Software Engineer(Internship) applicants have rated the interview process at Cisco with 2.6 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 67% positive. To compare, the company-average is 68% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Software Engineer(Internship) roles take an average of 24 days to get hired, when considering 129 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Cisco overall takes an average of 27 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Cisco as a Software Engineer(Internship) according to 129 Glassdoor interviews include:
One on one interview: 24%
Phone interview: 21%
Presentation: 15%
Skills test: 11%
Drug test: 8%
Group panel interview: 6%
IQ intelligence test: 6%
Background check: 5%
Personality test: 4%
Other: 2%
Here are the most commonly searched roles for interview reports -
My technical internship experience was nothing short of transformative. Immersed in a dynamic environment, I had the privilege of applying my academic knowledge to real-world scenarios, thanks to the guidance of seasoned professionals.
It's a one hour long panel interview with two to four engineers. The interview contained behavioural questions, resume walk through, python and c implementation, c trivia questions, os concepts, debugging.
I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Cisco in Feb 2026
Interview
Applied 1/14, prescreening with recruiter 1/29, interview with hiring manager 2/9, offer 2/13
Very easy interview and manager was super nice! Mostly was just asked about the projects on my resume with a couple problem-solving questions surrounding my projects.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How would you prove your product's safety to the user? (Essentially asking my testing process)
I applied online. I interviewed at Cisco (San Jose, CA)
Interview
The interview has two rounds:
Round 1 focuses on solving DSA problems within 45 minutes, testing logic, efficiency, and coding skills.
Round 2 involves resume screening and project discussion, where you explain your contributions, technical decisions, challenges faced, and overall understanding of your work.