Table of contents
1.
Introduction
2.
About Cisco
3.
Work Culture at Cisco
3.1.
Training Programs
3.2.
Employee Health and Wellness Benefits
3.3.
Financial and Retirement
3.4.
Family and Parenting
3.5.
Vacation and Holidays
3.6.
Perks and Benefits
4.
Required Skills for Cisco
5.
What does Cisco look for in a candidate?
6.
Available Roles in Cisco
6.1.
Job Title Classification System
7.
Eligibility Criteria
8.
Preparation Strategy
8.1.
Interview Process
9.
Resources for Preparation
9.1.
Interview Resources
9.2.
Coding Resources
9.3.
Aptitude Resources
9.4.
Other Technical Resources
10.
Interview Experiences
11.
Frequently Asked Questions
11.1.
What does Cisco do?
11.2.
What does Cisco look for in a candidate?
11.3.
What are the various job opportunities available at Cisco?
11.4.
What are the benefits of working for Cisco?
11.5.
What are the qualifications required to get a job at Cisco?
12.
Conclusion
Last Updated: Mar 27, 2024

Cisco Preparation Guide

Author Sneha Mallik
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Introduction

Many aspire to work for prestigious companies, but they are frequently unsure of the preparation methods and resources to use. Cisco is one of these significant IT and networking companies, and it receives hundreds of applications each year. 

Cisco Preparation Guide

Cisco was ranked number 4 in the 100 Best Companies to Work For list, sweeping another top spot in addition to the company's number one ranking in the World's best companies to work for list! So if you want to find yourself at this beautiful place - pull up your socks and get started to explore the Cisco Preparation Guide. 

This Cisco Preparation Guide will include the eligibility criteria, exam syllabus, preparation strategy, the procedure to apply and the resources needed for this company.

Let’s first discuss a little bit about the company itself. 

About Cisco

The market leader in the IT(Information Technology) sector, Cisco, demonstrates that remarkable things may happen when you link the previously disconnected, assisting businesses in taking advantage of tomorrow's potential.

About Cisco

Industry

Networking Hardware | Networking Software | Communications Equipments

Employee Count

79K +

Founded In

1984 (38 yrs old)

CEO

Chuck Robbins

Office Locations

Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai

Company Type

Public

Headquarters

San Jose, California, US

Cisco Website

cisco.com
  • The corporate headquarters of the global American technology giant Cisco are in San Jose, California, with more than 79K+ employees world-wide. 
     
  • By developing goods and technology that make the Internet more usable and useful, it is a leader in networking on a worldwide scale. 
     
  • In addition to voice and video over IP (Internet Protocol), storage networking, optical networking, security, wireless, broadband, and content networking are some of the areas where the firm focuses its efforts.
     
  • Cisco had a market capitalization of $224 million when it went public in 1990; by the dot-com boom in 2000, this had climbed to $500 billion, overtaking Microsoft as the world's most valuable corporation. As of December 2021, Cisco had a market capitalization of around $267 billion.
     
  • The two decades of network switch innovation by Cisco have produced a successful track record. To enhance products, they carefully collaborated with industry and data center professionals. They also keep a careful eye on consumer satisfaction as well. 
     
  • Numerous IEEE standards were developed by Cisco.
     
  • The fact that Cisco won the third annual Great Place to Work for All Leadership Awards in 2020, the Best Leadership Team Award in 2022, and secured rank four among the top 100 companies to work for is evidence of its excellent workplace culture.
     

Do you wish to obtain a position with Cisco, call yourself a Cisconian and have the fantastic Cisco tag on your resume?

If so, you've come to the correct place. For you to take advantage of this chance at Cisco, we will give you a thorough Cisco Preparation Guide. Coding Ninja is here to assist you every step of the way.

Let us now talk about Cisco in more detail.🤩

Work Culture at Cisco

Cisco is a company that helps its clients deal with real-world problems and is at the forefront of innovation to tackle a complete range of opportunities. If you have the interest, talent, and aptitude for working with cutting-edge technology, Cisco is the place for you. 

Work Culture at Cisco

Let us explore the various benefits of working with Cisco.

Training Programs

  • Job Training
  • Soft Skill Training
  • Tuition reimbursement
  • Education Assistance
  • Diversity Programs

Employee Health and Wellness Benefits

  • Health Care & Insurance
  • Life Insurance
  • Disability Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Dental Insurance

Financial and Retirement

  • Performance Bonus
  • Competitive compensation plan
  • ​​Employee Stock Purchase Program
  • Pension Plan
  • Retirement Plan

Family and Parenting

  • Maternity & Paternity Leave
  • Work From Home
  • Support for parents

Vacation and Holidays

  • Wedding leave
  • Birthday off
  • Vacation & Paid Time Off
  • Paid time to volunteer - Paid five days to volunteer for the causes that matter most to you
  • Sick Leave

Perks and Benefits

  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Employee Discount
  • Free Food & Cafeteria
  • Gym Membership
  • Company Car/Shuttle Services
  • Team assignment - Play your strength and collaborate with others to solve business challenges
  • Job Swap - Swap 100% of your job with someone on a temporary or permanent basis
  • Time Swap - Swap 20% of your job responsibilities with someone
  • Comprehensive benefits
  • Fun fund for team bonding
     

At every stage of your career, Cisco provides you with the chance to realize your full potential. The working environment at Cisco is good. Job security is also high. CISCO appreciates recognition for a job well done, and they even have the option to recognize and reward their workers when they go above and beyond with Connected Recognition. 

