Cognizant GenC Next Interview Questions 2025

The technical interview focuses on assessing the candidate’s technical proficiency, project experience, and problem-solving skills through detailed discussions and practical questions.

The HR interview evaluates soft skills, adaptability, motivation, and alignment with the company's values and goals.

Each stage typically lasts between 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the interviewer and the specific role.

What to Expect: Interviewers evaluate your technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and communication. They expect you to detail your background, projects, challenges faced, and technical decisions, highlighting your practical knowledge and learning ability.

Some of the sample questions that have been asked in CTS interviews are given below:

1. Tell us about yourself.

2. Explain a project you have worked on in detail.

3. Can you describe a technical challenge you encountered and how you resolved it?

4. How did you adapt when learning a new technology or tool for a project?

5. What is the most significant contribution you’ve made to a project, and why?

6. How would you explain a complex technical concept to a non-technical audience?

7. How do you ensure your code is maintainable and scalable?

8. Share an experience where you collaborated with a team to complete a project. What was your role?

How to Approach:

1. Understand Your Projects: Be thoroughly familiar with the projects you’ve worked on. Know the objectives, your role, the technologies used, challenges faced, and the outcomes. Be ready to discuss any project listed on your resume in detail.

2. Develop a Structured Self-Introduction: Create a brief, clear, and engaging introduction that covers your educational background, key skills, significant achievements, and relevant experiences. Practice delivering it confidently.

3. Reflect on Challenges and Solutions: Think about the problems you encountered during your projects and how you solved them. Highlight your problem-solving skills, resilience, and ability to work under pressure.

4. Revise SQL Skills: Review the SQL queries and database management tasks you performed in your projects. Be ready to discuss how your queries contributed to the project's success.

5. Practice Clear Communication: Be able to explain complex technical concepts in a simple and clear manner. Avoid using too much jargon unless you are sure the interviewer has a similar technical background.

What to Expect: Interviewers assess your programming knowledge, focusing on coding skills, object-oriented principles, problem-solving, and familiarity with data structures and algorithms. They aim to evaluate how well you apply these skills to real-world scenarios.

Some of the sample questions that have been asked in CTS interviews are given below:

1. Discuss object-oriented programming principles like inheritance and polymorphism.

2. Write a Python program to reverse a string without built-in functions.

3. Explain the concept of method overriding and overloading with examples.

4. How do you implement a stack data structure in Java?

5. What is Big O notation, and why is it important?

6. Build an HTML form with JavaScript validation.

7. What is a closure in JavaScript? Provide an example.

8. Write a function in C++ to calculate the factorial of a number using recursion.

How to Approach:

1. Master Core Concepts: Ensure you have a strong understanding of the fundamental concepts in your preferred programming languages, such as syntax, data types, control structures, and standard libraries.

2. Study OOP Principles: Be well-versed in object-oriented programming principles, including encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism, and abstraction. Be prepared to discuss and implement these concepts in code.

3. Practice Coding: Regularly practice coding problems, focusing on common algorithms and data structures. Use platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, or CodeSignal to improve your problem-solving skills.

4. Review Data Structures and Algorithms: Deepen your knowledge of various data structures (arrays, linked lists, stacks, queues, trees, graphs, hash tables) and algorithms. Understand their time and space complexities.

5. Prepare for Code Writing: Practice writing clean, efficient, and bug-free code. Use comments to explain your thought process and approach.

What to Expect: In this category, interviewers aim to assess your understanding of database design, query optimization, and real-world applications of database management.

Some of the sample questions that have been asked in CTS interviews are given below:

1. Explain database normalization and its benefits.

2. What is the difference between a primary key and a unique key?

3. Write a SQL query to find duplicate records in a table.

4. Describe the process of creating and using stored procedures.

5. What are the ACID properties of a database, and why are they important?

How to Approach:

1. Review SQL Basics: Ensure you are familiar with basic SQL commands (SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE) and understand how to use them to interact with databases.

2. Practice Complex Queries: Practice writing complex SQL queries involving joins, subqueries, and aggregations. Understand how to optimize queries for performance.

3. Learn Database Management: Gain knowledge of database management tasks such as indexing, backups, restores, and transactions. Understand the importance of data integrity and consistency.

4. Study Advanced Topics: Familiarize yourself with advanced database topics like data redundancy, indexing, and sharding.

5. Prepare Real-World Examples: Be ready to discuss scenarios where you used SQL to solve problems or improve performance in your projects.

What to Expect: In this category, interviewers aim to assess your understanding of cloud computing and DevOps practices. They want to know your familiarity with the basics of cloud services and tools.

Some of the sample questions that have been asked in CTS interviews are given below:

1. What is the difference between IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS?

2. Explain the role of Jenkins in CI/CD.

3. How do you implement microservices using Docker and Kubernetes?

4. What are the security challenges in cloud environments, and how can they be mitigated?

5. Explain the concept of serverless computing and its advantages.

6. What are the key differences between public, private, and hybrid cloud environments?

7. How do you ensure high availability in a cloud environment?

How to Approach:

1. Learn Cloud Basics: Understand fundamental concepts of cloud computing, including service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) and deployment models (public, private, hybrid).

2. Study Major Cloud Providers: Familiarize yourself with AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud services, pricing models, and use cases.

3. Understand DevOps Principles: Learn principles like automation, CI/CD, and infrastructure as code (IaC).

4. Practice with CI/CD Tools: Gain hands-on experience with tools like Jenkins, Docker, Kubernetes, and Terraform.

5. Review Cloud Security: Study cloud security best practices, such as identity and access management, encryption, and compliance.

