Section Topics No.

of Difficulty
Questions Level
HCL Aptitude HCF and LCM 1-2 Medium
Number System 1-2 Medium
Time, Work, Pipes, and 0-2 Medium
Cisterns
Permutations and 1-2 Medium
Combinations
Geometry 0-1 High
Time, Speed, and 1-2 Medium
Distance
Probability 0-1 Medium
Profit and Loss 0-1 High
Interest, Mixture, and 0-1 Medium
Allegation
Logarithm 0-1 High
HCL Verbal Ability Sentence Correction 1-3 Medium
Reading Comprehension 1-3 Medium
Grammar 1-2 Medium
Synonyms and Antonyms 1-3 Medium
Fill in the Blanks 1-2 Medium
Spellings 1-3 Medium
HCL Logical Reasoning Directional Sense 1-2 Medium
Logical Reasoning 1-2 Medium
Coding and Decoding 0-3 Medium
Data Sufficiency 1-2 Medium
Pattern Analogy 0-2 High
Number Series 1-2 Medium
Logical Statement 1-2 Medium
Assumption
HCL Computer Computer Basics 1-5 Medium
Fundamentals
Data Structures 1-4 Medium
OOPs 1-4 Medium
Code Input/Output 1-4 Medium
Networking 1-4 High
OS 1-5 Medium
DBMS 1-4 Medium

Round 1 – Aptitude & Technical MCQ.

Questions
1. Quantitative Aptitude (Math-Based Problems)

• Find the percentage increase from 250 to 400.

• A train travels at 60 km/hr. How long will it take to cross a 500m long
bridge?
• A sum of ₹5,000 is invested at 10% compound interest annually. What
will be the amount after 2 years?
• Profit and loss questions based on cost price and selling price.

2. Logical And Analytical Reasoning

• Decode: “apple” is coded as “eqqpi ”. How will “mango” be coded?

• A is the brother of b, b is the mother of c. How is a related to c? (blood
relation question)
• Seating arrangement puzzle with 6 people sitting in a circle facing
inward.
• