What is the Cisco Interview Process?

Cisco Systems, Inc., founded in 1984 by Leonard Bosack and Sandy Lerner, has its headquarters in a city in California named San Jose. It is an American multinational company that leads in the world of Enterprise Networks for over 30 years. It produces and sells telecommunication types of equipment, networking hardware and software, and related advanced products and services. Its CEO is Chuck Robbins. It has 274 offices across 96 locations. In this article, we will see the Cisco Interview Process.

Way To The Interview

Since it is one of the largest software conglomerates in the world, it needs a pool of skillful employees.

Application

There are two methods:

• A candidate can first create an account by uploading the resume. It can be done by directly uploading the file, linking them to the candidate’s LinkedIn account, or by providing the link of the candidate’s Google drive or even Dropbox. Then, the candidate can set up job notifications, search, open, and apply for the job profiles online. The candidate can directly click on Next to proceed without uploading a resume. However, some important details will be waiting to get filled in on the next page.
• Another method is to directly select the Search Jobs option, search for a job, use some filters as per the interest, click on the job title, get aware of it, and hit the Apply button.

On signing up, a candidate will start getting the job notifications within 48 hours according to the candidate’s interests. The candidates have to let a bit about themselves to get added to the database.

After Applying

They send an email to confirm that they have received the candidate’s application. They advise the candidates to go through the @WeAreCisco channels on social media. The photos and stories of the employees will be highlighted there.

The Interview Process

Through this process, the candidates get to know about the business, culture, and people in the company while the company gets to know the candidates. The experience and skills of the candidates are checked according to the ongoing business needs. A candidate will be asked about his/her work and academic experience, achievements, and what value can they bring to Cisco. The candidates can ask the questions too.

• This process contains four rounds. 
• Round 1 contains aptitude and MCQs related to C programming and electronics. One must already have a good speed in solving them. It doesn’t contain negative markings. Thus, the candidates can make an intelligent guess.
• Round 2 contains a technical interview and each interview lasts for about 50 minutes. This round contains the actual coding on a paper.
• Round 3 also consists of a technical interview where the questions are asked to check the thought process of a candidate. They want a way to find the solutions to the problems technically. It requires around 50 minutes.
• Round 4 consists of the HR interview. The questions will be mainly according to the resume as the interviewers may focus on the communication skills of a candidate in this round. It lasts up to 40 minutes.

The candidates can be asked about their plans and the candidates are not at all advised to talk about their upcoming education plans. No company would like to hire a candidate who may leave the company at any time for further studies though it cannot be avoided.

Also, a candidate should be well-aware of every detail mentioned in the resume. He/she should also be prepared with his/her SWOT analysis and passion.

Expectations Of Cisco From The Student Candidates

• There are various types of summer internships, apprenticeships, long and short-term internships, and co-op programs in Cisco for eligible full-time students.
• Cisco wants the student candidates to have a passion for technology. They should be driven, self-starters, and innovative. However, the qualities of a candidate should be in line with the job requirements.
• The benefits provided to the student candidates depend on the job location and role. They can ask the same during their interviews.
• The duration of Cisco’s programs depends on various factors. They might last for two to twelve months and won’t affect the student’s academic calendar.
• Keywords should be present in the resume to help the recruiters match the resume with the available and related job openings.

Some Questions Asked In Cisco Coding Interview

• The interviewer may ask to explain the code written by the candidate in the previous round. The algorithm, time and space complexities, and the approach related to the same can be asked.
• The candidate can be asked to use recursive functions to solve a problem.
• The interviewer may ask indirect questions related to the volatile keyword used in Java and C, Storage classes in C and their uses, trees, graphs, static variables, and static functions.
• Questions related to the logical understanding of various concepts related to engineering will be asked. These questions can be about the occurrence of interrupts and context switches.

Some Questions That They Ask In Technical Interview

These questions can be about the fields of the candidate’s interest, reasons to join Cisco, explanation of the projects made by the candidate to date, preferred designation, questions related to the resume, and other related interviews attended by the candidate previously.

Some Questions Asked During The HR Round

These questions are to test the individual personality of the candidate. Those may include other general questions related to the resume.

• Perks And Benefits
• Financial benefits:

1. Candidates get rewards for their high performance.
2. Reimbursement is provided for books, tuitions, and lab fees if the institution is accredited.
3. Employees can purchase the stock for their financial future.
4. Employees get rewards such as annual bonuses according to their skills. Seniority doesn’t work here.
5. An employee can utilize his/her birthday for him/her.
6. The employees can nominate their colleagues for monetary rewards.
7. The employees get prizes on their first, fifth, and all the anniversaries coming every five years after that for being a part of Cisco.

Personal development opportunities:

1. Employees are allowed to work on projects with different business groups.
2. They can swap 20% of their job with another individual. Thus, they can fulfill their daily responsibilities along with learning something new.
3. They can even swap 100% of their jobs with another individual either permanently or temporarily.
4. Team assignments will be provided for the employees to use their strengths together to solve the business challenges.

Health and welfare:

1. Cisco provides insurance and healthcare coverage and much more.
2. The employees and their families can get individual second medical diagnosis opinions or treatments from elite physicians.
3. Their LifeConnections Centers provide the employees with excellent workouts and health care.

Paying the volunteers:

Employees who volunteer for the causes they like will be paid for five days each year.

A Candidate May Wish To Apply For These Communities

• Information Technology
• Security & Trust
• Engineering
• Sales
• Apprenticeship
• Supply Chain
• Human Resources
• Customer Experience
• Finance
• Operations
• Marketing

Conclusion

Cisco is related to almost all the daily electrical kinds of stuff including software, security, connected cars, entertainment, smart cities, hardware, education, and retail. According to the company, the candidates should feel proud and present their previous experience and skills to get in. They just have to be prepared, unique, and original.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Does Cisco Do Background Checks? If Yes, How?

Answer:

• Yes.
• In a background check, the background of the candidate will be investigated as per the criteria provided by the prospective employer.
• The candidate’s criminal records, education, motor vehicle, employment, license record, and credit history of the candidate will be checked.
• A drug test of the candidate will also be done. These background checks are completed within two days.
• A candidate can check his/her background check status here or can directly ask the agency that did his/her background check about the same.

2. Why Choose Cisco?

Sample Answer:

A candidate can say the following:

• Cisco is very different in terms of server hardware, network types of equipment, analytics software, virtual conferencing, and security solutions. Cisco helps people in handling old technologies in new different ways.
• The employees can shift their careers within the company, thus leading to their continuous career development.
• Also, this company, being a multinational leader in the field of technology, contains a set of highly skilled employees. It would be a great opportunity for me to be a part of such an ideal team.

3. What Should The Candidate Know Before Appearing For The Cisco Interview?

Answer:

Many companies ask the candidates about their knowledge about the company. The candidate should be well-aware of the following:

• The full name of the company, its history, key persons related to it, location of its headquarters, locations of its branches, achievements, positions, benefits, and the work done by the company.
• The candidate should be aware of every detail mentioned in the resume.
• The candidate should be aware of at least the basic concepts related to the job and their uses for the company.
• The candidate should have a strong goal and determination with enough confidence.

4. What Should Be The Qualifications Of A Candidate To Join Cisco?

Answer:

This requirement differs according to the role.

• For a technical field, the candidate should have a CS degree from an elite institute and experience of around two years in a powerful coding environment.
• For Marketing, an MBA from an elite institute and experience of working with a similar software company is needed.
• One can also complete the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification. It is an IT certification provided by the Cisco systems.