I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Cognizant (Sunnyvale, CA) in Mar 2026
Interview
I was interviewed by someone who already held the same title I was applying for, they were being promoted to another position. I checked their LinkedIn. I checked their credentials through other sources. What I found tells a story: offshore experience, very thin credentials, nothing that qualifies them for a senior role.
Here's the part that matters: they've been in this position for two years. But during the interview, I could read between the lines. They don't know the job. The questions were shallow, repetitive the kind someone asks when they're covering for not understanding the work themselves. They were friendly but I could feel the nervousness and insecurity.
Two years in the role. Still don't know difference between cot tools and customized/configuration in house Cots.
I'm a U.S. national. Way overqualified. Years of real experience, long seasoned portfolio and multiple job offers. I asked for reason for rejection. They rejected me for some mediocre, meaningless reason that made no sense, which reinforce the case for the incompetency/insecurity. Maybe they don’t want to be exposed.
So what's actually happening? Either nepotism or H-1B fraud probably both. Someone with no real experience gets the seat, and gets to interview a Qualified U.S. worker then give them a bogus rejection. The person sitting in the role still doesn't know what they're doing two years later.
It didn’t feel like a hiring process. More of a scam. I've reported their name to the proper authorities for investigations.
Was reached out to by Cognizant for an Engagement Manager position with Google Fiber. I met with the hiring manager. They were looking for a person to handle the engagement. It appears that the role was not going as well as they had hoped, and they needed someone to hand hold the client.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How do you handle difficult people and not take it personally?
I applied through college or university. I interviewed at Cognizant in Feb 2026
Interview
The interviewer was helpful but the JD was incredibly misleading. They had mentioned working with cloud and databases in their JD and in the interview, you get to know that it's "customer service" job.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Basic behavourial questions around teamwork and projects