I applied for the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) NQT in my 8th semester and appeared for the exam on 21st March at the TCS iON Centre. I would like to share my complete experience to help future aspirants.
Recruitment Process Overview
1. TCS National Qualifier Test (NQT)
2. Interview Round (Technical + Managerial + HR )
Round 1 : TCS National Qualifier Test (NQT) - 21st March 2026
Sections and Duration (in mins):
Part A – Foundation Section: 75 mins
- Numerical Ability: 25 mins
- Verbal Ability: 25 mins
- Reasoning Ability: 25 mins
Part B – Advanced Section: 115 mins
- Advanced Quantitative & Reasoning Ability: 25 mins
- Advanced Coding(Easy & Medium) : 90 mins
Total Duration: 190 mins
For the Foundation Section along with the Advanced Quantitative & Reasoning section, I was able to solve around 50% of the questions correctly in each part. I had already practiced these topics earlier as they are important for most placement drives, which helped me perform better in this round.
There was no negative marking mentioned in the exam, so I attempted all the questions to maximize my score.
In the coding section, there were 2 questions—one easy and one of medium difficulty. Each question had 7 test cases.
The easy question was based on simple logic and could be solved using conditional statements. However, I faced an issue with input handling, where I was getting an “Input Mismatch” error. After carefully re-reading the question, I realized that the input constraints required only positive numbers (no zero or negative values). This needed to be handled using proper validation (like if-else or try-catch).
Unfortunately, by the time I identified the issue, most of my time was already spent, and I was not able to pass any test cases for this question.
The medium-level question was based on sorting and conditional logic. Although the problem statement was quite lengthy, I was able to understand it easily. I implemented the solution correctly and was able to pass all the test cases (7/7).
Overall, I was able to completely solve one question (medium level) and I wrote my code in Java.
Round 1 Result : 27 March 2026
On 27th March, I received a mail stating that I had cleared this round and was asked to participate in a survey for the interview round. Based on my performance, I was shortlisted for the Digital category in person interview.
In Tata Consultancy Services, there are mainly three categories: Ninja, Digital, and Prime.
Round 2 : In Person Interview - 02 April 2026
I received a mail on 31st March regarding my in-person interview, which was scheduled on 2nd April at ABES Engineering College.
On the day of the interview, the process started with document verification. The required documents included Aadhaar card, 10th and 12th marksheets, and marksheets up to the 7th semester (web copy was also allowed).
After the document verification, I was taken to a waiting room, where candidates were called panel-wise based on their assigned numbers. After waiting for around 15–20 minutes, my turn came. I was feeling quite nervous at that moment. I carried a pen and my resume with me.
In the interview panel, there were three members—one Technical interviewer, one Managerial interviewer, and one HR.
After the introduction, I was asked several technical and HR questions:
- What is multithreading?
- What are the challenges of multithreading?
- What is deadlock?
- Difference between HashMap and HashTable
- What is stack memory?
- What is the difference between caught and uncaught exceptions with examples?
Then some HR questions were asked:
- Are you able to work in any shift?
- Tell me one strength and one weakness
I was also given a scenario-based question:
- If you get selected in Tata Consultancy Services and are assigned to a project where you do not have the required skills, and you have only one week—what will you do?
I answered that since projects are worked on in teams, I would focus on learning the required skills based on my assigned tasks. I would put in extra time to learn within that one week, and if I faced any difficulties, I would also seek guidance from seniors to complete my work effectively.
- I was also given a coding question on paper to find the maximum element in an array, which I solved successfully.
At the end of the interview, I was given the opportunity to ask questions, so I asked about the training process and stream allocation.
Overall, it was a good experience, and I was able to answer most of the questions well. However, I did feel quite nervous throughout the interview.
In my case, the panel did not focus much on my resume. During the form fill-up, I had selected Core Java as my interview medium, so most of the technical questions were asked from Java.
However, I observed that for many other candidates, the panel was asking questions mainly based on their resume and projects.
Final Outcome:
On 6th April, I received a shortlisting mail for the Digital role from TCS, and I was asked to send the required documents via email (Aadhaar card, marksheets, bonafide certificate, and passport-size photograph).
On 7th April, I received my offer letter.
Tips and Suggestions:
- Practice coding questions (easy to medium level) regularly, preferably every day.
- Focus on improving your communication skills, as it plays an important role in interviews.
- Do not be afraid of the exam or interview—stay confident and calm.
With consistent effort and preparation, it is definitely achievable—I have experienced it myself.