I applied online. The process took 1 week. I interviewed at Cisco (Bengaluru) in Jun 2021
Interview
Initially there was a coding and MCQ round. All questions asked there are already available on glassdoor. I got a call from the HR after a few days, and she said that they have selected me for further rounds. An interview was scheduled after a week or so. There were two technical rounds of 1 hour each. The interviewers were great and really professional. But things changed in the next round which was the managerial round. The manager seemed arrogant and not at all interested. Anyway, as the interview continued, he asked me a DSA question(Mirror tree). It was pretty easy and I solved it in no time. But the manager probably had no idea about DSA and was constantly suggesting that it won't work. I even did a dry run to convince the manager but he was simply clueless about the solution to the question(or maybe he was testing my confidence, which I really doubt). After the interview got over, I ran the same code online and it passed each and every test case without any issue. Only hr round was left after this. After 4 days I called the HR because I didn't get any update on the interview. HR said that it would take around 3-4 days to make a decision. Fast forward a month, I still haven't received a mail from them. I have also mailed them multiple times but didn't get any reply. The recruiters take candidates for granted, as if they are doing some favour by hiring us. I wasted 90 mins + 1 hr + 1 hr + 30 mins of my life for getting ghosted by the hr.
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.