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Interview questions from top companies, mapped to the exact round they show up in. Prep for what you will actually face.

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Online AssessmentDSA / CodingMachine CodingLow-Level Design

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The Loop aggregates publicly shared interview experiences and curated commonly-asked questions, each labeled with its source. Not affiliated with any company listed.

CC BY-NC 4.0 · © 2026

← Cognizant

Mid Backend at Cognizant

BackendMidOffer◆ Commonly asked· 2024

A mid backend loop. Coding-heavy early, design and behavioral later.

The loop · 5 rounds

01

Round 01 · 3 questions

DSA / Coding

Data structures & algorithms on a whiteboard or shared editor.

  • Diameter of a binary tree.
    MidEasy◆ Commonly asked
    #tree#dfs
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Set matrix zeroes.
    MidMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #matrix
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Clone a graph.
    MidMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #graph#dfs
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
02

Round 02 · 2 questions

Machine Coding

Build a working component or service under time pressure.

  • Parse and evaluate a simple expression/DSL.
    MidMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #parsing
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Build a REST endpoint with pagination, filtering and sorting.
    MidMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #api#pagination
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
03

Round 03 · 1 question

Low-Level Design

Object-oriented / low-level design of a focused module.

  • Design a logging library with levels and sinks.
    MidMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #oop
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
04

Round 04 · 3 questions

Tech Deep-Dive

Deep questions on your core stack and fundamentals.

  • Explain database indexing and when a query uses one.
    MidMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #databases#indexing
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • SQL vs NoSQL — how do you choose for a given workload?
    MidMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #databases
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Sharding vs partitioning vs replication.
    MidHard◆ Commonly asked
    #databases#scale
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
05

Round 05 · 2 questions

Behavioral / HR

Values, collaboration, and past-experience (STAR) questions.

  • Tell me about a time you had to learn something quickly.
    Mid◆ Commonly asked
    #learning#star
  • Why this company, and why this role?
    Mid◆ Commonly asked
    #motivation

◆ This experience is composed from commonly reported questions for this role and level. Real, individually-shared interviews will be layered in over time.