GenC Interview Questions

There are different recruitment processes for different GenC profiles. 

For GenC next - 

• Round 1 - Cognizant GenC Technical Skill Assessment Round.
• Round 2 - Cognizant GenC Technical Interview Round.
• Round 3 - Cognizant GenC HR Round.

For GenC, GenC Elevate, GenC Pro - 

• Round 1 - Cognizant GenC Aptitude Skill Assessment Round.
• Round 2 - Cognizant GenC Technical Interview Roud.
• Round 3 - Cognizant GenC HR Round.
• Round 4 - (Optional - Based on the performance in the above round) Cognizant profile Upgradation.

For GenC Next - 

• Round 1 - Cognizant GenC Technical Skill Assessment Round. This round consists of 3 different sections and the duration of the test is of 3 hours.
  • Section 1: In this section, there are a total of 30 MCQ-based questions. The topics covered in this section are - Object-Oriented Programming, Operating systems, Database Management systems, Java, and HTML/CSS. The difficulty level of these MCQ-based questions will be between easy to medium. 
  • Section 2: This section consists of 4 DSA-based coding questions. These questions are mostly covered by the topics - Dynamic Programming, Greedy, Graphs, and Trees. The difficulty level of the 2-3 questions will be medium and 1 will be easy.
  • Section 3: In this section, they will give you the ER-Diagram of the database system and ask 2 different questions to execute the query and fetch the data from the tables. The queries are based on Joins and Nested-Query. The difficulty level is medium.
• Round 2 - Cognizant GenC Technical Interview Round. In this round, the interviewer will ask questions about computer fundamentals, Projects mentioned in the resume, and coding questions. The interviewer will be curious to know about the projects you did and the technology used in the project. The Interviewer will also ask you to write an SQL query. The interviewer will ask 2 different problems that the interviewer will give during the ongoing interview and ask you to explain the logic and write the efficient code for it. The interview will be conducted on the superset platform and the duration can last from 45 minutes to 60 minutes.
• Round 3 - Cognizant GenC HR Round. In this round. In this round, HR will ask the basic questions and generally, HR will do the document verification. You might be asked about your hobbies, favorite technology, your struggle, etc. The duration of the interview will be of 15 minutes and will be conducted on the superset platform

For GenC, GenC Elevate, GenC Pro -

• Round 1 - Cognizant GenC Aptitude Skill Assessment Round. In this round, there were questions from 3 different sections, but the questions are jumbled up. 
  • Quantitative Aptitude: Topics covered in Quantitative Aptitude Questions and Answers include average, numbers, compound interest, partnership, problem on ages, calendar, boats and streams, clock, height and distance, percentage, pipes and cisterns, profit and loss, speed, time and distance, simple interest, problem on trains, time and work, etc.
  • Logical Reasoning: The logical reasoning questions assess the candidate's ability to think critically and logically. The questions can be either verbal or non-verbal. They can be solved in a variety of ways, including reading and understanding text, recognizing concepts, and answering questions. Non-verbal logical reasoning questions require candidates to comprehend diagrams, images, or charts before selecting the correct option from a range of selections.
  • Verbal Ability: Verbal Ability focuses on problem-solving processes using words. In verbal ability, sentence correction, spotting-errors-2, and verbal reasoning questions are asked to test the candidate's language proficiency. An excellent vocabulary and a good understanding of English are required to achieve good grades in this subject.

The Online Aptitude Skill Assessment will be conducted on the AMCAT platform. And the duration of the test will be 90 minutes.

• Round 2 - Cognizant GenC Technical Interview Roud. In this round, the Interviewer will look for your communication skills and technical skills. The interviewer might ask you about your projects and will observe how well you can explain the concepts that you have used in your project. The technical questions will vary if the interview is for profile GenC, GenC Elevate, or GenC Pro.
  • For GenC - The interviewer will ask very basic questions about the computer subjects such as operating systems, Databases, Data Structures, etc. The question can also be from the basics of programming, like prime numbers, Fibonacci series, etc.
  • For GenC Elevate - The Interviewer will ask basic questions about computer subjects as well as good questions about the programming concepts. The interviewer can also give you some star patterns to code for and also coding questions related to the basic data structures like an array, strings, etc.
  • For GenC Pro - The Interviewer will ask questions about computer subjects,  cloud technologies, cyber security, and also coding questions. The question level will be medium. And sometimes it may be easy also.

