I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Cisco
Interview
A friend who worked at Cisco suggested I apply for the position. I applied through the website.
A phone pre-screen with the internal recruiter was first, followed by a programming exercise that was done at home, followed by an in-person interview.
I was told by the recruiter that there was a hard time limit for the exercise, but later the hiring manager told me that there was not, and I should finish the exercise which I had left incomplete due to time constraints.
The recruiter was very slow getting back to me. I was able to reach out to the hiring manager to prompt more action from the recruiter. The interview went well, and the group and I got along well.
Eventually an offer was made. I asked if I could get more, and eventually got a cash signing bonus.
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
The programming exercise was about parsing pseudo-XML tags.
I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Cisco (Chicago, IL)
Interview
March 13th; Took a hackerrank exam, 3 easy-med leetcode DSAs. One was rotating a matrix and the other was a binary search. And the third was a basic sql. Did not hear back until July.
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.