So use this long list of employee benefits of the Cisco preparation guide to motivate you to improve your preparation.

Required Skills for Cisco

Required Skills for Cisco

The skills required for an employee at Cisco are:

  • Logical thinking
  • Responsible and Detail-oriented
  • "Can do" attitude
  • Proactive engagement
  • Problem-solving 
  • Good presentation skills
  • Highly efficient with ambiguity and complexity
  • Strategic thinking and acting operationally
  • Self-starter with high motivation
  • Respond positively with eagerness to difficult tasks
  • Skill in understanding the emotional and cultural blockers
  • The ability to effectively multitask and prioritize work
  • Proven verbal and written communication skills
  • Ability to work independently and make quick decisions.
  • Must be enthusiastic, self-assured, and a good team player.

What does Cisco look for in a candidate?

You will have to fulfill the employment requirements are described as the combination of available credentials, abilities, and character attributes that a candidate must possess to be successful in employment at Cisco. 

What you'll need to land a job at a company like Cisco is plenty of preparation in the following aspects of the interviewing process: 

What does Cisco look for in a candidate?

  • Knowledge of Domains related to the Company
    Candidates can succeed in the Cisco interview by having a solid understanding of networking fundamentals, computer intelligence, and excellent analytical abilities. One can also enroll in a Cisco certification course to develop solid networking knowledge.
     
  • Behavioural Aspect
    This refers to the non-technical skills that a candidate should have. This includes abilities such as effective communication, some leadership, and a proclivity for working in groups.
     
  • Team spirit 
    Helps in collective work and dividing responsibilities, and returning to a supportive and positive environment.
     
  • Ability to Think
    Problem-solving skills, abstract thinking, curiosity, and readiness to learn are all examples of general cognitive aptitude. Cisco is looking for intelligent individuals who can think critically about themselves, their teams, and their initiatives.
     
  • Leadership Skills
    Candidates with emergent leadership skills are hired by Cisco. Leadership, according to Cisco, is the ability to step in and out of challenging situations as needed while encouraging ethics and safety. Cisco also looks for those that encourage others to self-organize and communicate openly.
     

Work experience, educational level, professional references, particular IT skill sets, certifications, or personal traits will all be considered to work at CISCO.

Available Roles in Cisco

Look into the various job roles available at Cisco, which we have curated in the Cisco preparation guide:

Available Roles in Cisco

🔥 Software Engineer at Cisco

🔥 SDET at Cisco

🔥 Data Engineer at Cisco

🔥 Techincal Project Specialist at Cisco

🔥 DevOps Engineer at Cisco

🔥 Security Engineer at Cisco

🔥 Business Process Analyst at Cisco

🔥 IoT- UI Software Engineer at Cisco

🔥 User Experience Engineer at Cisco

🔥 Python Developer at Cisco

🔥 Data Analyst at Cisco

🔥 Release Manager at Cisco

Job Title Classification System

The job title classification system at CISCO is:

  • CEO(Chief Executive Officer)
  • EVP(Executive Vice President)
  • SVP(Senior Vice President) 
  • VP(Vice President) 
  • Director 
  • Senior Manager
  • Manager
  • Engineer/Analyst 3
  • Engineer/Analyst 2
  • Engineer/Analyst 1
     

You can look at the eligibility criteria for Cisco here. Check this for Cisco Careers.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

To qualify for job roles at Cisco in campus recruitment, the below requirements are needed:

👉 Students should be B.Tech/ B.E/ M.Tech graduates in Information Technology, Applied Electronics, Electronics and Communication, and Computer Science.

👉 MCA graduates also qualify for campus recruitment.

👉 The student should not have backlogs or supplementary papers in graduate or postgraduate courses.

👉 Students must achieve at least 65% points on the aptitude test.

👉 Students should have good technical knowledge in the areas of security, algorithms,  software code and functional specification development, computer networks, and databases.

Preparation Strategy

Let us discuss the process and what preparation strategies we can follow to fetch a job at Cisco.

Preparation Strategy

First of all, look at some necessary documents that an individual is asked for in an interview: 

  • Recent Updates to Resume.
  • Photocopies in both black and white and in colour.

Documents required

  • Academic certificates from the 10th grade through graduation and post-graduation.
  • Id proofs (voter id, Adhaar card, Pan card, etc.).

Keep these documents handy!!

Interview Process

The interview process for Cisco consists of various types of questions, from technical to behavioral.

Make a prioritized list of things you need to study. It is highly recommended that you go thoroughly to your resume as they may ask you some questions related to your resume or what you did while pursuing your studies.