The interview will be conducted for 30 minutes to 45 minutes on the superset platform.

• Round 3 - Cognizant GenC HR Round. This round is the same as the HR round in GenC next. The HR will verify the documents and ask simple questions about yourself, your challenges, and why you want to join cognizant? Etc. This round will be of 10 minutes to 15 minutes and will be conducted virtually on the superset platform.
• Round 4 - Cognizant profile Upgradation Test. This assessment will be optional and only will be conducted if you have performed well in the previous rounds.  Candidates with a GenC profile of GenC and GenC Elevate will get a chance to upgrade the profile to GenC pro. You need to complete some assigned tasks and then the interview will be conducted for the GenC pro.

Enterprise Resource Planning Software, or ERP, is a computer-based system that optimizes a company's resources effectively. It connects different parts of a company, ensuring smooth communication and workflow management.

A Functional Dependency is a connection between two attributes in a database management system (DBMS) that restricts the one attribute's association with the other. It ensures the quality of data in a database and plays a significant role in detecting poor design.

Operating system manages computer hardware and memory function. It is the kernel's fundamental duty to make sure that the CPU and memory are used as intended. It bridges software and computing in hardware by interprocess communication and system calls. It is the core component of an operating system. It handles everything from disk management to memory management. It is responsible for allocating tasks to processors, concatenating and splitting data, and managing memory. The kernel is designed to enable communication between application software and hardware. It is the hardware-level interface between the user and applications. The kernel's objective is to coordinate communication between software, or the user's level applications and hardware, like the CPU and disk memory.

Constructor is an object-oriented programming language feature that initializes a new object of a particular type when an instance of that type is created. Whenever an instance of a particular type is created, the constructor is automatically invoked. The constructor is like a standard method that has the same name as the class and can be used to set the values of an object's members to either default or user-defined values. Because it resembles it, a constructor is not a proper method. It is not a method in which the code is executed, rather, it is a method that initializes the object.

public boolean binarySearch(int[] arr, int low, int high, key){
        //base case returns false when index is out of bound 
        if(low > high) 
            return false;
        
        int mid = (low+high)/2
        //Searching on mid if key found then return true
        if(arr[mid] == key) 
            return true
        //Searching on right sub array if key exist there
        else if(arr[mid] < key) 
            return binarySearch(arr, mid+1, high, key);
        //Searching on left sub-array of key exist there.
        else
            return binarySearch(arr, low, mid-1, key);
    }

public void printFibonaci(int n){
        //Printing the initial 2 values
        System.out.println(0 +" "+ 1+" ");
        //2 value already printed so reducing from n.
        n-=2;
        //Pointers that keep track of the next values.
        int first = 0;
        int second = 1;
        while(n-- > 0){
            //printing and updating next values.
            int val = first+second;
            System.out.println(val+" ");
            first = second;
            second = val;
        }
    }

class Merge_Sort {
    /*
     * Splitting the Array into its equal Half and performing a 2 Way Merge on it.
     */
    void m_sort(int A[], int l, int h) {
        if (l < h) {
            int mid = (l + h) / 2;
            m_sort(A, l, mid);
            m_sort(A, mid + 1, h);
            merge(A, l, mid, h);
        }
    }

    void merge(int A[], int l, int mid, int h) {

        // Pointing the Elements index and performing the merge to the original array
        // with the help of an Auxiliary Array.
        int i = l, j = mid + 1, k = 0;
        int B[] = new int[(h - l) + 1];

        while (i <= mid && j <= h) {
            if (A[i] < A[j])
                B[k++] = A[i++];
            else
                B[k++] = A[j++];
        }
        // Merging the Remaining items.
        for (; i <= mid; i++)
            B[k++] = A[i];
        for (; j <= h; j++)
            B[k++] = A[j];

        // Copying the Merge item from the Auxiliary Array to the Main Array from the
        // location it is being called.
        for (i = 0; i < B.length; i++)
            A[l++] = B[i];
    }
}

Client - A client can be any computer that requests something from the server. For example, when we visit a website, we request the webpage from its domain. Therefore, we are the client in this scenario.

