Cisco Graduate Apprentice Interview Questions and Answers

Eligibility criteriaAbove 7 CGPANVIDIA interview preparation:Topics to prepare for the interview - Data Structures, Algorithms(basic), DBMS, Operating systems, basics of web development.Time required to prepare for the interview - 8 monthsInterview preparation tips for other job seekers

Tip 1 : Try to code the data structures that you have learned to understand things better
Tip 2 : Try to solve the problem even if it is the worst possible solution you think and then try to optimize don't jump to get the
best possible solution
Tip 3 : Discuss things among peers it helps to improve the understanding, even try to teach someone anything new you learn, this is very helpful during the interviews as you will have habit of explaining things

Application resume tips for other job seekers

Tip 1 : Try to be honest in the resume don't write something you don't know, most of the time it backfires.
Tip 2 : Try to make 2 good projects for cv and know about the challenges you can face on the project and think about how you can solve that challenge.

Final outcome of the interviewSelected

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: I consulted my seniors for preparation of my resume. I believe that seniors provide the best possible insights in this regards. I had a standard resume for all the companies.

Round: Test
Experience: I had prepared for the CAT examination which helped me in these written tests. The first round was the written test. The criterion for the written test was to have a CGPA more than 6.0. There was an aptitude test and a technical test. The technical test consisted of programming questions based on C++ and data structures. From data structures they asked a lot questions based on tree traversals and from C++. A large number of questions from pointers and arrays were also asked.
The aptitude test was slightly easier than the CAT examination standards. Majority of the questions were related to data interpretation and some were of based on logical reasoning. The total duration of the both the tests combined was 90 minutes.

Around 50 people appeared for the first round and nearly 13 got shortlisted for the next round.
Tips: For the written tests, particularly the aptitude section, if would really help if you have prepared for the CAT examination. There is a book written by an author named R.S. Agarwal which would prove to be beneficial from the point of view of these written tests.
Duration: 90 minutes

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: I did not prepare much for the GD’s. However I did keep myself abreast with certain latest happenings.There were no group activities conducted in the recruitment process of Century Link.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: For HR interviews I prepared answers to some frequently asked HR questions. I found these questions on the internet. Generally the questions asked in the interviews are related to the profile on offer; for instance in A2Z interview I was asked a lot of questions from power systems since it was a core company and in Century Links I was asked questions from C++ and data structures since they had come to recruit for a software engineering profile.

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: In this interview I was questioned on my C++ and data structure knowledge. They asked me questions on pointers and further asked me to explain the concept of dangling pointers. They did not want me to write down the complete code with proper syntax's of the problems asked to me. They only asked me to write the algorithms of the various problems.
They also asked me some puzzles. Unfortunately, I was not able to solve any of them. During the course of the interview they asked me to specify the reason for my keen interest in joining an IT company.
At the end of first interview some candidates were shortlisted and called for the second round of interview.

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: The second interview was conducted by a senior company official. He enquired about my project and again, like in the first interview, asked me to state the reason for my interest in joining an IT company.This interview round was an elimination round.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: The interview was an HR interview. Candidates who reached till this interview were all selected; basically this interview was like a formality to check the candidate’s fit with the company.

College Name: IIT ROORKEE
Motivation: I had never heard of the company before the recruitment season. I attended the PPT organised by the company, I found the company to be a well reputed/established company and thus applied to it. The profile was open for Electrical, Computer Science, Mechanical and Electronics engineering students.

Round: Technical + HR Interview
Experience: I told them all about the previous companies and my past job profile as a Mainframe Developer.
I gave a valid reason for quitting the previous company.
I cited that the reason to relocate to Noida was my wedding.
I was not okay to work in shifts, hence I denied.
I was putting up in Noida itself back then.

Round: Puzzle Interview
Experience: I was given a list of 12 Mainframe puzzles with questions from Cobol, DB2 and JCL.

I could solve 8 of them correctly.
Tips: Prepare puzzles as they give just 1 minute per question and not more.

Round: PRE placement
Experience: Was accepted through the pre placement offer after a satisfactory internship during the summer.
There was a small test after the internship. Work done in the internship in co-ordination with mentor, employees and manager has more weight-age.

General Tips: Just brush up on your fundamentals. The questions asked will just be a direct or indirect applications of what you have learnt. Good programming practice is also needed.
Good knowledge about Operating systems, Data structures, Networking and Programming is what they generally look for while hiring.
A good internship project helped in securing the PPO.
Skills:
College Name: NIT Surathkal