Cognizant GenC interview experience
GenC candidates take an assessment (aptitude, then SQL, coding in their chosen cluster and sometimes a web task), followed by a technical interview of about 30 minutes that follows the resume and covers Java/Python, OOP and SQL, plus HR questions. GenC Next and Pro have an extra, harder round.
Selection process
- Aptitude assessment: Numerical, logical and verbal ability.
- Skill assessment: Two SQL questions, two coding questions in your cluster (often Java) and sometimes a web UI task.
- Technical interview: Resume-based: OOP, Java (collections, multithreading), SQL queries and simple string/array code.
- HR: Joining date, relocation, shifts and why Cognizant. Sometimes merged with the technical round.
Technical questions candidates reported
- What is the difference between DELETE, DROP and TRUNCATE? (answer)
- What is an index? (answer)
- Write a query to find the employee with the highest salary. (answer)
- Write a query to find the second-highest salary. (answer)
- Find the common elements in two arrays.
- Reverse a string. (coding problem)
- Remove special characters from a string.
- Explain OOP concepts. (answer)
- What is multithreading? How do you create a thread? (answer)
- Questions on Java collections. (answer)
HR and managerial questions
- Why Cognizant? (answer)
- When can you join?
- Are you willing to relocate? (answer)
- Are you comfortable working in shifts? (answer)
- Tell me about yourself. (answer)
Tips
- SQL carries real weight at Cognizant: practise date functions, GROUP BY and salary queries.
- Choose the cluster (Java, Python, etc.) you can actually code in under time pressure.
- Keep the interview environment ready; many rounds are online on Cognizant's platform.
Reported experiences
GenC / GenC Pro / GenC Next, 2025
Assessment with two easy SQL questions (date functions) and two Java problems (longest run of consecutive ones, summing repeated consecutive numbers). A 30-minute online technical interview followed the resume, with a second interview for Next/Pro on Java basics, SQL and HR.
GenC, 2025
Interview questions included DELETE vs DROP vs TRUNCATE, what an index is, highest and second-highest salary queries, common elements in two arrays, reversing a string and removing special characters.