Interview Process

🔔 Round 1 includes a written aptitude round followed by a  technical round, managerial round and HR round. 

Written Test Round

This involves a written test round with the following procedure:

  • The written exam has a 60-minute time limit in total.
     
  • Questions on probability, age, average, heights and distances, pipes and cisterns, speed issues, coding and decoding, and work and time are all included in the aptitude part.
     
  • The questions in the technical portion are based on Java and include pointers from C.
     
  • The paper's overall difficulty is moderate. Only those applicants who pass the written test will advance to the next stage.
     

🔔 Round 2 involves a technical round where you can be asked about your projects, internships, and final year project. Questions on DSA, networking, security and some programming languages like MySQL, Java, and PHP will also be asked to you. In this round, questions relevant to particular technological domains are raised. When applying for a job, candidates may be asked to answer questions based on their knowledge of the technical activities of the company, their understanding of the technical tasks involved, or their ability to resolve real-world technical issues.

Technical Round

🔔 Round 3 involves a managerial round where you can be asked for management positions that differ greatly from those for entry-level positions. The hiring manager will speak with you on a variety of competencies rather than requesting information about your skills. This assists the recruiting manager in comprehending your thought process and behaviour under pressure.

Managerial Round

🔔 Round 4 is a personal interview round or HR round. Questions asked during these interviews are from your resume and can be behavioral questions too. This is the last phase in the hiring process since they help to evaluate a candidate's personality. Your introduction, qualifications, experience, industry-specific experience, completed courses, strengths and weaknesses, income expectations, friends and family, etc., can all be topics for questions.

HR Round

Prepare yourself with attractive answers to the below-mentioned questions for HR (Human Resource) rounds:

  • What do you know about Cisco?
  • Why do you think that Cisco is for you?
  • Why should we hire you?
  • What motivates you to work more?
  • Explain a situation where you have an idea about the project you have to work with your seniors and colleagues.
  • In a situation where your client has unreasonable demands, how do you respond to them?
  • Give an example that showcases your leadership skills.
     

You can refer to the list of HR interview questions on Coding ninjas

Be as truthful as possible. Confidence is essential; even if you can't recall a number or update incorrectly, don't merely slip and try to go on. Instead of a question-and-answer session, make it interactive and conversational. Try to give answers calmly and confidently.

Resources for Preparation

Here are the resources to help you prepare for your recruitment exam and interview at Cisco.

Resources for Preparation

Interview Resources

Coding Resources

Aptitude Resources

Other Technical Resources

To become an expert at Coding Ninjas Studio, explore it here.

Also, check out the articles on: 

Interview Experiences

The placement season is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn a lot about yourself and how to react to a variety of obnoxious situations. Most of you are in a similar stage, brushing up on your DS Algo skills, following common test patterns, and preparing your resumes.

Interview Experiences

Most of your dream companies will have similar technical tests, but their interview processes and the types of candidates they seek will differ significantly. You can read placement experiences of Coding Ninjas’ students who were placed in Cisco to get a sense of what you're getting into and how you can direct your energy towards your dream company.

Learn about these Ninjas who gave the interview at Cisco-

Look here for Cisco interview experiencesCheck out the following video to learn how problem-solving skills helped one of our ninjas in cracking interviews with Cisco Systems:

All the best!

We wish you the best of luck in your interview selection and hope that the Cisco preparation guide has greatly assisted you.🤗 

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Cisco do?

Cisco Systems is an IT and networking brand focusing on switches, routers, cybersecurity, and IoT. Its logo can be seen on virtually every conference or office phone. It has close to 80K employees all over the world.

What does Cisco look for in a candidate?

Cisco looks for candidates from various backgrounds who can bring something unique to the table. The company looks for intelligence, a passion for technology, a strong desire to learn, a willingness to work hard, rock-solid skills, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a desire to be the best.

What are the various job opportunities available at Cisco?

SDE, SDET, Software Engineer, Data Engineer, Techincal Project Specialist, DevOps Engineer, Security Engineer, Business Process Analyst, IoT- UI Software Engineer, User Experience Engineer, Python Developer, Data Analyst and Release Manager are some of the various types of job opportunities available at Cisco.

What are the benefits of working for Cisco?

Work from home, health insurance, cafeteria, gymnasium, team outings, soft skill training, job training, free transport, free food, savings and investments, giving away programs, maternity and paternity leave, opportunities to network and connect and international relocation are some benefits of working at Cisco.

What are the qualifications required to get a job at Cisco?

B.E/ B.Tech/ M.E/ M.Tech/ M.S students are eligible to apply. No backlog at the time of applying.

Conclusion

In this article, we covered all about the Cisco preparation guide. We discussed the preparation strategy, skills and responsibilities, application procedure, and the resources needed.

If you would like to learn more about the company and its roles, check out our articles on-

You can also consider our Aptitude Course to give your career an edge over others.

Do upvote our blog to help other ninjas grow. 🥷✨

Thank You

Happy Learning, Ninja!

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