Server - The computer that serves the requests to the client is known as the Server. In the same example, the client asks for a webpage and the server provides it.

In a client-server architecture or model, clients and servers are either part of the same system or must communicate over a network to access services. The server-client program sends a request to another program, which runs a few programs that distribute work among the clients and share resources with them.

As the connection is completed, clients and servers exchange messages using the TCP protocol. As part of the TCP protocol, data is distributed in packets that networks deliver, packets are transferred to and received from networks, and packets are retransmitted for packets that have been garbled or dropped. Unlike other protocols, the Internet Protocol is connectionless, meaning that every packet traveling over the Internet is independent.

Note: The above questions are the common questions that are asked for all these 3 GenC Profiles. Other than these, the interviewer will also ask the questions related to the programming language you have mentioned in your resume and also with the project that you have mentioned in your resume.

The questions related to your project are - 

• What technology have you used in your project?
• Why have you used this technology in your project?
• Explain the technology.
• If it is a group project, then what is your role in completing the project?
• How do you solve the real-world problems using your project.
• Explain the use cases of your project. etc.

Cognizant GenC Pro profile

And for the cognizant GenC Pro profile, the questions can also be from the cloud-based technology and the development technology. The questions can be like the following - 

Model, View, Controller Architecture (MVC) refers to the design pattern that is used to build applications. Most Web applications used this architectural pattern. 

MVC is composed of three components—the model, the view, and the controller. However, the Router, which is equally important to make this framework function, is also part of MVC. We may therefore say that MVC consists of four elements. The works of these are - 

• The user interacts with the View.
• The Router determines where the Request should be processed.
• Requests are processed by the Controller, and the response is sent to the view.
• The middleware is responsible for handling the database operations through the Model.

In the computer system, memory is divided into two different types - Primary memory and secondary memory.

Primary Memory - These are those types of memory that are internal to the CPU. Generally, primary memory is also considered the computer's main memory because all the operations performed in the computer system are executed with the help of the main memory itself. Primary memory is also divided into two different types that are volatile and non-volatile memory, which is the same thing that we call RAM and ROM.

• RAM is also considered the main memory. It stores the data  in it only when it gets the regular power supply. Interrupting power will lose data. That's why it is called the volatile memory.
• ROM stands for read-only memory. it contains  the necessary system files that are required to boot up the computer system.   the data in ROM doesn’t lose because of power interrupt. So is called non-volatile memory.

Secondary Memory -  These are those types of memory that is external to the CPU.  It is used to store the files permanently.  Hard Disk Drive, Solid State Drive, Pen Drive, Floppy Disk, CD/DVD, etc. are examples of Secondary memory.

OLAP is a reporting tool that uses online analytical processing to understand your database's structure, dimensions, and composition facts. This enables you to make better decisions about what data to keep and what to delete. It can also be used to detect data integrity issues and spot data entry errors. Splitting your data into different tables helps you scale data storage and improves data management. It also enables you to create customized reports based on different sets of data.

Data Mining is a procedure for analyzing data in search of constant patterns or systematic connections between variables. Data mining can be used to answer questions about a large body of data that cannot be answered by looking at a single piece of data. This larger body of data can be from a single source, like a survey, or it can come from many sources, like social media or sensors that collect data about the world around us. Data mining can also be used to answer questions about data that do not have to come from a large body of data. We can create data profiles of individuals to predict their interests or medical conditions to recommend treatments.

Additional Interview Resources

• PEGA Interview Questions
• Java Interview Questions
• ServiceNow Interview Questions
• Coding Interview Questions
• Cyber Security Interview Questions
• DSA- Programming
• Mock Interview

A software project is divided into phases, and so on. An SDLC is a process that describes how to develop, maintain, replace, or enhance a specific software program. The life cycle describes the quality of software and the entire progression process in greater detail. Basically, SDLC describes the proper sequence of processes that are involved in the development of software or the complete cycle of which the software goes during its development.

