Cisco Interview Experience for Network/Embedded/Applications Developer Intern 2021

Level: Easy

There were 5 rounds.

Round 1(Online Test): 60 mins, 17 questions

• 15 MCQs related to Networking, Aptitude and Computer Science basics.
• 2 coding questions – Both the questions were of medium level.

Round 2(Technical Interview):

• It started with basic introduction, then there was some discussion over one of my graph-related project. Following which, he asked me to explain spanning trees, minimum spanning trees, and any one of the algorithms to find a MST. I explained Prim’s algorithm in brief. Then he asked me about the sorting algorithms I am familiar with. I mentioned Selection, Bubble, Quick and Merge. He then asked me about the time complexities of each. 
• Then I was asked 2 questions based on Arrays:
  • Sort an array of 0s and 1s. You can find the question here: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/segregate-0s-and-1s-in-an-array-by-traversing-array-once/
  • Find the highest repeated character in a character array. You can find the question here: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/return-maximum-occurring-character-in-the-input-string/

Round 3(Managerial interview): This again started with basic introduction. 

• Then he gave me sort of a challenge to tell him what’s special about me and why I should be hired in under 3 mins. 
• Then we moved on to an in-depth conversation over my resume and projects and related topics. 
• Then he asked me to explain to him all that I know about Networking, then OS, then cloud-based technologies, etc. 
• My suggestion here is to be thorough with everything in your resume. And at-least read up basic concepts in Networking and Operating Systems.

Round 4(Technical Interview): After giving my basic introduction, the graph project got picked up again. We had a little discussion over it. 

• After that he asked me to implement graphs and trees using different DS. I initially started with an ArrayList of HashSets and then moved on to Linked Lists. 
• Then he wanted me to try and find an efficient way to implement the follower following system in Twitter. 
• After some discussion over it he asked me two coding questions based on Linked Lists and Bit Manipulation:
  • Remove the references node from a Linked List, we are just given the pointer to the node that is to be deleted and no head or previous node pointer. You can find the question here: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/given-only-a-pointer-to-a-node-to-be-deleted-in-a-singly-linked-list-how-do-you-delete-it/
  • Return if a number is a power of 2 or not. After brute force approach, I gave its bit manipulation answer. You can find this question: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/program-to-find-whether-a-no-is-power-of-two/

Round 5(HR Interview): After basic introduction and resume discussion, he asked me to describe myself as a person and the qualities I like the most about myself. 

• After this he asked me if I had any plans for Masters, or like where do I see myself in 3-5 years from now. 
• I was all asked to answer, “Why Cisco?”, etc. Then there was a discussion over which locations I preferred more for the intern.

Verdict: Hired

The test took place on HackerRank. As for the interviews, a Webex space was created and the HR and recruiters were added to it as well. The meeting took place on Webex itself. I was asked to share my screen and write the code. The interviews started at around 8:30 in the morning. The results were announced the following day.

Tips:

• My advice to all the students sitting for intern at Cisco, be thorough with your resume and all the used technologies. Basic knowledge of Networking is a must. 
• Read the archives well and go through the questions asked previously. 
• There is a set pattern with Cisco that is followed. 
• Other than that, don’t worry about completely solving the questions asked in interviews, they are more focussed on the approach and a can-do attitude. 

Good Luck!