Cognizant Genc Next Interview Experience (On-Campus) 2021

The recruitment process started with a Pre-placement talk. Here we were told that we had to attempt a Skill-based Assessment & the test scores will decide the selection of the three mentioned roles (Genc, Elevate, or Next). 

• Eligibility Criteria:  6 CGPA or 60% through out academics
• Branch: BE, B.tech, ME, M.tech, MCA

Round 1: Skill Based Assessment 

1. MCQs:  [ Total Question – 15 ]
   • Aptitude – Profit & Loss, Average, Time & Work, Speed & Time, Simple & Compound Interest
   • Reasoning – Sitting arrangement, Coding decoding, Blood relation
   • English – Passage Answer, Antonyms, Synonyms
   • Computer Science – OOPS , OS, DBMS, HTML Tags
2. Coding: [ Easy-Level ] [ Total Questions – 2 ]
   • Every candidate has a different question set. Mainly questions were asked from topics like Array and Strings.
   • An array has of positive integers has been given. Print the array elements in such a way that all multiples of 10 should appear at last in corresponding order. Also, the remaining elements should be present in their respective order.
   • Similar Problem: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/move-ve-elements-end-order-extra-space-allowed/

C

#include <stdio.h>

void pushAtLast(int arr[], int n)
{
    int start = 0;
    int temp[n];

    // Copying all non multiple at start
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        if (arr[i] % 10 != 0)
            temp[start++] = arr[i];

    // Now copying all mutiples of 10
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        if (arr[i] % 10 == 0)
            temp[start++] = arr[i];

    // Copying all elements to array
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        arr[i] = temp[i];
}

int main()
{
    int arr[] = { 10, 11, 9, 25, 30, 26, 41, 80, 90, 32 };
    pushAtLast(arr, 10);

    for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
        printf("%d ", arr[i]);

    return 0;
}

C++

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

void pushAtLast(int arr[], int n)
{
    int start = 0;
    int temp[n];

    // Copying all non multiple at start
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        if (arr[i] % 10 != 0)
            temp[start++] = arr[i];

    // Now copying all mutiples of 10
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        if (arr[i] % 10 == 0)
            temp[start++] = arr[i];

    // Copying all elements to array
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        arr[i] = temp[i];
}

int main()
{
    int arr[]{ 10, 11, 9, 25, 30, 26, 41, 80, 90, 32 };
    pushAtLast(arr, 10);

    for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
        cout << arr[i] << " ";

    return 0;
}

Java

/*package whatever //do not write package name here */

import java.io.*;

class GFG {
    static void pushAtLast(int arr[], int n)
    {
        int start = 0;
        int temp[] = new int[n];

        // Copying all non multiple at start
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
            if (arr[i] % 10 != 0)
                temp[start++] = arr[i];

        // Now copying all mutiples of 10
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
            if (arr[i] % 10 == 0)
                temp[start++] = arr[i];

        // Copying all elements to array
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
            arr[i] = temp[i];
    }
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        int arr[]
            = { 10, 11, 9, 25, 30, 26, 41, 80, 90, 32 };
        pushAtLast(arr, 10);

        for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
            System.out.print(arr[i] + " ");
    }
}

Output

11 9 25 26 41 32 10 30 80 90 

• Problem 2: Write a Program to check whether the given string is a palindrome or not. A string is said to be a palindrome if the original string and the reverse of the string are the same.
• GFG Link: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/c-program-check-given-string-palindrome/

3. Coding: [ Medium-Level ] Again 2 programming questions of moderate level were asked. This time topics consist of  Trees, Linked Lists, etc.

• Given a binary tree, Find the height of the binary tree. https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/write-a-c-program-to-find-the-maximum-depth-or-height-of-a-tree/
• Given a linked list. Determine if the linked list has a cycle in it. A linked list contains a cycle if it consists of a node that can be reached again by continuously following the next pointer.  https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/detect-loop-in-a-linked-list/

4. SQL Queries: 2 SQL queries were asked of a moderate level.

• Write an SQL query to fetch records that are present in one table but not in another table. [ Solved Using Left Join ]
• Write an SQL query to fetch all the Employees who are also managers from the EmployeeDetails table. [ Solved using Inner Join]

I had solved 7 Aptitude Questions   Both Easy level coding questions and one medium level completely and the other one partially answer Both the SQL queries were also been solved by me. So I was assured I to be selected for the next round. 3 days later, I got the list from the College Placement Cell and I was shortlisted for the GenC Next interview.

Round-2 (Technical Round): After one week, I got a mail from Cognizant that my interview is scheduled for the next day on Superset Platform. Although Interview was scheduled for 1 hour it hardly goes for 30-35 minutes. This interview was based on Java Concepts and Basic DSA. The interviewer has more than 5 years of experience. The interviewer started by introducing himself. Then, my introduction. And then immediately jumped to Core Subjects. The interviewer was too friendly, he explained to me a few terms which I wasn’t able to answer and also he suggested some references too for more clarity. Following were the asked Questions :

• Tell me about yourself.
• Explain a little bit about anyone project mentioned in the resume. [ I explained about my desktop application project ]
• What is function overloading and can we pass primitive type and similar wrapper class to implement function overloading [ He also gave me a snippet and asked its output ]
• Difference between function overloading and function overriding
• Why do we use keyword static in java?
• What do you mean by autoboxing [ I haven’t heard this term so he explained to me about it with proper examples ]
• What is abstraction and how to achieve it?
• What is the difference between abstract class & Interface?
• What is a Functional Interface?
• Difference between final, finally and finalize 
• What are the different types of exceptions in java? [ Checked & Unchecked ]
• What happens when we put a return statement in a try block, Will the final block be executed or not?
• He asked me whether i know about collections then I said common data structures and algorithms I know but not in too deep.
• What is HashMAP and difference between HashSet & Hashmap
• A simple example of Lambda Expression & he asked me the output of it which I answered.
• At last he asked the difference between Stack & Queue and logic for implementing Circular Queue.
• HE DIDN’T ASK ME WRITE CODE FOR ANY PROGRAM but for other candidates, they were asked to write code as well.
• Any questions – [ I did a childish thing and asked “How was my performance ?” He smiled and told that how can he tell it now & he told that you are good in Core concepts, Just learn a few trending terms for deeper knowledge ( I guess terms like Autoboxing) ]
• Suggestions: Read top interview questions of  Java/C++/Python. Must read past Interview experiences ( I did it ). Be relaxed and listen to the interviewer, they’ll try to help you wherever you are stuck.

Round-3(HR Round): After 3 days, I got a mail that an interview was scheduled for the next day. It was only a document verification round where HR asked for:

• Soft copies of Aadhar Card, PAN Card, 10th & 12th mark sheets.
• Any location preference?
• Are you currently in the 6th or 7th Semester? [ I told her that I am from MCA 2 Years so I am currently in the 2nd Semester ]
• Any questions? 

Verdict: Selected for the GenC Next role.