Cisco Systems Interview Questions & Reviews in Research Triangle Park, NC
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Updated Feb 9, 2012 – Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.
Ratings are reflective of location and job title.
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Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 16 ratings 
“Difficult” Interview
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Interview Experience [?] Based on 16 ratings
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| 1–10 of 16 Cisco Systems Interviews | Sort by |
Associate Systems Engineer at Cisco Systems
Posted Feb 9, 2012
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Nov 2011 in Research Triangle Park, NC (took 2 months)
1. simple phone interview
2. video presentation
3. all day event at the cisco headquarters
Other Details
I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, a Group/Panel Interview and a Presentation.
More Cisco Systems Associate Systems Engineer Interviews
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate Sales Representative at Cisco Systems
Posted Dec 21, 2011
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5.0
Very Difficult Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Nov 2011 in Research Triangle Park, NC (took 7+ weeks)
Great people and work environment outside of the interview room. Was not sure what to expect during the interview process and spent too much time reading the technical manual. Also during the mock meeting and presentation, be prepared to deal with difficult personalities. The person conducting the information session acting as a client would not give me any information and set up a one in a thousand kind of situation where the client did not want to work with me. Very frustrating and made it near impossible to come up with an idea to present in the next round. Not sure what advice to give because the feedback they gave me revolved around not getting enough information from the mock client--which was definitely not my fault. Other than that, had a great next 2 rounds with really friendly people. I believe the first round hurt me and since they were only taking 10/40 people it made a huge difference, unfortunately.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview, a Presentation and a Background Check.
More Cisco Systems Associate Sales Representative Interviews
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Financial Analyst at Cisco Systems
Posted Dec 15, 2011
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5.0
Very Difficult Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Dec 2011 in Research Triangle Park, NC (took 4+ weeks)
Received an email from a Cisco recruiter to set a phone interview. I had my phone interview with the recruiter the next day. The recruiter was very friendly and the phone interview was easy and basic. Received another email a week later to set up for a one on one interview with the Hiring Manager. I had the interview a week later. The one on one interview was very difficult and intimidating. I knew I was not getting the job, because I couldn't answer most of the questions. The interviewer was not friendly and the interview was one hour long. I was ready to walk out from the moment we started the interview. After the one on one interview I was given a skills test. My advice is to thourougly revise your GAAP and IFRS knowledge before a Financial Analyst job interview.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview and a Skills Test.
More Cisco Systems Financial Analyst Interviews
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
College Intern - IT Engineer at Cisco Systems
Posted Oct 14, 2011
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2.0
Easy Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Oct 2009 in Research Triangle Park, NC (took 4+ weeks)
Initial interview was almost all situational/personality type questions, only at end of the interview the were the specific job duties brought up, and the interviewer asked whether they interested me. A month or two later I was asked to submit reference online, who they called and confirmed. When that was completed they sent me a job offer. After accepting I talked to the manager I would be under about the job and my specific duties.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview and a Background Check.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Choice Software Engineer at Cisco Systems
Posted Sep 27, 2011
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Sep 2011 in Research Triangle Park, NC (took 1+ week)
The interviewer asked me question based on my resume, the details about the project and my past experience. And then he asked, why cicso? After this, he talked about cisco himself.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Engineering Program Manager at Cisco Systems
Posted Jul 1, 2011
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Jun 2011 in Research Triangle Park, NC (took 2 days)
Having worked at Cisco for around 12 years, I left a few years ago to pursue other opportunities including a start-up. Currently out of work, in this tough job market and I saw this great opportunity working with the government unit there. First of all, some background on this organization. They don't hire any non-whites into management roles there or program management roles, and most of the people working there are white boys and white girls. Some things don't change here in the south. My previous attempts to get into this organization failed for reasons they wouldn't disclose. One manager mentioned I have tremendous technical skills but lacked knowledge of a particular secret government security protocol. I asked him what it was. He told me it was classified. HaHa!
