TCS NQT Interview Experience 2020-21

I received the good news from TCS on 25th December 2020 and I was very thrilled about it. My colleagues and juniors started asking me about the interview experience, so here is how it went. I have tried to keep this article, the questions and the answers as precise as possible.

PS. This was an online interview conducted via Cisco Webex Meetings due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

The interview was divided into 3 rounds: Technical, Managerial and HR.

Technical Round

Interviewer: Give me a brief technical introduction about yourself.

Me: I am a Computer Science and Engineering student, currently in my 4th year of graduation. Throughout my college life, I have experimented with various technologies. My primary interest is in Web Development, I have a good command over HTML,CSS and Javascript. In frameworks, I know jQuery, Bootstrap and React. I use Node.JS as my backend language and Mongoose as the DBMS for my projects. I also have interest in Mobile App development. I have developed mobile apps for Android as well as iOS using Flutter.

Interviewer: What is Flutter?

Me: Flutter is an open-source software development kit by Google. It can be used to make apps for Android, iOS, Fuchsia, Windows and Web. I have used it to develop mobile apps. It can develop apps for Android as well as iOS from the exact same codebase.

Interviewer: What are Stateful and Stateless widgets in Flutter?

Me: The widgets that don’t change their states are called Stateless Widgets, e.g., icon, text, etc., whereas the widgets which are dynamic or with which we can interact with are called Stateful Widgets, e.g., radio button, checkbox, etc.

Interviewer: Since you are a web developer, do you know PHP?

Me: No sir, I use Node.JS and Express.JS for backend, PHP is old and the modern backend frameworks are much more efficient.

Interviewer: What is Node.JS?

Me: Node.JS is a Javascript runtime environment which is based on Chrome’s V8 engine.

Interviewer: Why do you think that using Node.JS is better than using PHP?

Me: If we are using Node.js, we get access to NPM. NPM stands for Node Package Manager. NPM has a large number of packages that we can import and use in our app, like, Express, React, Mongoose, React, Lodash, etc.

Interviewer: Do you know MySQL?

Me: Just the basics, but I have used MongoDB in my projects as the DBMS.

Interviewer: What is the difference between MySQL and MongoDB?

Me: MySQL is an SQL based DBMS whereas MongoDB is a noSQL based DBMS.

Interviewer: Why is MongoDB better?

Me: Sir, MongoDB is not better than MySQL or vice-versa. It all depends on our needs. If the database has a well-defined schema, they it is better to use MySQL whereas if the database doesn’t have a schema, it is much better to use MongoDB.

Interviewer: What is the difference between POST and GET requests?

Me: GET is used to request data from a specified resource whereas POST is used to send data to a server to create/update a resource.

Interviewer: What is the difference between HTTP and HTTPS?

Me: HTTP requests are less secure than HTTPS request, as HTTPS requests are encrypted.

Interviewer: Which language have you done coding in?

Me: Java, but just the basics.

Interviewer: What is the difference between Java and C++?

Me: Both of them are object-oriented languages. However, C++ is not a pure object oriented language, because we don’t have to use classes in all the programs. Java is Machine Independent and C++ is Machine Dependent. C++ can’t be used as a backend language whereas Java is widely used as a backend language.

Interviewer: What are classes and objects?

Me: A class is a user-defined data type which has data members and member functions. Object are real-world entities and it is an instance of class.

Interviewer: Explain this and super keywords in Java.

Me: this is used to refer current-class’s instance as well as static members whereas super is also used to invoke super-class’s method or constructor.

Interviewer: What is the difference between LinkedList and Array?

Me: An array is a collection of elements of a similar data type. Linked List is an ordered collection of elements of the same type in which each element is connected to the next using pointers. Array elements can be accessed randomly using the array index. Random accessing is not possible in linked lists.

Managerial Round

Interviewer: Why TCS?

Me: First of all, TCS has a very good brand value, something a fresher desires to kick start his career. It will surely give my career a boost. TCS is a service based company and if I had gone with a product based company, then my domain would have been very specific and limited. But since it is a service based company I’ll get exposure and the opportunity to work in various fields and technologies which TCS has and thus not only enhance my knowledge but play a big role in the TCS team.

Interviewer: What is Flutter?

Me: Flutter is an open-source software development kit by Google. It can be used to make apps for Android, iOS, Fuchsia, Windows and Web. I have used it to develop mobile apps. It can develop apps for Android as well as iOS from the exact same codebase.

Interviewer: So, if we give you a new technology, can you work with it?

Me: Yes sir, definitely. Being a part of the IT industry I have this enthusiasm to tweak and experiment with new technologies. I’ve been doing the same in the past, learning new things and trying to implement them on my own. Flutter is one such example, it came out just this year.

HR Round

Interviewer: You said TCS is a service based company, what is the difference between service based and product based company?

Me: Product based companies create or design their products or application in advance even before clients approach them. Once the product is made or application is developed it is opened to the market. Service based companies work only when a client approaches them with specific needs or requirements. Service based companies thus work on a large number of applications.

Interviewer: Imagine a client who has a car company, what can TCS do for them?

Me: TCS can make a product landing website for the client, a mobile app, the car’s ecosystem, etc.

Interviewer: Do you have any questions to ask us?

Me: How did I perform?

Technical Interviewer: Your performance was pretty good. I liked your confidence a lot.

HR Interviewer: You presented yourself very well.

This was my interview experience. Here are a few key points that you should know:

1. The interviewer will ask about your interest/strong point and your interview will be based on that. (It was web and Flutter for me)

2. Revise the projects you’ve mentioned on your resume, you’ll be questioned about them too.

3. Learn to take control of the interview. Learn to lead the interview. My interviewers were very gentle and this made me a lot comfortable. 

4. Luck plays an important role during your interview.