Software Engineer applicants have rated the interview process at Cognizant with 2.7 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 69% positive. To compare, the company-average is 69.4% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Software Engineer roles take an average of 9 days to get hired, when considering 267 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Cognizant overall takes an average of 17 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Cognizant as a Software Engineer according to 267 Glassdoor interviews include:
One on one interview: 25%
Skills test: 18%
Phone interview: 12%
Background check: 12%
Personality test: 8%
Presentation: 8%
IQ intelligence test: 7%
Group panel interview: 7%
Drug test: 2%
Other: 2%
Here are the most commonly searched roles for interview reports -
I applied through college or university. I interviewed at Cognizant (Pune)
Interview
Following an aptitude test, there were subsequent interviews: first, a technical assessment, then a managerial/ HR evaluation. The technical interview covered OOPS concepts and previous projects, while the managerial/HR interview focused on situational questions, strengths, weaknesses, and cultural fit/
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Questions about OOP principles such as inheritance, encapsulation, polymorphism, and abstraction. Sorting methods.
Discussion about your strengths, skills, and qualities that make you a good fit for the role, as well as areas where you may have opportunities for growth or improvement.
I applied online. I interviewed at Cognizant (Chennai) in Jun 2026
Interview
only one round of technical interview for senior position, and hr execution was not proper, they didn;t connect when needed and no proper negotiation of salary either since shortlisting for interview
The interview was primarily technical, concentrating on C#, .NET, SQL, and API concepts. Questions tested understanding of core principles and practical application. The process was straightforward, professional, and focused on technical depth.
I applied online and got a calll back, had 4 rounds in total. first was a behavioral phone call just casual talks about your skills and when can you start working and general questions, then two coding rounds in hackerrank - was asked to code in java although the job was for python and finally HR.