Cognizant, an American multinational powerhouse in information technology services and consulting, finds its headquarters nestled in New Jersey, USA. This esteemed company holds its position among the prestigious NASDAQ-100. It has emerged as a prominent player in the global IT services landscape, delivering innovative solutions to a diverse clientele.

‍

Securing an Software Engineer role at Cognizant is highly sought after for Indian tech professionals. However, gaining entry into this position can be challenging. While the conventional approach involves applying directly through the Cognizant jobs portal, a more accessible and effective route is to obtain a referral from an existing employee.

‍

In this article, we'll explore how you can leverage a referral to enhance your chances of landing a rewarding career opportunity within this tech powerhouse.

‍

How to get a job at Cognizant?

‍

Coming to the main question first, how to get into Cognizant. There are several ways of doing that. First go over to Cognizant careers page and scour through it and find the job you're looking for. You can check active jobs on their LinkedIn page as well. Apply to the job and wait for your resume to get shortlisted out of hundreds of resumes. 

‍

But if you’re looking for a more effective and an expeditious way to land a job at Cognizant, you should consider following the referral process. This method entails asking current employees who can advocate for you within the company for a specific job role. The referral process is advantageous for three primary reasons: firstly, existing employees already possess credibility, so anyone they vouch for is likely to be viewed favorably. Secondly, if their referral doesn't meet expectations or leaves the company shortly after joining, it could affect their reputation within the company. Some companies have employee referral programs and employees get monetary incentives if their referral joins the company. Therefore, they have a vested interest in recommending candidates who are qualified and likely to succeed.

‍

How to Get a Job Referral

‍

Let’s talk about the process of how to get a referral at Cognizant. Here’s a step by step guide for it.

‍

Finding a Potential Referrer

• Open LinkedIn and dive deep into research mode. Read and research about the company, its culture, and its employees. 
• Try to find if anyone in your friend circle/ acquaintances/ college alumni are currently working at Cognizant and reach out to them. 
• You can install our chrome extension to cut through the manual process and see which of your 1st degree LinkedIn connections are connected to Cognizant. You can even ask them to provide a referral through a 1 click easy process.
• Don’t sweat, if the above step doesn't work. You can check out job referral sites which have a curated list of people who have agreed to give referrals in their companies. We have made a list of Cognizant employees who have agreed to give referrals. You can check out a few of them below (install our extension to check the rest).

1. Aditya Dubey- Currently working as Quality Assurance Engineer at Cognizant | College: IFTM University Moradabad
2. Arun Yuvaraj- Currently working as Senior Data Scientist at Cognizant | Previously worked in Ascentia.Ai, Cheqout Technologies, EY, Accenture | College: Rennes School Of Business
3. Bhumika A.- Currently working as Programmer Analyst at Cognizant | Previously worked in Foxmula, IBM | College: University Of Petroleum And Energy Studies, Dehradun
4. Dinesh Sharma- Currently working as Sr Associate - Projects at Cognizant | Previously worked in ITC, Moofwd, Accenture | College: Atharva College Of Engineering, Mumbai (2017)
5. Guruprasad Bashetti- Currently working as Associate - Full Stack Developer at Cognizant | Previously worked in Mindtree
6. Harshit Gupta- Currently working as Junior Software Engineer at Cognizant | Previously worked in Innvocon Learning Solutions | College: Dit University, Dehradun
7. Imran Ahmad Khan- Currently working as Senior Project Coordinator at Cognizant | Previously worked in Atos, Tech Mahindra, Ncr Corporation, NCR Corporation, Netfunda Technologies, Kent RO Systems Ltd. | College: BCIIT GGSIPU
8. Jayesh Jadhav- Currently working as Software Engineer at Cognizant | Previously worked in Bynaric Systems | College: Bharti Vidyapeeth Institute Of Management
9. Nithin Kumar Peratla- Currently working as Program Manager - AI & ML Platforms at Cognizant | Previously worked in | College: Acharya Nagarjuna University
10. Ragasudha Baskaran- Currently working as Programming Analyst at Cognizant | Previously worked in Ostello India Pvt. Ltd., Handout Foundation, Shoutsmy Voice, Samagra Foundation | College: Saranathan College Of Engineering, Tiruchirappalli
11. Sanjeev Tummala- Currently working as Sr Infra Developer at Cognizant | College: Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada
12. Siri Chandana- Currently working as Automation Engineer at Cognizant | Previously worked in Electronics Corporation Of India Limited | College: Koneru Lakshmaiah College Of Engineering, Guntur
13. Sp Lakshmanan- Currently working as Tech Lead at Cognizant | Previously worked in Omega Health Care | College: Anna University, Chennai
14. Swapnil Dwivedi- Currently working as Programming Analyst at Cognizant | Previously worked in Seafaing World Pvt. Ltd. | College: Jaypee University Of Engineering And Technology, Guna
15. Vishnu Sharma- Currently working as Senior Project Associate at Cognizant | Previously worked in HcCL, NIIT, Globallogic, Karexpert Technologies, Ericsson | College: Babu Banarasi Das Northern India Institute Of Technology, Lucknow

‍

• Try to find people with whom you share a common interest with such as your ex- colleagues, college/ school mates, people from your hometown or people with mutual connections. If you don’t find anyone like that, try to find a mutual interest which you can talk about eg, interest in startups, finance or even anime.

