Cognizant Recruitment Process: Complete

Guide
Cognizant, a leading global IT services company, offers numerous career opportunities in
technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing (BPO). Cognizant is known for its
structured and competitive recruitment process, which assesses candidates on technical,

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logical, and soft skills. This guide provides an overview of Cognizant’s recruitment process,
important technical interview questions, coding questions, and tips to excel in the aptitude test.

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Cognizant Recruitment Process Overview

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The recruitment process at Cognizant generally follows these stages:

1. Online Application
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Candidates can apply for roles at Cognizant via their careers page, through campus
placements, or job portals. Ensure your resume is well-formatted and highlights key skills,
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technical proficiency, and accomplishments.

2. Online Assessment Test

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Cognizant's online test evaluates your aptitude, logical reasoning, technical skills, and coding
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knowledge. The test is generally divided into these sections:

● Quantitative Aptitude
● Logical Reasoning
● Verbal Ability
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● Coding (for technical roles)

3. Technical Interview

The technical interview is designed to assess your knowledge in core technical areas such as
programming, data structures, algorithms, databases, and operating systems. You may also be
asked about your past projects, internships, and technical accomplishments.

4. HR Interview
In the HR interview, Cognizant evaluates your communication skills, career aspirations,
teamwork, and cultural fit within the company. This stage may include behavioral questions and
discussions around your resume.

Important Technical Interview Questions

For technical roles, Cognizant places a strong emphasis on programming and problem-solving
skills. Here are some commonly asked technical questions:

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1. Data Structures and Algorithms

● Arrays and Strings:

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○ Find the missing number in an array of integers from 1 to N.
○ Write a program to reverse words in a string.
● Linked Lists:

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○ Implement a function to detect a cycle in a linked list.
○ Write a program to reverse a linked list in groups of k.
● Stacks and Queues:
C ○ Implement a stack with a function that returns the minimum element in constant
time.
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○ Write a function to implement queue operations using stacks.
● Trees:
○ Find the height of a binary tree.
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○ Write a function to perform level-order traversal on a binary tree.

● Graphs:
○ Write a program to detect a cycle in an undirected graph.
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○ Implement a function to find the shortest path between two nodes in a graph
using BFS.
● Dynamic Programming:
○ Solve the knapsack problem using dynamic programming.
○ Write a program to find the longest increasing subsequence.
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2. Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)

● What are the four pillars of object-oriented programming (OOP)?

● Explain the concept of polymorphism with examples.
● Design a class structure for a hospital management system.

3. Database Management

● Write an SQL query to find the second-highest salary in an employee table.

● Explain the differences between DELETE, TRUNCATE, and DROP statements in SQL.
 ● What is normalization, and why is it important in databases?

4. Operating Systems

● Explain the concept of process synchronization and how semaphores are used.
● What is a deadlock? How can deadlocks be prevented?
● Discuss the difference between paging and segmentation.

5. Networking

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● What is the difference between TCP and UDP?
● Explain how DNS works.
● Describe the OSI model and the functions of each layer.

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Aptitude Questions in Cognizant

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The aptitude section of Cognizant’s recruitment test focuses on your ability to solve
mathematical, logical, and verbal problems. Below are some sample aptitude questions:
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Sample Aptitude Questions:
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1. Quantitative Aptitude:
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● Time, Speed, and Distance:

Two trains are moving in opposite directions at 60 km/h and 90 km/h, respectively. How
long will they take to cross each other if the length of each train is 200 meters?
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● Percentages and Ratios:

The price of a product increased by 15% and then decreased by 10%. What is the net
percentage change in the price of the product?

2. Logical Reasoning:
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● Seating Arrangement:
Five friends are sitting in a row. A is sitting next to B, but not next to C. Who is seated
next to D?
● Pattern Recognition:
What is the next number in the sequence: 1, 4, 9, 16, ___?

3. Verbal Ability:

● Sentence Correction:
Choose the correct form: "He has __ car which he bought last week." (Options: a, the,
none, an)
 ● Reading Comprehension:
Read a passage and answer questions based on the given text.

Important Coding Questions for Cognizant

The coding test is an essential part of the recruitment process for technical roles. Below are
some commonly asked coding questions:

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1. Find the Largest Subarray with Sum Zero:
○ Problem: Given an array, find the length of the largest subarray with a sum of
zero.
○ Concept: Hashing, arrays.
2. Find the Longest Common Subsequence:

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○ Problem: Write a program to find the longest common subsequence between
two strings.

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○ Concept: Dynamic programming.
3. Check for Balanced Parentheses:
○ Problem: Write a program to check if a given string of parentheses is balanced.
C ○ Concept: Stacks.
4. Palindrome Check:
○ Problem: Write a function to check if a given string is a palindrome.
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○ Concept: String manipulation.
5. Matrix Rotation by 90 Degrees:
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○ Problem: Write a program to rotate a matrix by 90 degrees clockwise.

○ Concept: Arrays, matrix manipulation.
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Aptitude and Coding Tips for Cognizant

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Aptitude Test Tips:

1. Practice Regularly: Make sure to brush up on key mathematical concepts such as

percentages, ratios, time-speed-distance, and geometry. Regularly practice logical
reasoning problems to improve your problem-solving speed.
2. Time Management: Time is limited during the test, so attempt the easier questions first
before moving on to the more difficult ones.
3. Verbal Ability: Improve your command of English grammar, vocabulary, and
comprehension skills. Regular reading will also help.

