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Software Engineer

Cisco
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4 rounds | 4 Coding problems

Interview preparation journey

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Journey
Ideathon journey: Registrations were started in June 2021, before registrations we completed courses required for eligibility. From June to July Cisco CyberOps training was given to us by cisco and it lasted for a month. After that links were received to every eligible candidate for the first assessment.
Application story
Ideathon journey: Registrations were started in June 2021, before registrations we completed courses required for eligibility. From June to July Cisco CyberOps training was given to us by cisco and it lasted for a month. After that links were received to every eligible candidate for the first assessment. First Assessment was having 3 sections. Aptitude and reasoning Networking-based questions Programming Advanced Coding: I selected advanced coding rather than advanced networking Aptitude: This section included 10 questions and they were easy to medium and the time limit was 20 mins. Networking: From this section sectional time was removed and a timer of 1 hour 10 mins started. Questions were not easy and they were more scenario-based questions like two situations were given and we have to select the proper option for it. This section requires networking basics to be revised well. Programming: This section had one coding question based on DP. Advanced Coding: This included one medium-level coding question. After that qualified candidates got a mail regarding the problem statement, there were two problem statements on which we had to provide a solution and make ppt presentation. 2-3 days were given to us for this thing. After PPT submissions almost everyone got mail for interviews few were rejected. The interview consisted of three rounds (All three were elimination rounds) Technical round Managerial round HR round
Why selected/rejected for the role?
I was selected for the Cisco Ideathon and landed a SDE job because of my strong technical skills, ability to think critically and work well under pressure. I have a great understanding of software development and programming languages such as Java, Python and C#, which helped me to develop innovative solutions that impressed the judges. Additionally, I have a strong understanding of networking and cybersecurity, which helped me to understand the problem statement and provide a comprehensive solution. Furthermore, I have a proactive approach to problem-solving, and I think outside the box to come up with unique solutions that are not only efficient but also user-friendly. Overall, my technical expertise, critical thinking skills and ability to work in a team were the key factors that helped me to get selected for the Cisco Ideathon and land a SDE job.
Preparation
Duration: 10 months
Topics: Data Structures, OOPS, System Design, Algorithms, Dynamic Programming
Tip
Tip

Tip 1 : Prepare projects well
Tip 2 : Work on networking questions

Application process
Where: Other
Eligibility: 8.5 cgpa
Resume Tip
Resume tip

Tip 1: have networking as keyword in it
Tip 2: don't lie in resume

Interview rounds

01
Round
Easy
Online Coding Interview
Duration90 mins
Interview date14 Sep 2021
Coding problem1

1. 0 1 Knapsack

Moderate
0/80
Asked in companies
AmazonTwitterInnovaccer

A thief is robbing a store and can carry a maximum weight of ‘W’ into his knapsack. There are 'N' items available in the store and the weight and value of each item is known to the thief. Considering the constraints of the maximum weight that a knapsack can carry, you have to find the maximum profit that a thief can generate by stealing items.

Note: The thief is not allowed to break the items.

For example, N = 4, W = 10 and the weights and values of items are weights = [6, 1, 5, 3] and values = [3, 6, 1, 4]. Then the best way to fill the knapsack is to choose items with weight 6, 1 and 3. The total value of knapsack = 3 + 6 + 4 = 13.

Problem approach

Step 1: I first approached the problem using a brute force solution, where I generated all possible subsets of the items and checked for the ones that met the weight constraint.
Step 2: I then realized that this approach would not work for large inputs and thus, implemented a dynamic programming solution, specifically the 0-1 knapsack algorithm.
Step 3: I created a 2D array to store the maximum value that can be obtained for a given weight and number of items.
Step 4: I then iterated through the array, comparing the maximum value that can be obtained by including the current item versus not including it.
Step 5: I returned the value stored in the last cell of the 2D array as the maximum value that can be obtained.

Try solving now
02
Round
Medium
Face to Face
Duration30 mins
Interview date11 Nov 2021
Coding problem1

Happened in morning via webex

1. Reverse the String

Easy
15m average time
85% success
0/40
Asked in companies
ThalesDeutsche BankPaytm (One97 Communications Limited)

You are given a string 'STR'. The string contains [a-z] [A-Z] [0-9] [special characters]. You have to find the reverse of the string.

For example:

 If the given string is: STR = "abcde". You have to print the string "edcba".
follow up:
Try to solve the problem in O(1) space complexity. 
Problem approach

Can you explain stepwise how you solved this problem?
Step 1: I first thought of using a for loop to iterate through the string and swap the first character with the last one, second with the second last and so on.
Step 2: I then realized that this method would only work for even length strings and would not be efficient for large strings.
Step 3: I then thought of using a stack to push all the characters of the string and then pop them one by one to get the reversed string.
Step 4: I also considered using recursion to reverse the string by calling the function with the substring from index 1 to n-1 and then appending the first character of the original string at the end.

Try solving now
03
Round
Easy
Face to Face
Duration30 mins
Interview date11 Nov 2021
Coding problem1

It was a managerial round of 30 min

1. Puzzle

Given a room with n light bulbs and m switches, each switch can control one or multiple light bulbs. The task is to find the minimum number of switches that must be on to ensure that all the light bulbs are on.

Problem approach

Prepare well before the interview. Can't solve it if you have not done practice before

04
Round
Easy
HR Round
Duration30 minutes
Interview date11 Nov 2021
Coding problem1

Basic HR round

1. Basic HR Questions

Why you want to join cisco
Cisco competitor's name

Problem approach

Tip 1: Go to company carrier page to know about the company
Tip 2: Look out for latest news about the company

Here's your problem of the day

Solving this problem will increase your chance to get selected in this company

Skill covered: Programming

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