Ways to Get into Cisco - Naukri Code 360

Introduction 🌼

Are you willing to work at Cisco? If definitely yes, then you are on the right path. We will provide a complete guide for getting this opportunity by letting you know the ways to get into Cisco.

This article will discuss the process and preparation for joining Cisco, the skills required, roles and responsibilities, and salary insights of an employee at Cisco.

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

About Cisco 📽️

Cisco is an American multinational technology company headquartered in San Jose, California. It is a global leader in networking by creating products and technologies to make the Internet more accessible and valuable. The company focuses on advanced routing and switching technologies, voice, and video over IP(Internet Protocol), storage networking, optical networking, security, wireless, broadband, and content networking.

Cisco has a great work culture, proved by achieving 3rd annual great place to work for all leadership awards in 2020, Best Leadership Team Award in 2022, and securing rank four among the top 100 companies to work.

The company focuses on creating a culture for the future by focusing on the following factors:

Inclusion and Diversity: The diversity of experiences, ideas, and approaches is crucial for growth and just good for business.
Nurturing EQ(Emotional intelligence): Cisco is looking for employees with a high emotional quotient, people who can adapt, lead, and inspire.
Prepare employees: The company aims to help employees succeed, whether taking off to care for someone or working remotely; Cisco always provides the solution to make it work.
Giving back to the community: A crucial and significant part of CCC(Cisco’s Conscious Culture) is giving back. It is the main aim of the company and its corporate social responsibility to give back to be the bridge between possibility and hope.

How to join Cisco❓

As we all know, there are two ways to join a company. The first is by going through off-campus procedures, and the second is by preparing for on-campus processes.

Although we will look for every aspect of preparing for Cisco, we will discuss the off-campus and on-campus procedures.

Let's start this by understanding on campus first.

The On-campus Selection Procedure🏹

Cisco conducts on-campus recruitment at various colleges and institutions to select top students that meet the company’s standards. This year recruiting is entirely virtual, but keep in mind that the manner of recruitment is entirely up to the company’s management. First, let’s check whether you are eligible to apply to Cisco or not.

Below are the fundamental requirements which must be met.

Eligibility Criteria

Grade 10	Minimum 60% required
Grade 12	Minimum 60% required
Graduation	Minimum 60% required
Post-Graduation	Minimum 60% required
Backlogs	No active backlogs

If you met the above requirements, congratulations🎉, you could take your step ahead.

However, the above requirements are based on the last campus drive, and this depends on Cisco management and is subject to change. Please visit Cisco’s official website for more information.

On-Campus Assessment

One of three ways to get into Cisco is the on-campus drive at Cisco, which is divided into five rounds, and we will understand these rounds briefly.

MCQ round
Technical Interview 1
Technical Interview 2
Managerial round
HR round

MCQ round

The test consists of 50 questions divided into 3 sections from the following topics:

Aptitude: This consists of fundamental mathematics questions and logical and critical thinking abilities.
This portion tests-core programming language skills, mainly from C, data structures and Algorithms, networking, etc.
This last section consists of questions about digital electronics, mulitprocessors, etc.

Must Read Shift Registers in Digital Electronics

Technical Interview

This round assesses the student’s knowledge of core computers science subjects like data structures and algorithms, networking, DBMS(Database Management System), and OS(Operating System). They may ask questions about your internships, training, and projects mentioned in your resume.

Below are some questions that Cisco’s interview panel may ask you in this technical interview:

Tell me about yourself.
Discuss the architecture of MVC(Model-View-Controller).
Write a program to print all Permutation of string.
Write a code to reverse a string.
Difference between data encryption and encapsulation.

Managerial Round

This round focuses on the testing approach of solving a problem, cooperation, teamwork, leadership, etc., skills.

A few questions asked by Cisco’s interview panel:

Your knowledge about Cisco’s work culture?
What are your plans for further studies?
Problems faced during projects and how you managed that?
Some discussions on technologies are known.

HR round

This round deals less with less technical questions and more with the HR questions like:

Tell me something about yourself.
Define yourself in one word.
In which extracurricular activities are you involved?
Discuss your worst decision.
Tell me your biggest achievement.

Off-Campus Selection Procedure 🔎

One of the three ways to get into Cisco is to apply in off-campus drives. Keep in mind that the off-campus selection procedure is different from the on-campus procedure, and maybe eligibility criteria also differ from the on-campus procedure.

Below is the last requirement for off-campus selection.

