For a college hire at Cognizant, the interview process was fairly straightforward and well-structured. It typically began with an initial screening round, often conducted online, that focused on aptitude-based questions such as logical reasoning, quantitative ability, and verbal skills. This was designed to assess problem-solving ability and basic analytical thinking rather than deep domain expertise. Following this, candidates went through one or more technical rounds, where the questions were decently scattered across core technical fundamentals relevant to the role. These included basic programming concepts, data structures, databases, and occasionally simple problem-solving exercises. The emphasis was more on clarity of understanding and foundational knowledge rather than advanced or niche topics.