6. Prepare Real-World Examples: Be ready to discuss scenarios where you used cloud services or DevOps practices in your projects.

What to Expect: In this category, interviewers aim to assess your knowledge of networking principles and protocols. They want to understand your ability to manage network communications, secure data transmission, and troubleshoot network issues.

Some of the sample questions that have been asked in CTS interviews are given below:

1. Explain the difference between TCP and UDP and their use cases.

2. What are the main functions of a firewall in network security?

3. Describe the differences between IPv4 and IPv6.

4. How does a VPN (Virtual Private Network) work, and what are its benefits?

5. What is NAT (Network Address Translation), and why is it important?

6. How do load balancers work, and what are their benefits in a network?

7. Explain the concept of subnetting and its use in networking.

How to Approach:

1. Review Networking Basics: Understand fundamental networking concepts, including IP addressing, subnetting, routing, and switching. Be familiar with different types of networks (LAN, WAN, MAN).

2. Study Key Protocols: Gain a deep understanding of essential networking protocols such as TCP/IP, UDP, HTTP, HTTPS, SSH, and DNS. Understand how these protocols facilitate communication and ensure security.

3. Learn Network Devices: Familiarize yourself with various network devices like routers, switches, and firewalls. Understand their roles and functions in a network.

4. Understand Network Security: Study network security principles, including encryption, firewalls, VPNs, and intrusion detection/prevention systems. Understand how to secure network communications.

5. Practice Troubleshooting: Develop problem-solving skills for diagnosing and resolving network issues. Understand common network problems and their solutions.

What to Expect: In this category, interviewers are interested in assessing your understanding of core computer science concepts. They want to evaluate your knowledge of memory management, operating systems, concurrency, and other foundational topics.

Some of the sample questions that have been asked in CTS interviews are given below:

1. What are the differences between static and dynamic memory allocation in programming?

2. Explain the concept of garbage collection in Java and how it works.

3. How does virtual memory work, and what are its benefits?

4. Describe the role of the CPU cache and its different levels (L1, L2, L3).

5. What is the difference between a process and a thread in operating systems?

6. How does a page table work in the context of memory management?

7. Explain the purpose and functionality of shell scripts in Unix/Linux.

How to Approach:

1. Study Memory Management: Understand how memory is managed in computer systems, including stack and heap memory. Be familiar with concepts like garbage collection and dynamic loading.

2. Review Operating Systems: Gain knowledge of operating system principles, including process management, multitasking, and virtual memory. Understand the role of the operating system in managing hardware and software resources.

3. Learn Concurrency: Study concepts related to concurrent programming, including threading, synchronization, and deadlock. Understand how to write and manage concurrent programs.

4. Understand Caching: Learn about caching mechanisms and their importance in improving system performance. Understand how caching works and its impact on memory and processing.

5. Familiarize with System Calls: Study common system calls and their functions. Understand how system calls facilitate communication between user programs and the operating system.

What to Expect: In this category, interviewers are interested in assessing your skills and knowledge related to web development. They want to understand your ability to create and manage web applications, handle client-server interactions, and design user interfaces.

Some of the sample questions that have been asked in CTS interviews are given below:

1. How do you create a responsive navigation bar using HTML and CSS?

2. Write a JavaScript function to validate an email address format.

3. How would you implement form validation using HTML5 and JavaScript?

4. Describe the steps to set up a simple RESTful API using Node.js and Express.

5. Explain how to use local storage in a web application to store user preferences.

6. Write a CSS rule to style a button with rounded corners, a gradient background, and a shadow effect.

7. Explain the use of AJAX to fetch data from a server and update the DOM dynamically.

How to Approach:

1. Learn Web Technologies: Ensure you have a solid understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Be familiar with frameworks and libraries like React, Angular, or Vue.js for front-end development.

2. Study Server-Side Development: Gain knowledge of server-side technologies such as Node.js, Django, or Ruby on Rails. Understand how to build and manage back-end services.

3. Understand Client-Server Architecture: Learn how client-server interactions work, including HTTP/HTTPS protocols, RESTful APIs, and WebSockets. Understand how to handle requests and responses.

4. Practice Responsive Design: Develop skills in creating responsive web designs that work well on different devices and screen sizes. Understand the principles of user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design.

5. Implement Security Measures: Study web security principles, including authentication, authorization, and data encryption. Understand how to secure web applications against common vulnerabilities.

What to Expect: In this category, interviewers are looking to evaluate your understanding of advanced technical concepts and your ability to apply them in practical scenarios.

Some of the sample questions that have been asked in CTS interviews are given below:

1. Explain the differences between symmetric and asymmetric encryption algorithms.

2. What is the Reed-Solomon code, and how is it used in error correction?

3. What is the difference between a BufferedReader and a FileReader in Java?

4. Describe the process of creating, updating, and deleting stored procedures in SQL.

5. How do you implement a deadlock detection algorithm in an operating system?

6. Explain the concept of journaling in file systems and its benefits.

How to Approach:

1. Study Advanced Algorithms: Learn about encryption algorithms, error-correction codes, and data compression techniques.

2. Learn System Programming: Gain knowledge of system-level programming concepts, including file handling, memory management, and inter-process communication.

3. Review Database Management: Study advanced database topics like indexing, query optimization, and database sharding.

4. Understand Operating Systems: Familiarize yourself with advanced operating system concepts like deadlock detection and virtual file systems.

5. Practice Writing Code: Develop skills in writing efficient and optimized code for complex problems. Understand how to implement advanced features in your preferred programming languages.