‍

You can also search potential referrers directly through LinkedIn

• Search for Cognizant employees in the search bar and then filter them using connection, location and college filter. You can also navigate to the "People" tab on Cognizant’s LinkedIn page and search through the employees.
• Remember to try to find people with maximum mutual interest and working in the same or similar role you want to apply for.

‍

Crafting Your Request

• Now that you've identified your potential referrers, it's time to prepare your approach. Remember, personalization is key here.
• Start by researching the referrer's background and interests. 
• Craft a LinkedIn message or email. 
• Start with a brief greeting followed with an opening line using the shared interest (same college/ school, mutual connection/interest). 
• Introducing yourself and explaining why you're reaching out. Be clear and concise about your intention, attach your resume and any relevant work sample.
• Highlight how your skills and experience align with the job requirements and the company's goals and make it clear why you're a perfect fit for the role. Emphasize on how it would benefit both the organization and yourself. 
• Don't forget to express your gratitude for their time and consideration.
• Be patient about it and wait for at least a couple of days before sending a following up.
• Be polite in case they refuse or don’t reply. Thank them for their time and make sure that you don’t burn the bridges. If they refuse, try to get their feedback and work on it.

‍

You can check out sample examples of personalized referral requests below in this article.

‍

Bonus Tip: Making it Easy for your Referrer

To make it easy for your referrer, consider providing a prefilled message that they can simply copy and send to the hiring manager. We have attached the template below.

‍

Sharing the template below:

‍

Hi [Hiring Manager],

‍

I hope this email finds you well.

‍

I'm writing to recommend [name] for the [role]. [name] and I worked at [company] together/ attended the same college and collaborated on various projects during our time there. He's demonstrated himself as a hard worker and a dedicated team player.

‍

Sharing his contact details below:

Email: xyz@gmail.com

Phone: +91 xxxxxxxxxx

Resume:

‍

Best regards,

[referrar]

Samples for asking for Job Referral:

Email sample for job referral: Reaching out to a college senior

Hi Anuj,

Hope you’re doing well.

I don't know if you remember me or not but I worked as a volunteer in your team in our annual college cultural fest. We worked directly in the stage play event when the judge canceled at the last minute and led to the whole event getting delayed, quite a fiasco it was.

I'm actually reaching out to you because I needed a small favor. I recently saw that a Software Engineer position has opened up at Cognizant and I'm interested in applying for it. Would it be possible for you to refer me for the same? I have 1.5 years of experience as a Fullstack Engineer at Weekday (a YC backed startup) and I believe my skills and experience align well with the requirements of the Software Engineer role at Cognizant.

I've attached my resume for your reference. If you're able to provide a referral or offer any advice on the application process, I would be incredibly grateful.

Thank you for considering my request. I truly appreciate your time and assistance.

I know that you’ll be submitting a referral in your internal portal but in case you’re going to mail the hiring manager you can use something like this.

‍

Hi [Hiring Manager],

‍

I hope this email finds you well.

‍

I'm writing to recommend Amit Singh for the Software Engineer role. Amit and I attended the same college and collaborated on various projects during our time there. He's demonstrated himself as a hard worker and a dedicated team player.

‍

Sharing his contact details below:

Email: xyz@gmail.com

Phone: +91 xxxxxxxxxx

Resume:

‍

Best regards,

Anuj

‍

Warm Regards

Amit

Phone: +91 xxxxxxxxxx

Sample of how to ask for referral on LinkedIn: Reaching out to a person with mutual connection

‍

Dear Anuj,

‍

Hope you’re doing well.

‍

I got your reference from Akhil. I believe you guys went to college together. He is an ex colleague of mine, we worked briefly together at Weekday before parting ways.

‍

I'm actually reaching out to you because I needed a small favor. I am actively looking for a new job and saw that a Software Engineer position has opened up at Cognizant. I wanted to see if it would be possible for you to refer me for it? I have 4 years of experience in a similar role at a YC backed startup. I believe I possess the technical skills and relevant experience required for this role.

Attaching my resume for your reference. If you're able to provide a referral or offer any advice on the application process, I would be incredibly grateful.

‍

Thank you for considering my request. I truly appreciate your time and assistance.

‍

Warm Regards

Amit

Phone: +91 xxxxxxxxxx

‍