Cognizant Interview Questions 2026: GenC, GenC Pro, Technical and HR (With Answers)

Cognizant (CTS) hires freshers mainly through its GenC programs. The basic GenC track tests aptitude, simple coding and communication. The higher GenC Pro track goes much deeper into coding and technical depth.

This guide covers the Cognizant process, the GenC tracks, and 33 commonly asked Cognizant interview questions with short answers.

Cognizant hiring process at a glance

1. Apply through your college or the Cognizant careers portal for a GenC drive.
2. Aptitude test: quant, logical reasoning and English.
3. Coding / technical assessment: easier for GenC, much harder for GenC Pro.
4. Communication assessment: spoken and written English.
5. Technical interview: OOP, SQL, DBMS, one language, your project.
6. HR interview: relocation, service agreement, documents.

Cognizant GenC tracks

• GenC (Programmer Analyst Trainee), approx. ₹4 – 4.5 LPA: the main fresher track. Two medium coding problems.
• GenC Next / GenC Pro, approx. ₹6.75 LPA: needs a strong coding profile, harder coding problems and a deeper technical interview. Fewer seats.
• GenC Elevate and other specialist tracks: run in some years for higher-skilled candidates.

Track names and packages change between batches. Check the drive notice on the Cognizant careers portal. GenC hires usually sign a service agreement, so read it before joining.

Cognizant aptitude questions (examples)

1. The price of an item rises by 20% and then falls by 20%. What is the net change?
   1.2 × 0.8 = 0.96, so a 4% decrease.
2. Two pipes fill a tank in 12 and 15 hours. How long together?
   1/12 + 1/15 = 9/60, so 60/9 ≈ 6.67 hours.
3. Find the missing number: 1, 4, 9, 16, ?, 36.
   Squares, so 25.
4. Choose the synonym of "abundant".
   Plentiful.
5. Statement: All engineers are graduates. Conclusion: Some graduates are engineers.
   Valid. If every engineer is a graduate, some graduates must be engineers.

Cognizant technical interview questions

Cognizant interviewers love SQL. Many candidates report that half the technical round was queries. Practise writing them by hand.

SQL and DBMS

1. Write a query to find the highest salary in each department.
   SELECT dept, MAX(salary) FROM employee GROUP BY dept;
2. Write a query to find duplicate emails in a table.
   SELECT email, COUNT(*) FROM users GROUP BY email HAVING COUNT(*) > 1;
3. What is the difference between INNER JOIN and LEFT JOIN?
   INNER JOIN returns only matching rows. LEFT JOIN returns all rows from the left table, with NULLs where there is no match.
4. What is a stored procedure?
   A saved set of SQL statements that can be run again with one call.
5. What is a trigger?
   SQL that runs automatically when a table changes (insert, update, delete).
6. What is the difference between UNION and UNION ALL?
   UNION removes duplicates. UNION ALL keeps them and is faster.
7. What is denormalization?
   Adding some redundancy on purpose to make reads faster.

Java and OOP

1. What is the difference between JDK, JRE and JVM?
   The JVM runs bytecode. The JRE is the JVM plus libraries. The JDK is the JRE plus development tools like the compiler.
2. What is the difference between ArrayList and LinkedList?
   ArrayList gives fast random access. LinkedList gives fast inserts and deletes.
3. What is the difference between String, StringBuilder and StringBuffer?
   String is immutable. StringBuilder is mutable and fast. StringBuffer is mutable and thread-safe.
4. What is the final keyword?
   A final variable cannot change, a final method cannot be overridden, and a final class cannot be extended.
5. What is exception handling? Name checked and unchecked exceptions.
   IOException is checked (must be handled). NullPointerException is unchecked.
6. What is multithreading?
   Running multiple threads at the same time within one program.

Web and general

1. What is the difference between GET and POST?
   GET sends data in the URL and is used to fetch. POST sends data in the body and is used to submit.
2. What is REST?
   An API style that uses HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) on resources.
3. What is Git?
   A version control system that tracks changes in code.

Cognizant coding questions

1. Find the missing number in an array of 1 to n.
2. Reverse each word in a sentence.
3. Find the first non-repeating character in a string.
4. Merge two sorted arrays.
5. Check whether a matrix is symmetric.
6. Find pairs in an array that add up to a target (GenC Pro level).
7. Find the longest increasing subsequence (GenC Pro level).

Cognizant HR interview questions

1. Tell me about yourself.
   Short and structured: education, project, skills, goal.
2. Why Cognizant?
   Mention the GenC training program, digital work and healthcare/banking clients.
3. Are you okay with the service agreement?
   Read it before the interview and answer clearly.
4. Are you willing to relocate and work in shifts?
   Show flexibility.
5. Do you have any backlogs?
   Be honest. Active backlogs usually need to be cleared before joining.

How to prepare for Cognizant in 2 weeks

• Days 1–4: Aptitude and English daily.
• Days 5–9: SQL every day: joins, GROUP BY, subqueries. Use our SQL interview questions guide.
• Days 10–12: Java basics and 2 coding problems a day. See our Java interview questions guide.
• Days 13–14: Project explanation and HR answers.

Want a shortcut? Get a referral

For experienced roles, a Cognizant employee referral can speed things up. See our guide on how to get a job referral at Cognizant (with a list of referrers).

Frequently asked questions

What is GenC in Cognizant?
Cognizant's fresher hiring program. GenC is the base track, and GenC Pro/Next are higher-paying tracks.

Is the Cognizant interview hard?
GenC is mostly basics with a strong focus on SQL. GenC Pro is much harder on coding.

How many rounds are there?
Usually aptitude, coding, communication, technical interview and HR.

Preparing for other companies too?
See our TCS interview questions and Infosys interview questions guides.

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