Coding Test Tips:

 1. Data Structures Mastery: Focus on core data structures such as arrays, linked lists,
stacks, queues, and trees. Practice coding problems involving these structures on
platforms like LeetCode and HackerRank.
2. Practice Problem-Solving: Work on algorithm-based problems that involve dynamic
programming, recursion, and backtracking.
3. Test for Edge Cases: Always test your code with various edge cases to ensure it works
efficiently across different scenarios.

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Tips to Crack Cognizant Interviews
1. Prepare for Core Concepts:
Be strong in the basics of programming, data structures, and algorithms. Ensure that you

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understand the core concepts of object-oriented programming, database management,
and operating systems.
2. Practice Communication:

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The HR interview focuses on assessing your communication skills and personality.
Prepare answers for common HR questions such as:
○ Why do you want to join Cognizant?
C ○ What are your long-term career goals?
○ Tell us about a challenging situation you faced and how you handled it.
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3. Work on Projects and Internships:
Be prepared to discuss your previous projects or internships. Explain the technologies
you used, your role in the project, and how it contributed to solving a real-world problem.
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4. Research Cognizant:
Learn about Cognizant’s services, clients, and work culture. Having knowledge about the
company and its current projects will make you stand out during the interview.
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5. Be Confident:
Confidence and clarity in answering questions can significantly impact the outcome of
your interview. Practice mock interviews to improve your presentation and
problem-solving skills.
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Comprehensive Resource Table for Apple Recruitment: Coding

Practice, Aptitude, Resume Templates, and Learning through
Games
Website Resources Available Description Link
LeetCode Coding Questions, Offers a wide range of coding LeetCode
Technical Interview problems, including those
Questions, Practice commonly asked in technical
Questions interviews.

HackerRank Coding Questions, Provides coding challenges HackerRank

Technical Interview and interview preparation
Questions, Practice resources, including
Questions, Previous company-specific questions.
Year Questions

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GeeksforGeek Coding Questions, Contains a vast collection of GeeksforGeek
s Technical Interview coding problems and interview s
Questions, Practice questions, including
Questions, Previous company-specific content.

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Year Questions

InterviewBit Coding Questions, Focuses on coding problems InterviewBit

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Technical Interview and interview preparation with
Questions, Practice company-specific questions.
Questions
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CodeSignal Coding Questions, Features coding challenges CodeSignal
Practice Questions and practice problems that are
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often relevant for technical
interviews.
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TopCoder Coding Questions, Provides competitive TopCoder

Practice Questions programming challenges and
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practice problems relevant for

technical interviews.

Exercism Coding Questions, Offers coding exercises and Exercism

Practice Questions practice problems across
various programming
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languages.

CodeChef Coding Questions, Includes a wide range of CodeChef

Practice Questions coding problems and contests
to practice and improve coding
skills.

Pramp Technical Interview Provides mock interviews and Pramp

Questions, Practice practice questions to help
Questions prepare for technical
interviews.
Glassdoor Technical Interview Contains interview questions Glassdoor
Questions, Previous and experiences shared by
Year Questions candidates who interviewed at
Apple and other companies.

Aptitude Test Aptitude Questions, Provides a variety of aptitude Aptitude Test

Practice Tests test questions and practice
tests for different topics.

IndiaBix Aptitude Questions, Offers practice questions for IndiaBix

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Practice Tests, Interview various aptitude tests and
Questions interview preparation.

Testbook Aptitude Questions, Provides practice tests and Testbook

Practice Tests, Previous previous year papers for

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Year Papers various competitive exams and
job interviews.

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HiCounselor Resume Templates, Offers free resume templates HiCounselor
C Career Resources and career-related advice.

Canva Resume Templates, Provides customizable resume Canva

Design Tools templates and design tools for
creating professional resumes.
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Novoresume Resume Templates, Offers a range of resume and Novoresume
Cover Letter Templates cover letter templates to create
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professional documents.

Resume.com Resume Templates, Provides free resume Resume.com

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Resume Builder templates and a builder to

create and download resumes.

PDF Drive Free PDF Books, Study Offers a vast collection of free PDF Drive
Materials PDFs, including study
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materials and guides on

various topics.

Library Free PDF Books, Provides access to free PDFs Library

Genesis Academic Papers of academic papers, books, Genesis
and other resources.

CodeCombat Coding Practice through Learn coding by solving CodeCombat

Games puzzles and challenges within
a game environment.
Codingame Coding Practice through Offers coding challenges and Codingame
Games games to improve
programming skills while
having fun.

Screeps Coding Practice through An MMO strategy game for Screeps

Games programmers that involves
coding to control game units
and achieve objectives.

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CheckiO Coding Practice through Provides coding challenges in CheckiO
Games a game-like environment with
a focus on learning and
improvement.

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Robocode Coding Practice through An open-source game where Robocode
Games players code robot tanks to
battle each other in a virtual

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arena.

Tynker Coding Practice through Provides a fun platform for Tynker

C Games for Kids children to learn coding
through interactive games and
activities.
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