Cisco Coding Interview Questions
We track 78 coding questions asked at Cisco, tagged with the algorithms and concepts they test. The most common: Array, String, Hash Table, Two Pointers, Math.
Browse all 78 Cisco questions →Concept mix
Each question's weight is split evenly across its concepts, so the shares sum to 100%.
- Array19.5%
- String12.1%
- Two Pointers7.2%
- Math7.2%
- Hash Table6.2%
- Dynamic Programming5.4%
- Recursion3.6%
- Linked List3.5%
- Matrix3.2%
- Sorting2.6%
- Other (31)29.8%
How many questions involve each concept
Share of all 78 tracked Cisco questions that touch each concept. Questions usually involve several, so these overlap.
- Array53.8%
- String28.2%
- Hash Table21.8%
- Two Pointers20.5%
- Math17.9%
- Dynamic Programming14.1%
- Matrix10.3%
- Depth-First Search9.0%
- Linked List9.0%
- Recursion9.0%
- Sorting7.7%
- Binary Search6.4%
Where Cisco differs from the average company
Concept weight at Cisco relative to the average across all companies we track. Green means Cisco leans on it harder than most.
- Geometry4.0×
- Recursion3.3×
- Ordered Set2.3×
- Two Pointers2.0×
- Design0.62×
- Graph Theory0.50×
- Greedy0.47×
- Prefix Sum0.44×
Cisco specialties
Concepts that show up at Cisco but are rarely asked elsewhere. They are easy to get blindsided by.
Difficulty mix
Level split of the 78 tracked Cisco questions.
- Junior27% (21)
- Mid/Senior54% (42)
- Staff19% (15)
Every concept in Cisco interviews
| Concept | Questions | % of questions | Share of mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Array | 42 | 53.8% | 19.5% |
| String | 22 | 28.2% | 12.1% |
| Hash Table | 17 | 21.8% | 6.2% |
| Two Pointers | 16 | 20.5% | 7.2% |
| Math | 14 | 17.9% | 7.2% |
| Dynamic Programming | 11 | 14.1% | 5.4% |
| Matrix | 8 | 10.3% | 3.2% |
| Depth-First Search | 7 | 9.0% | 2.0% |
| Linked List | 7 | 9.0% | 3.5% |
| Recursion | 7 | 9.0% | 3.6% |
| Sorting | 6 | 7.7% | 2.6% |
| Binary Search | 5 | 6.4% | 2.1% |
| Breadth-First Search | 5 | 6.4% | 1.4% |
| Stack | 5 | 6.4% | 2.5% |
| Tree | 5 | 6.4% | 1.6% |
| Backtracking | 4 | 5.1% | 1.6% |
| Heap (Priority Queue) | 4 | 5.1% | 1.1% |
| Simulation | 4 | 5.1% | 1.6% |
| Sliding Window | 4 | 5.1% | 1.5% |
| Binary Tree | 3 | 3.8% | 1.0% |
| Design | 3 | 3.8% | 0.8% |
| Greedy | 3 | 3.8% | 1.4% |
| Ordered Set | 3 | 3.8% | 0.7% |
| Union-Find | 3 | 3.8% | 0.9% |
| Binary Search Tree | 2 | 2.6% | 0.5% |
| Bit Manipulation | 2 | 2.6% | 1.0% |
| Divide and Conquer | 2 | 2.6% | 0.8% |
| Geometry | 2 | 2.6% | 0.8% |
| Graph Theory | 2 | 2.6% | 0.5% |
| Monotonic Stack | 2 | 2.6% | 0.7% |
| Prefix Sum | 2 | 2.6% | 0.7% |
| Queue | 2 | 2.6% | 0.5% |
| Database | 1 | 1.3% | 1.3% |
| Doubly-Linked List | 1 | 1.3% | 0.3% |
| Enumeration | 1 | 1.3% | 0.7% |
| Game Theory | 1 | 1.3% | 0.3% |
| Merge Sort | 1 | 1.3% | 0.3% |
| Monotonic Queue | 1 | 1.3% | 0.3% |
| Randomized | 1 | 1.3% | 0.3% |
| Topological Sort | 1 | 1.3% | 0.3% |
| Trie | 1 | 1.3% | 0.3% |
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