Phases of SDLC are -

A Stack is a linear data structure that uses the LIFO (Last-In-First-Out) method to organize data (e.g., a queue). While queues have two ends (front and rear), stacks have just one. The top pointer points to the top element of the stack (while the front of a queue points to the front element, the rear of the queue points to the rear element). When an element is placed on the stack, it is put on the top (and may only be removed from the stack). In other words, a stack can be defined as a container in which additions and deletions can be made from only one end (the top of the stack).

We can implement the stack using two different physical data structures. Arrays and LinkedList.

Table: Customers

Id is the primary key and name is the name of the customer.

Table: Orders

Id is the primary key if the order and the customer id is the foreign key to the id column in the customer table. That represents which customer has placed an order.

Write an SQL query to Report on all customers who never make purchases.

SELECT name as Customers
    FROM Customers
    WHERE id NOT IN
    (SELECT o.customerId
        FROM Customers c
        JOIN Orders o
        ON c.id = o.customerId);

Note: There are a lot more questions that can be asked at the Cognizant GenC Next Technical interview. The above questions are just a few examples. Please check out the technical interview question section on InterviewBit for more questions.

GenC, GenC Elevate, GenC Pro Interview Questions

Table: Employee

SELECT max(salary) as SecondHighestSalary 
    FROM employee
    WHERE salary <
        (SELECT max(salary)
        FROM Employee)

Example - Given tree

If we consider the serialization of the tree by breadth-first traversal or level order traversal. Then the string can be like - “2,4,9,13,15,1,6,7,X,3,9,X,10,X,14,X,9,X,X,X,X,X,X,X,X,X,X”. In this, (X) represents null, and (,) helps as the delimiter between the values. So the code implementation to this problem will be -

//Method accepts the root node of the tree, breadth-first traverse on it and serialize it.
private String serialize(TreeNode root){
        //String that stores the serialized tree.
        StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer();
        //Queue that helps traversing level-order.
        Queue<TreeNode> queue = new LinkedList<>();
        queue.add(root);
        while(!queue.isEmpty()){
            TreeNode currNode = queue.poll();
            if(currNode != null){
                queue.add(currNode.left);
                queue.add(currNode.right);
                //Storing the tree in the serialized form.
                sb.append(currNode.val+",");
            }else
	    //Apeending X that represents null node.
                sb.append("X,");
        }
        return sb.toString();
    }

We can arrive at the solution to this problem by counting the number of different steps we must take to reach the top of a staircase. We can take one step and two steps to get there, but this would be time-consuming. This problem takes O(2n) time, which is very bad. To make things faster, we might count the steps twice in order to find the solution. We can store the number of steps of the previous stair as well as the solution of the current stair, which will make it faster. Yes, This is a dynamic programming approach solution. The code will be-

//This method calculates the number of steps and will return it.
public int solution(int n) {
       //variable that keep track of the steps taken by previous 2 steps.
       int left = 1;
       int right = 1;
       
       for(int i = 2; i <= n; i++){
           //Updating the count of answer from last 2 stairs That will be used in the next step.
           int temp = right;
           right = left+right;
           left = temp;
       }
       //right will be the last step that contains the answer.
       return right;
   }

In the above image, you can see that the 1st row becomes the last column of the matrix. In short, we can see that the array is rotated 90 degrees clockwise.

You can solve this problem in 2 steps. Transposing the matrix will make the first-row first-column. Next, we'll swap the first column with the last column to rotate the matrix by 90 degrees. After transposing the first row into the first column, we can swap the first column with the last column in the second step to solve the problem. This solution takes O(m*n) time. The time complexity for this will be O(m*n) where m is the number of rows in the matrix and n will be the number of columns in the matrix.