Eligibility Criteria

Grade 10	A minimum of 60% is required
Grade 12	A minimum of 60% is required
Graduation	A minimum of 60% is required
Post Graduation	A minimum of 60% is required
Backlogs	No active backlogs
Age Limit	18 - 28 years
Experience	Maximum 2 years
Highest Qualification	B.E/ B.Tech/ BBA/ MBA/ BCA/ MCA/ M.E/ M.Tech

Before proceeding further, must watch a video about the best way to apply for Off-Campus Jobs:

Although the video is quite descriptive, still, if you have doubts about applying off-campus, then click here to learn how to apply for off-campus placements in tech companies.

The preceding requirements are based on the most recent campus drive. They are subject to change at the discretion of Capgemini's management. For additional information, please visit the Cisco’s official website.

Cisco expects to recruit efficient and knowledgeable individuals like any other IT firm. They plan to hold the following rounds for this purpose. And the applicants will be hired based on their performance in those rounds. As a result, keep this in mind and work hard.

Online Assessment test
Technical Interview
Managerial Interview
HR Interview

Also, remember that Cisco reserves the right to cancel, skip, or add any additional rounds necessary to recruit an efficient and productive applicant.

Off-Campus Test pattern

TASKS	QUESTIONS	ESTIMATED TIME
Quantitative Aptitude	20	30 min
Technical Ability	30	40 mins
Total	50 Questions	1 hour 10 minutes

Syllabus

Quantitative Aptitude includs topics:

Topics included for the Techincal ability test are:

Internship 🛣️

After the on-campus and off-campus drives, one of the ways to get into Cisco is by getting an internship and offer letter at Cisco.

How to Apply for Cisco Internships

To begin, all candidates must go to Cisco's official website
Then look for Cisco Careers.
Look for the most recent Cisco Internship Jobs.
Refer to the eligibility requirements.
If you believe you are eligible, apply by filling out your information as soon as possible.
Click the submit button.
Finally, make a printout for future reference.

Students studying B.Tech, B.E., M.Tech, MBA, B.A., and BBA degrees can apply for the internship program. As a result, apply once you have verified the qualifying requirement information. Cisco will provide a generous stipend to the students. So, prepare thoroughly to pass the selection rounds.

What do you need to prepare?🌱

After looking at all the three ways to get into Cisco, you must be wondering about collecting resources to prepare. But, don't worry about that as well; here, we provide you with the resources for solid base preparation.

Aptitude

We go through all the options to get into Capgemini. However, you may discover that Capgemini is interested in your logical thinking and problem-solving abilities in all three approaches. We recommend you go through our blog on how to get a strong aptitude and prepare to perform well in your actual aptitude test.

Technical Interview

Interviewing is an essential part of the employment selection process. An interview allows the employer to determine whether an applicant's skills, experience, and personality match the job's requirements.

Cracking an interview is always tricky, and you must answer all the questions satisfactorily and politely. Cisco may ask you questions related to your studies which you did in your college, your projects, internships or training.

Your skill foundation needs to be strong enough, but don't worry. Coding Ninja got your back, and we will also help with it. We did lots of hard work to prepare the best preparation material; visit our blog on interview questions and cheatsheet for do's and dont at an interview to prepare and get amazing results.

Making a Solid Resume using Certifications

In IT departments, the tech hiring market is hotter than ever, and when a tech recruiter is evaluating your resume, they often start by looking at your certifications. IT certification can boost your confidence, expand your knowledge and increase your reliability and performance. Earning an IT certification requires equal parts dedication and motivation. Coding ninja is always dedicated to helping students, and we have already created a blog to help you get the best IT certifications; go through it and create the best resume.

You can also explore other content available on Coding Ninjas library.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why to join Cisco?

Working at Cisco adds to a natural progression in the career development of a candidate. Moreover, the company is constantly innovating and changing to make sure it meets the needs of its customers and service users.

What are the eligibility criteria for Cisco?

The eligibility criteria in both the ways to get into Cisco i.e., on-campus or off-campus, include a minimum of 60% aggregate is required in Post-Graduation(if done), graduation, 12th, and 10th, with no active backlogs.

What is the average salary at Cisco?

Cisco offers an average salary of ₹15,40,418/yr to its employees. The salaries typically range from ₹6,51,805 to ₹29,81,928/yr.

How hard is an interview at Cisco?

The interview process in Cisco might be a little challenging as numerous candidates are applying for the same. If you prepare well in advance for the interview, then the chances of you being selected are very high.

What does Cisco look in a candidate?

Cisco seeks experience, educational level, specific IT skill sets, certifications, or personal characteristics.

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed the ways to get into Cisco, the eligibility criteria for applying, and the resources for the best preparation to succeed in your tests and interviews.

These articles will help you to explore more about Cisco: