TCS NQT Interview Experience

I recently took the TCS NQT and wanted to share my experience to help others prepare for the test. Here’s a more detailed breakdown of what to expect.

Exam Format:

The NQT is a computer-based exam conducted at TCS iON digital centers. It’s a three-hour and ten-minute marathon divided into sections with fixed durations. Unlike some exams, you cannot jump between sections once you start a particular one. Most questions are multiple-choice, but there are also fill-in-the-blank problems to test your understanding of the concepts.

Sections:

Aptitude (25 minutes, 20 questions): This section throws a mix of quantitative problems at you. Be prepared to tackle questions on profit and loss calculations, number properties, and ratio and proportion. You might also encounter questions on other general aptitude topics.

Verbal Ability (25 minutes, 25 questions): This section assesses your reading comprehension and vocabulary skills. Expect to see parajumbles where you need to rearrange jumbled sentences into a coherent paragraph, error identification where you need to spot grammatical or logical mistakes in sentences, and synonym identification to test your grasp of word meanings. You’ll also encounter questions on paragraph formation and passage reading, where you’ll need to analyze and answer questions based on a given passage.

Reasoning (25 minutes, 20 questions): This section is designed to test your logical reasoning abilities. Be ready for questions on coding-decoding problems where you need to decipher messages based on a given code, blood relation problems that test your understanding of family structures, syllogisms that require you to identify logical relationships between statements, and data sufficiency problems where you need to analyze the information provided to determine if it’s enough to answer a question. You might also encounter questions related to calendars and Venn diagrams, which test your ability to visualize and manipulate information.

Advanced Aptitude and Reasoning (25 minutes, 14 questions): This section dials up the difficulty a notch with more challenging problems. Expect to see data interpretation questions that require you to analyze data sets and draw conclusions, data arrangement problems where you need to order information based on certain rules, and cistern and pipe problems that test your understanding of rates and filling processes. You might also encounter questions on geometry that test your spatial reasoning skills, sequences and series that require you to identify patterns in numbers, and other challenging problems.

Coding (90 minutes, 2 questions): This section is where you showcase your coding skills. It’s important to note that the advertised time allocation of 90 minutes might not be strictly followed for each question. There could be a separate timer for each coding problem.

My Experience with Coding:

The two coding questions themselves were on the easier side. However, many students, myself included, faced challenges due to unfamiliarity with the specific online compiler used in the exam. Here are some tips to avoid similar pitfalls:

• Read Instructions Carefully: The online compiler requires you to handle input and output within your code. Don’t skim through the instructions – pay close attention to what’s expected for each question.
• Understanding Output: After compiling and running your code, you’ll see sections for “Input” and “Expected Output.” There might be a moment of confusion where you don’t see an “Actual Output” section. Don’t panic! Click the arrow icon (↗️) to reveal your code’s output, allowing you to debug effectively.
• Coding Difficulty: While the concepts tested were relatively basic, the unfamiliar compiler environment caught many off guard. Focus on understanding input/output requirements and basic coding concepts to ensure smooth sailing during the test.

My Specific Coding Challenges:

Coding Question 1: Find the missing number in an array of size M-1, where M is a variable and the array’s range is 1 to M-1. (I passed 6/7 test cases)

Coding Question 2: Print all prime numbers between A and B (inclusive), where both A and B are prime and their sum is also prime. (I passed 7/7 test cases)

Scoring and Additional Tips:

Your final score is based on the number of private test cases you pass. Here are some general tips for success in the TCS NQT:

• Practice problem-solving and basic coding: Brush up on your aptitude and reasoning skills. Practice coding in a familiar language to solidify your understanding of coding concepts.
• Understand compiler specifics: Familiarize yourself with the online compiler’s input/output requirements to avoid wasting valuable time during the actual exam.
• Time Management: Don’t get stuck on any single question for too long. If you’re facing difficulty, move on.