?
Here too, I described Polymorphism in detail – what were the types available in C++ (Compile-time and Run-time Polymorphism), and how can it be implemented. Now, he switched to DSA questions.
- Suppose you are given a number. Check whether it is prime or not.
Answer: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/c-program-to-check-prime-number/amp/
- You are given an array. How will you sort it, without using any pre-defined functions?
Answer: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/bubble-sort/amp/
That was all of the DSA questions. Next, he proceeded to ask reasoning and managerial questions, followed by some HR questions too.
Reasoning:
- Suppose, February 20th of this year is a Monday. Which day is February 20th, the previous year?
- Given that today is a Thursday. What is the day after 45 days from today?
Managerial:
- Suppose, you have not completed your work given by the client, and today is a Friday. Weekends are holidays, and you have to submit the work on the upcoming Monday. What would you do about it?
HR:
- Are you willing to work shifts?
- Are you willing to relocate to any place?
- Do you have any questions for me?
That was all. The interview lasted for about 35-40 minutes.
Verdict: SELECTED.
Tips:
- Make sure to be absolutely confident about your resume. Do not add any unnecessary tech stacks in your resume that you’re unfamiliar with. You might end up with a bad impression.
- Go through the basics of DSA, OOPS, and DBMS (especially, querying with MySQL).
- Have a learning attitude, be polite with good communication skills.
Contributed by: Soumyadeep Das