Hcl Technologies Software Engineer interview typically runs 3 rounds: aptitude, technical interview, and HR. The process usually takes about 10 to 12 days and is straightforward but can feel inconsistent.
$102K
Avg. Base Comp
$143K
Avg. Total Comp
4-6
Typical Rounds
10 days-4 weeks
Process Length
We’ve seen HCL’s process reward candidates who can stay grounded in the basics and explain their work without drifting into jargon. Multiple candidates reported questions on Java, Spring Boot, SQL, OOPs, DBMS, operating systems, and simple coding tasks like factorial, palindrome, or target-sum pairs. The pattern is clear: they are not chasing flashy algorithms so much as checking whether you actually understand the stack you claim on your resume. When candidates had real project depth, the interviews often turned into detailed follow-ups on API handling, error handling, performance tuning, and production issues.
A recurring theme is that HCL listens closely to how you talk through your own experience. Our candidates report repeated probing on project choices, resume items, and even niche technologies like mainframe, dot net, React, or Java 8 features depending on the profile. That tells us the company cares about practical ownership over memorized theory. If you mention a tool or architecture decision, expect them to keep digging until they understand whether you used it, built with it, or only read about it.
The other signal that shows up again and again is fit. Communication, willingness to learn, and people skills come up in screening and HR-style conversations, and several candidates were asked situational questions about handling subordinates, relocation, or team dynamics. In other words, HCL seems to value candidates who can be technically credible and easy to work with. The strongest interviews we’ve seen are the ones where the candidate is concise, specific, and comfortable defending their own resume.
Synthesized from 12 candidate reports by our editorial team.
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Real interview reports from people who went through the Hcl Technologies process.
The process was pretty straightforward and moved fast, but it still felt a little inconsistent in what they emphasized. I had one screening round first, then a technical interview, and after that it went to HR. The whole thing was virtual and wrapped up in about 10 to 12 days, which I appreciated because there wasn’t much waiting around between stages. In the screening, they kept it basic and checked communication, attitude, and whether I was willing to learn. The technical round was more about core engineering fundamentals than anything deeply advanced. I was asked a mix of basic programming MCQs, a SQL program, and one coding question in my language of choice. There was also a communication round in the process, which felt more like they were checking how clearly I could explain my thinking than testing any hard technical skill.
What stood out to me was that they seemed to care a lot about memorized concepts and standard answers. I got questions on Java, Spring Boot, streams, database basics, and project discussion, plus a simple DSA-style problem around target sum pairs. There was also a design question, but nothing too heavy. Overall, I’d call the difficulty easy to moderate, mostly because the questions were direct and familiar rather than tricky. My biggest surprise was that even though the interview felt like it went well, the outcome wasn’t guaranteed. I was also asked a behavioral question about my biggest weakness and what I need to correct, so they did include HR-style evaluation alongside the technical parts. In the end, I didn’t get an offer from this process, even though it felt smooth on the surface. My takeaway is to be ready for very basic coding, SQL, and Java/Spring fundamentals, and to answer project and behavioral questions crisply without overcomplicating them.
Prep tip from this candidate
Be ready for basic programming MCQs, a SQL coding question, and a simple DSA problem like target sum pairs. Also review Java, Spring Boot, streams, and database fundamentals, since the technical round seemed to lean heavily on those core topics.
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Sourced from candidate reports and verified by our team.
Topics based on recent interview experiences.
Featured question at Hcl Technologies
Given two sorted lists, write a function to merge them into one sorted list.
| Question | |
|---|---|
| Tower of Hanoi | |
| Concurrent LLM Serving | |
| VLAN 2 Connectivity Issue | |
| Client Solution Pushback | |
| 2nd Highest Salary | |
| Top Three Salaries | |
| Empty Neighborhoods | |
| Employee Salaries | |
| Closest SAT Scores | |
| Subscription Overlap | |
| Prime to N | |
| Top 3 Users | |
| Rolling Bank Transactions | |
| Customer Orders | |
| String Shift | |
| Comments Histogram | |
| Retailer Data Warehouse | |
| Random SQL Sample | |
| Largest Salary by Department | |
| Find the First Non-Repeating Character in a String | |
| Bagging vs Boosting | |
| Size of Joins | |
| Upsell Transactions | |
| Find the Missing Number | |
| Monthly Customer Report | |
| First Touch Attribution | |
| Raining in Seattle | |
| Cumulative Distribution | |
| Hurdles In Data Projects |
Synthesized from candidate reports. Individual experiences may vary.
The process often starts with an aptitude or broad screening test. Candidates reported sections on verbal, logical, quantitative, and pseudocode, or a HackerRank-style assessment with MCQs across Java, SQL/MySQL, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and one or two coding questions.
Some candidates had a group discussion or a communication-focused round after the assessment. This stage was used to evaluate clarity of speaking, participation, and general communication skills rather than deep technical knowledge.
Several experiences included an early screening call or interview that checked communication, attitude, willingness to learn, and basic fit. In some cases, this round also included simple coding questions, SQL basics, and a quick resume or project walkthrough.
The main technical round focused on core fundamentals and project discussion. Candidates were asked about Java, Spring Boot, microservices, SQL, DBMS, OOPs, operating systems, networking, JavaScript, and basic DSA, along with practical questions about debugging, performance tuning, API handling, and production issues.
Some candidates went through a second technical round or panel interview with multiple interviewers, including data science or engineering profiles. This round went deeper into project implementation, design choices, ML or backend concepts depending on the resume, and how the candidate would solve real-world engineering problems.
The final round was typically with HR and covered fitment, salary expectations, relocation, background, and behavioral questions. Candidates were also asked situational questions about communication, teamwork, and how they would handle difficult people or workplace scenarios.