Cisco Software Engineer interview: fair questions and disputed cheating concern

I entered the interviews confident because the questions matched my strengths: backend concepts, Java, system design, and coding. The interaction felt positive, and I believed I answered clearly. After the rejection, I spoke with HR to understand what happened. I learned that the interviewer thought I was looking at answers during the interview. That surprised me because I was not using anything…

Shared by a candidate · reported Jul 2026. Interview formats change; use it as a guide, not a script.