Cisco On-Campus internship

My journey for the Cisco 2026 Summer Internship began with an eligibility form through my placement cell. The first hurdle was an online assessment on September 3, 2024, which featured about 40 MCQs on CS fundamentals and networking, alongside two coding questions – one DP-based and another Graph BFS-based, both rated Medium-Hard.

After the assessment, there was a role deep dive session on September 9, 2024, providing insights into Software Engineer roles. Following this, I was among the only 6 candidates from my campus selected for the interview rounds, which were eliminatory and conducted via Webex.

Round 1 (September 13, 2024, 10:00 AM): I was quite anxious, so I spent the morning refreshing my CS fundamentals, networking concepts, and resume. The interviewer was friendly and we immediately dived deep into my resume, discussing my projects in detail. Questions also spanned across CS fundamentals, Networks, and DBMS. For the coding segment, I was given a problem related to Linked Lists, specifically involving deletion and reversal. I solved it and clearly explained my approach, which seemed to satisfy the interviewer. Towards the end, I asked about the role, location, stipend, and a typical day at Cisco. I felt confident about this round and soon received an email confirming my selection for Round 2.

Round 2 (Senior Engineer Panel): This round started with the interviewer's introduction. Though I was nervous initially, I gained confidence as we conversed. We discussed my favorite project – I made sure to pick one I was completely confident about. Technical questions related to my project explanation followed. We then covered conceptual questions on OOPs, Networks, and DBMS. For coding, I faced a problem involving strings and modulo operations. I explained my approach, and the interviewer was satisfied without me needing to code it out. There was also an aptitude-based puzzle, which I partially solved but could explain my reasoning. Finally, some behavioral questions focused on teamwork and challenges. I felt positive but remained nervous while awaiting the results. Eventually, I was informed that I was selected for the final round.

Round 3 (HR Round): This was a short round, lasting about 5 minutes, conducted by a senior HR personnel. The questions were straightforward: "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?", "What do you know about Cisco?", "Tell me about your father’s education," and "What are your thoughts on the offered stipend and location?" I had prepared my answers, so I responded confidently.

Post-Interview Outcome: I was overjoyed, believing I had cleared the final round, being the only candidate from my university to get this far. I eagerly waited for two weeks for the final offer, but received no updates. Upon reaching out to HR, I was informed that I had not made it through. This was my first experience with rejection despite performing well, and while disappointing, I took it as a valuable learning experience to prepare even better for future opportunities.