//This method rotates the matrix by 90 degree clockwise
public void transposeMatrix(int[][] matrix){
        int m = matrix.length;
        int n = matrix[0].length;
        //Steps to Transpose the matrix
        for(int i = 0; i < m; i++){
            for(int j = i; j < n; j++){
                int temp = matrix[i][j];
                matrix[i][j] = matrix[j][i];
                matrix[j][i] = temp;
            }
        }
        //Steps to  make the 1st column the last column
        for(int i = 0; i < m; i++){
            for(int j = 0, l = n-1; j < l; j++){
                int temp = matrix[i][j];
                matrix[i][j] = matrix[i][l];
                matrix[i][l] = temp;
                l--;
            }
        }
    }

We can transpose the matrix by simply swapping the row value with its corresponding column value.

Code:

// Method that transpose thee matrix
public void transpose(int[][] matrix) 
    // Calculating size of row and column
    int row = matrix.length;
    int col = matrix[0].length;
    for(int i = 0; i < row; i++){
        for(int j = i+1; j < col; j++){
            // Swapping the row value with its corresponding column value.
            int temp = matrix[i][j];
            matrix[i][j] = matrix[j][i];
            matrix[j][i] = temp;
        }
    }
}

Using SSL technology, sensitive data may be securely transmitted between servers and clients, preventing hackers from reading or modifying it. SSL protects the integrity of a connection by ensuring that no data is read or altered during transmission. It uses encryption to scramble data in transit, making it impossible for hackers to intercept it. It protects data during transmission by encrypting it using a secret key that is generated for each session. It is common for SSL to be used in conjunction with a digital certificate to provide assurance that the server is who it claims to be. This can be anything personal, such as credit card numbers or payroll data.

A Singleton class is one that creates just one object and contains only its references. This can be illustrated using the water jug in the office as an example. For example, if every employee wanted water, they would not have to make a new water jug for drinking water. Instead, they would use the same one as a glass. Here is how we might do it in code:

class WaterJug{
    private int waterQuantity = 1000;
    private WaterJug(){}
    private WaterJug object = null;
    
    public int getWater(int quantity){
        waterQuantity -= quantity;
        return quantity;
    }
    public static Waterjug getInstance(){
        if(object == null){
            object = new WaterJug;
        }
        return object;
    }
}

The Constructor in the above class is private, so we cannot create an object of the class. We can, however, get an object by using the method getInstance(). The method is static, so we may call it without creating the object. It returns the object, and we may subsequently use the getWater() method to get the water.

Both DELETE and TRUNCATE are used to delete the records from the table. But there are differences between these two.

If we use TRUNCATE TABLE table_name then it deletes all the records from the table. And If we use the DELETE FROM table_name then also, it deletes all the records from the table. But the internally both statements operate in a different way. 

If we use the TRUNCATE statement then internally it follows some steps - 

1. Creates a copy of the table structure.
2. Drop the complete table.
3. Creates a new table with the copies table structure with the same name.

And if we use the DELETE statement, then internally it traverses to each record in the table and deletes that record. So we can say that TRUNCATE executes the query faster and DELETE executes the query slower.

Methods in the same class with the same name but different parameter signatures are known as overloaded methods. The term overriding is used when two methods with the same name and parameters (method signatures) are located within two different classes.

Example -

public int addNumber(int a, int b){
    return a+b;
}
//Overloaded addNumber method with 3 parameter
public int addNumber(int a, int b, int c){
    return a+b+c;
}
class InterviewBit{
    public int print(){
        System.out.println("InterviewBit");
    }
}
class Scaler extends InterviewBit{
    //Overriden print method can be called based on the objects we create.
    public int print(){
        System.out.println("Scaler");
    }
}

• Static Memory Management - Static memory management is the act of manually allocating memory to objects. You might have used something like the following to add instances of an object to a variable: var object = new Object() This type of memory management requires you to manually allocate memory for each object. The goal here is to give you complete control over how much memory your app can use at any given time. You can use this type of memory management to allocate memory based on future needs, like storing new records in your database. Or you can use it for other important purposes like limiting the amount of memory used by the app’s core components, like the operating system. You can even use static memory management to allocate a specific amount of memory for each instance of an object.
• Dynamic Memory Management - Dynamic memory management is the act of automatically allocating memory to objects based on their current usage. You might have heard of garbage collection, a built-in function that automatically frees up unused memory. In other words, garbage collection helps your app free up memory by automatically determining which objects are no longer needed and releasing them. The goal of this type of memory management is to keep your app running smoothly at all times. Over time, your program will need to allocate more memory for new instances as they are created. We want our app to be able to handle any new requests without slowing down or feeling constrained by its space limitations.

