HR interview questions
Common Cisco HR questions, sample answer frames, and STAR tips.
Cisco Interview Experiences
Overview
Section titled “Overview”How Cisco fresher interviews actually run, based on candidate reports across two recent campus cycles.
Cisco’s campus loop pairs an online test with two technical rounds that dig into networking and OS depth alongside DSA, then closes with HR. Patterns shift by year, campus, and role, so treat this as a prep map rather than a script. Glassdoor’s aggregate rating for the process sits around 68.8% positive with a difficulty score near 3 out of 5 - moderately hard, not brutal.
Eligibility (from student reports): 7.0+ CGPA, 70%+ in class 10 and 12, no active backlogs.
Fresher package ballpark (from student reports): ₹20-30 LPA. Confirm on your own offer letter.
Round-wise process
Section titled “Round-wise process”| Round | Duration | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| Online Assessment (“Code with Cisco” test) | 60-90 min | 30-40 MCQs (OS, DBMS, computer networks, OOP) + 2 DSA problems |
| Technical Round 1 | 45-60 min | DSA problem-solving + detailed project/resume discussion |
| Technical Round 2 | 45-60 min | Networking and CS-fundamentals depth; basic system design for some tracks |
| HR / Managerial | 30-45 min | Motivation, culture fit, relocation, logistics |
Real interview experiences
Section titled “Real interview experiences”Experience 1: on-campus 2024 - a rejection, and why it is worth reading
Section titled “Experience 1: on-campus 2024 - a rejection, and why it is worth reading”Published GeeksforGeeks write-up. Included precisely because it did not end in an offer: it shows where the bar actually sat.
Round 1: online coding and aptitude assessment.
Round 2: technical interview (45-60 min, online)
- Calculate the different types of IP addresses available for a given network.
- Explain the OSI layers, and how the OSI model differs from the TCP/IP model.
- Distinguish between a router, a hub and a switch.
- Differentiate DNS and DHCP, and explain each with an example.
- Coding: determine whether two strings are equal using only bitwise operators.
- Resume and project discussion.
Result: Not selected - the candidate did not progress to HR.
What it demonstrates: the interview was almost entirely networking, with the one coding question deliberately constrained to bitwise operators. Candidates who treat Cisco as a generic DSA company prepare for the wrong interview.
Experience 2: the recurring on-campus pattern
Section titled “Experience 2: the recurring on-campus pattern”Consolidated from several published campus write-ups across recent cycles rather than presented as one person’s story, because the round counts and durations differ noticeably by campus.
- The written round is a heavy MCQ filter. One reported drive: 50 questions in 60 minutes, split roughly 20 aptitude / 30 technical, with about 330 candidates sitting and roughly 170 progressing. Other cycles pair MCQs with two coding problems.
- Technical MCQs and interview questions repeat across years. Frequently reported: TCP/IP model layers, router vs switch, VLANs, process vs thread, paging, semaphore vs mutex, memory layout of a C program, tricky pointer-based input/output questions, and linked-list problems.
- Projects get discussed twice. Multiple accounts say the project came up in both the technical round and the technical-plus-management round, so know every line of your resume rather than one rehearsed summary.
- The later rounds are short. A technical + management round of around 20 minutes and an HR round of around 10 minutes are commonly reported - concise, not a formality, but not a grilling either.
- HR questions are predictable: why Cisco, what is your field of interest, which designation or team would you prefer.
- Glassdoor’s aggregate for the process sits near 3 out of 5 on difficulty with a clear majority describing the experience positively - moderately hard, and generally civil.
Sources for this section
- Cisco Interview Experience (On-Campus) 2024 - GeeksforGeeks
- Cisco Interview Experience, Software Engineer Profile (On-Campus) - GeeksforGeeks
- Cisco Interview Experience Set 14 (On-Campus) - GeeksforGeeks
- Cisco Interview Experience for Internship (2024) - GeeksforGeeks
Questions that come up often
Section titled “Questions that come up often”Coding / technical
Section titled “Coding / technical”- Reverse a linked list (iteratively and in groups of k)
- Detect a cycle in a linked list or directed graph
- Binary tree level-order traversal (BFS)
- String manipulation: reverse a string, check for anagrams/permutations
- Detailed project discussion - architecture, hardest bug, what you would change
Networking fundamentals
Section titled “Networking fundamentals”- Explain the OSI model and what each layer does
- TCP vs UDP - differences and when to use each
- What happens when you type a URL into a browser?
- DNS and DHCP - what they do and how they work
- Difference between a switch, a hub, and a router
HR / behavioural
Section titled “HR / behavioural”- Why Cisco, and what do you know about its products and culture?
- How would you maximise learning over an internship or first year?
- Describe a conflict with a teammate and how you resolved it
- Are you open to relocation, and what is your notice period?
Practical tips for Cisco
Section titled “Practical tips for Cisco”- Clear the online test first. Timed DSA practice beats last-minute topic hopping.
- Revise computer networks properly - OSI layers, DNS, DHCP, TCP/UDP - since Cisco tests this more than a typical software-only company.
- OS fundamentals (process scheduling, deadlocks, memory management) and basic DBMS still open a lot of panels. Do not skip them.
- Keep one crisp project narrative ready, and be willing to connect it to networking concepts if it genuinely applies.
- If you do not know something, say so and outline how you would find out rather than guessing.
HR interview
Section titled “HR interview”After the technical rounds, Cisco closes with a short HR/managerial conversation covering motivation, relocation, notice period, and a couple of behavioural questions. Prepare those answers on the dedicated page rather than cramming them into this hub.