TCS Software Engineer interviews reported by candidates are fresher-oriented. They typically combine an NQT or online test, a resume-driven technical interview on OOP, SQL and basic coding, and an HR round, sometimes with managerial-style questions.
$78K
Avg. Base Comp
$86K
Avg. Total Comp
2-3 rounds
Typical Rounds
Not reported
Process Length
Candidates describing the TCS Software Engineer interview mostly report an entry-level process built around fundamentals. Most began with a written test, often the TCS NQT or a campus assessment. One report describes two DSA questions on graphs and strings, rated easy to medium, and another describes two simple coding questions. A technical interview follows, and an HR round closes the process. One candidate also described managerial-style questions after the technical part.
The most repeated theme is that the technical interview centers on your resume and projects. Candidates report being asked to explain final-year and resume projects, their specific contribution and listed technologies in detail. The questions that came up most often were OOP concepts with real-world examples, SQL (joins, DELETE vs DROP vs TRUNCATE, and a second-highest-salary query), and basic data structures such as linked lists, stacks and queues. Individual reports also mention process vs thread, primary versus foreign keys, Java 8 features, and basic coding questions.
Difficulty is usually described as easy to moderate. Outcomes are mixed, with both offers and rejections reported. Interviewers appear to reward clear explanations rather than memorized definitions, so practice talking through each answer instead of giving one-word responses. The HR round is typically about fit, motivation, background and goals. Treat it seriously, since it still comes before a final decision.
Synthesized from 97 candidate reports by our editorial team.
Had an interview recently?
Share your experience. Unlock the full guide.
Real interview reports from people who went through the Tata Consultancy Services process.
The final round was where most of the pressure was, and it was mostly coding. Before that I took a written test with two simple coding questions, which felt like a warm-up. The technical interview opened with a self-introduction, then the interviewer asked me to explain core OOP concepts and the new features in Java 8. After that came coding questions, and then they moved on to the projects listed on my resume and asked me to walk through them. The HR round at the end was simple and focused on my background and goals. I received an offer but ended up declining it.
Prep tip from this candidate
Be ready to explain OOP concepts and Java 8 features clearly, and know every project on your resume well enough to discuss it in depth, since the final round moved from coding into questions about your projects.
Share your own interview experience to unlock all reports, or subscribe for full access.
Sourced from candidate reports and verified by our team.
Topics based on recent interview experiences.
Featured question at Tata Consultancy Services
Get the top 3 highest employee salaries by department
| Question | |
|---|---|
| Prime to N | |
| Top 3 Users | |
| Largest Salary by Department | |
| Bagging vs Boosting | |
| Find the First Non-Repeating Character in a String | |
| Manager Team Sizes | |
| Size of Joins | |
| Paired Products | |
| The Brackets Problem | |
| Sort Strings | |
| Find Duplicate Numbers in a List | |
| Hurdles In Data Projects | |
| Duplicate Rows | |
| Transformer Encoder Layer | |
| Prime Numbers Identification | |
| KNN From Scratch | |
| Slow SQL Query | |
| Swap Variables | |
| Implementing the Fibonacci Sequence in Three Different Methods | |
| String Palindromes | |
| Batch vs Mini-Batch vs Stochastic Gradient Descent | |
| Foreign Key Constraints | |
| Impossibly Iterative Fibonacci | |
| Pipeline Transformation Failures | |
| Variate Anomalies | |
| Text Editor With OOP | |
| Decision Tree Evaluation | |
| Azure Kubernetes Infrastructure | |
| Why Do You Want to Work With Us |
Synthesized from candidate reports. Individual experiences may vary.
Candidates report starting with the TCS NQT, a written test or a campus assessment. One candidate describes two simple coding questions, and one recent campus candidate describes two easy-to-medium DSA questions on graphs and strings that had to be solved within the time limit.
This is the main filter in most reports. Candidates describe a self-introduction, then detailed questions on projects and listed technologies, followed by OOP, SQL, DBMS concepts, and basic coding or data structure problems. Reported coding topics include linked lists and stack or queue questions. Depth is typically easy to moderate, and answers need clear explanations.
One candidate describes managerial-style questions after the technical part of the interview, focused on how they explained their work and handled discussion of their projects. This may not be a separate round for everyone.
Candidates report an HR round that is generally conversational, covering fit, motivation, background and goals. One candidate described it as simple, though it comes after the technical screen and may still affect the outcome.
