Cognizant Assessments

Careers at Cognizant

Cognizant describes itself as an inclusive and diverse workplace, providing every employee the tools and opportunities to learn and progress in their career. Positions are available at Cognizant for people at all stages of their careers, whether you are an experienced professional or just starting out in your career.

Positions are available in numerous countries across a variety of areas such as:

• Sales & Marketing
• Technology & Engineering
• Consulting
• Digital
• Business Processes

Cognizant offers several programs for students at the undergraduate, graduate, and Master’s level. These are an excellent route into the company, offering great training and support to develop both personally and professionally, while working on meaningful projects.

Careers at Cognizant can be viewed on its careers page, where you can sort through the listings according to job category, location, employment type, etc.

The application process for positions at Cognizant is competitive, especially for its graduate and early careers programs. As such, the hiring process is thorough, consisting of multiple stages.

All positions start in the same way, with an online application. Successful candidates may then be invited to complete some online assessments. Candidates who pass the online assessments will be invited to interviews, which is typically an HR interview followed by a technical interview.

It is important to note that the application process may vary, depending on the level and type of position you are applying to.

Throughout the application process, the hiring team at Cognizant will be looking for candidates who are aligned with its core values; it is therefore important to familiarise yourself with them. The core values are:

• Start with a point of view
• Seek data, build knowledge
• Always strive, never settle
• Work as one
• Create conditions for everyone to thrive
• Do the right thing, the right way

Online application form

Once you have found the role you would like to pursue on the Cognizant careers page, you will need to submit an online application. This is fairly straightforward and will firstly involve uploading your resume, followed by providing some basic personal information.

As your resume is the first thing the hiring team will see, it is important to make a good first impression. Ensure it is up-to-date with detailed information about your academic history and relevant work experience. Make sure it is free from grammatical errors.

Tailor your resume to the role you are applying to. The best way to do this is to review the job description to see what the hiring team is looking for, and then showcase how your qualifications, skills, and experience make you a suitable candidate.

After submission, the recruitment team will evaluate your application to determine if your credentials match the requirements of the role, and will contact you on the next steps if you are selected.

Cognizant Aptitude Tests

If the hiring team believes you to be a good fit for the position, you will be invited to the next stage of the application process: the aptitude assessment.

The aptitude assessment consists of several tests that are designed to evaluate your cognitive ability and technical skills in different areas, to further determine your suitability for the position.

The tests do not have negative marking, so it’s always a good idea to select an answer, even if it’s just an educated guess.

The specific tests you face during the assessment will depend on the role that you have applied for, but could include those below.

Cognizant quantitative ability test

Designed to determine your numerical aptitude, the quantitative ability test assesses how well you interpret, analyze, and draw conclusions from data sets. You will have 25 multiple-choice type questions, with a time limit of 35 minutes.

You will typically be required to use basic calculations to solve mathematical problems. The level of math required is not advanced; however, the time constraint makes the test challenging.

Cognizant English comprehension test

English comprehension tests will look at your ability to analyze and understand verbal information. The questions in this section will typically present you with a short passage, followed by some questions based on it.

This is similar to a verbal reasoning test, which you may have come across before.

This test consists of 20 questions, which you will have 20 minutes to complete, so you will need to work quickly and accurately to score highly.

Cognizant logical reasoning test

Logical reasoning tests are designed to assess you on a range of areas including logical and critical thinking, analytical skills, and problem-solving. Consisting of 35 questions in 45 minutes, this test will present you with unfamiliar information that you must interpret logically to draw conclusions.

This test is used to identify candidates who will be quick to learn and adapt to new information to solve problems.

Cognizant skill-based assessment

You may also face a skill-based assessment if the role you are applying to requires it. This test is used for technical roles such as programmers and software engineers.

The skill-based assessment will have questions on various topics such as programming constructs, data structures, algorithms, database/SQL, and Web UI, so make sure you are familiar with the fundamentals.