Coding Round 1+2+3 (Technical + Managerial + HR)

I was called for the Prime category. If you reach this stage, there is a good chance you will be selected; just be confident and answer the questions properly. If your performance is not up to the mark, you might be selected for a lower category like Digital or Ninja. The interview difficulty varies based on the category: for Prime, the interview lasts about an hour and covers a wide range of topics; for Digital, it is about 40 minutes; and for Ninja, they ask pretty basic questions, and the duration is around 25 minutes.

In our college, there was only a single round for all categories, which combined technical, managerial, and HR interviews. This round lasted about an hour with a panel of three experts from each field. They started with technical questions, mostly based on the resume, so prepare your resume properly. They checked each aspect mentioned in the resume, including technologies, projects, difficulties faced, and how you solved them. Then they moved on to core subjects, asking in-depth questions on OOPS and DBMS, and briefly touching on OS and CN with basic questions. Managerial questions were asked in between, like what you would do if a teammate doesn’t work. Finally, HR questions were asked, such as why TCS, why you choose this college, future plans, relocation preferences, and preferred TCS office and field.

My round went well, although there were one or two questions I think I didn’t answer properly. Overall, the interviewers were happy with my performance, and after three days, I received a message that I was selected for the Prime category.

TCS NQT Test:

MCQ

This test is important for getting selected for the interview process. It is held at the TCS iON center, where we have to go and take the 3-hour exam, similar to the JEE exam. The exam covers various subjects, from verbal to analytics, and quantitative aptitude. You can find the syllabus and pattern online for your reference. I suggest looking at the topics and patterns beforehand because the exam includes many MCQs with a limited time constraint, so you need to solve them quickly.

Coding Question:

At the end of the exam, there are two coding questions: one easy and one medium. The text editor is basic, like Notepad, with no IDE support, and copy-paste is disabled (the Ctrl key is disabled), so you have to write each line manually. The coding questions are based on arrays: one is a simple mathematical question, and the other is a bit tricky, similar to competitive programming questions around the Codeforces 1200 level.

I learned that if you score above the cutoff for the MCQs (meaning you are selected for the interview), your category such as Prime, Digital, or Ninja – is determined by your coding questions’ passed test case scores.