I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Cisco (San Jose, CA) in May 2011
Interview
Lead time on speaking to a recruiter was painfully long however once engaged subsequent interviews were scheduled quickly and the offer followed very shortly after the last interview.
Since Cisco doesn't do panel interviews I did spend quite a bit of time on campus meeting with a total of 6 different individual people who interviewed me.
Initial screening, phone interviews and face to face interview by a panel of 3-4 full time employees and managers. Selection process is pretty good. Only a small percentage of candidates get selected for face to face interviews. Be prepared.
I applied through college or university. I interviewed at Cisco
Interview
The hiring process was quite interesting. It takes to much time. Hated the background history report and it was quite stressing. At the end it is really worth it but you have to be very patient with all the process. But even that it took too much time you can always count with the HR team, also they reply so fast that you do not need to be worry about a single thing of your process.