I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Cisco (Seattle, WA) in Jan 2016
Interview
Went through a phone screen, followed by a onsite visit, where I talked to 3 pairs of engineers, and the hiring manager. The interview went well by all accounts, and the manager asked for my references the next day. Upon contacting my references who said nothing but good things about me (this is beyond any doubt), sent me a rejection email citing fleeting "team fit" reasons. At no time during the interview was there any discussion of collaboration styles etc. To add insult to injury, he wasted not just my time but the time of my references; you just don't ask for those until you're ready to make an offer. First time I got a rejection after getting my references checked in my entire career... highly disappointing.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Silly/unimaginative programming questions, like testing two strings for being anagrams of each other.
Design a change machine that accepts arbitrary monetary amount and produces change change in fixed denominations.
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.