Which Type to Use?

This question depends on your specific scenario. If you need to limit dynamic memory usage in a large-scale app like an operating system, then you’ll want to use dynamic memory management. It’s easier to manage and the OS won’t be affected negatively by the excess memory usage. If you’re interested in keeping your app running smoothly, but you want to know when it’s using too many resources and causing delays, you might want to opt for static memory management. Static memory management has the advantage that it can be used to control how much each object in your app can use. It’s more restrictive than dynamic memory management, but it can be used to keep your app running smoothly and without delays.

Databases are the collection of data that are stored for future use. The database management system is the software that manages the database and its operation. Here are a couple of differences that can help in better understanding the differences between these terms.

• Practice - If you are preparing for GenC next, then you must have good DSA-based problem-solving skills. So practice more questions by filtering from various platforms. And make habit of applying the data structures well in the problem solution. And on the other hand, if you are preparing for a GenC profile other than GenC next, then you must have good aptitude solving skills. Because it is required to land into cognizant after cracking the interview.
• Prepare Answers from Resume - Most of the time, candidates copy and paste the statement that they declare in their resume. So use your own words, because the interviewer may be asked during the interview. And also make sure you have a good understanding of the programming language you have mentioned in your resume. And also the technologies you have learned.
• Prepare Behavioural Questions - Some students have  more than 1 offer in hand. So the interviewer might ask these types of questions that why you want to join cognizant. When answering this type of question, keep in mind that the interviewer is trying to find out why you want the job. You may want to start by saying that you want this job because you think it is a great opportunity to grow in your career or that you think it will be a great experience and that you would like to take advantage of the opportunity. You may also want to talk about how your experience or certain skills that you possess can help the company meet its goals. For example, if you have experience in a particular field, you may want to talk about how that experience can help the company meet certain challenges that they are facing. You may also want you to want to talk about how your skills can help the company grow in a certain area.
• Explain with Points - Whenever you are answering any questions, either technical or non-technical, make sure you don't explain your answer too long. Make some points and explain those points to the interviewer. And also engage the interviewer with your answer and try to grab the attention of the interviewer.

GenC Interview is not considered a hard interview. It is generally a medium-level interview. And if you have prepared well, then it's actually easy. The only thing is that you have to be confident and must have to build strong communication skills.

It is the most frequent question that the interviewer might ask during the interview. You have to prepare the possible answer along with the benefits provided by the company. And also be ready to answer the cross-question that the interviewer will do after you answer this question. Just be confident with your answer.

GenC pay varies with different GenC profiles. Here is the CTC that cognizant offers when they hire freshers in GenC profile.

Although If we talk about the pay structure. It is a good paying profile that cognizant offers to freshers in GenC profiles.

Cognizant GenC hires the candidates on the On-Campus and Off-Campus as well. The interview process for both is the same. The total duration of the interview process is between 2 - 3 weeks. First, college students need to register on the superset platform and apply for the GenC profile.  Then there will be an online test that is conducted for the candidates based on their profiles.  After the online test, generally after 4 - 5 days, the company will schedule the meetings for the interview round for shortlisted candidates. And if the candidate has cleared the technical interview, then the HR Interview will be scheduled for them on the same platform. This takes almost 3-4 days to schedule the HR interview after the Technical interview. The company usually declares the results of the selected candidates within a week. 

For all 4 different GenC profiles, the eligibility criteria are the same. Those are - 

• Eligible Courses - BE/B-Tech/ME/M-Tech/MCA &  MS Software Engineering.
• Percentage Criteria - 60% or greater in X, XII, Diploma, UG & PG.
• Backlogs - No Backlogs.
• Year Gap - Not more than 2 year.