Here is another aspect to almost everyone's career. You evolve as a professional. IN my case, I began with QA, then became a test team lead, then started project leading. I have also done QA management. So I walked into this interview, armed with Cisco background, tons of project management experience, sound technical knowledge, and experience with product certifications. Right away they started assuming that I would not be happy in the PM role because I had a technical background. I spent the next 3 hours trying to convince everyone I interviewed with that the engineering skills would enhance my ability to do a better job. I explained the PM tools I have used, PLC, reporting tools, project planning etc. This is the same organization that would not give me a chance to interview for a test management position which I am qualified to do as well. What gives?
Of course, I wasn't chosen. It looks like more of the same at Cisco. Narrow-minded, boxed in approach, bunch of robots just following each other.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through a Recruiter and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview and a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Software Engineering at Cisco Systems
Posted Jun 7, 2011
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2.0
Easy Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Jan 2009 in Research Triangle Park, NC (took 2 days)
I got a call asking me to come in and do an interview. The interview was scheduled for the next day. I did the interview and they said they would call me. The next day I got a call to do another interview thinking it was a continuation of the same group but it was from another manager. I did the interview and the next day I was called by HR asking what I wanted for pay and sign on bonus. I was offered a choice both jobs. I chose the position I wanted and received an offer letter the next day.
Interview Questions
Negotiation Details
They gave me what I asked for.
Other Details
I got the interview through an Employee Referral and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a Group/Panel Interview and a Background Check.
More Cisco Systems Software Engineering Interviews
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Associate Network Consulting Engineer at Cisco Systems
Posted Apr 21, 2011 — 1 of 1 people found this helpful
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5.0
Very Difficult Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Apr 2011 in Research Triangle Park, NC (took a day)
Was contacted through email about a phone interview for the position in about February. Has the phone interview a few weeks later. The phone interview went great. VERY BASIC technical questions. Spent most of the time on the phone talking about the company and the position. The guy interviewing me had already gone through the program so I just probed him for 30 mins.
Got an email back about a month later saying I had been invited to NC for the Assessment Center interview. A very important thing to note is that after my phone interview it was over a month before I heard back from them. I sent my recruiter an email asking about my status and that may have been the key to me being invited to NC....i dk.
The NC interview consisted of a GROUP presentation in which you have 15mins to study some new material and present. They look for group dynamics and how well you work together. There were 2 technical interviews on networking. They gave me a big packet to study after I was invited to NC. Everything in the packet was fair game. The key here is that "I dont know" is an acceptable answer. They just wanna see how much you do know and your capacity to learn and understand concepts. Over lunch they gave us another packet of abstract info to study for a solo presentation after lunch. The material was REALLY hard. They just want the see how much you picked up during the short time.
Throughout the day we had breaks such as a tour of the facility, a "day in the life" presentation, and a benefits presentation. I felt really confident about my performance because I prepared for weeks. I gave it my best shot but unfortunately the next day I was informed that I was not selected to move on. I have no bad blood or regrets about the process. I did the best I could.
The culture from my observations is that they hire A LOT of nerdy white guys. Out of the 75 or so employees I met during the process. Younger nerdy white males made up about 94%. I met like 3 women, a few people of indian descent and like 2 black people. I'm black so......i dk. The people I was interviewing against had big technical degrees from GA Tech, Penn State, RIT, Ohio State etc. I went to an HBCU so I felt that I was already at a disadvantage. The biggest thing I can say is prepare.....study, study, study. Cisco only wants the best....they kept saying that all day. They want people that fit the culture. All the people there are the same.....mostly nerdy young white guys. In my group there were 17 of us interviewing. We were the third and last group they were interviewing for positions. There were 2 other groups before us of about 20 people a piece and they were offering 24 positions. So thats about 8 positions a group. Overall it was a positive experience and i'm glad I got that far.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview and a Presentation.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Finance Manager at Cisco Systems
Posted Mar 28, 2011
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2.0
Easy Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed May 2009 in Research Triangle Park, NC (took 4+ weeks)
Not very detailed-if hiring manager wants you on board, interviewers are very easy on the candidate.
Interview Questions
Negotiation Details
Able to negotiate. Ask for more base salary,
Other Details
I got the interview through a Recruiter and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview and a Background Check.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Sales Program at Cisco Systems
Posted Mar 24, 2011
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Nov 2010 in Research Triangle Park, NC (took a day)
Intense interview day including a presentation, sales simulation, and one on one interviews.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview and a Presentation.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
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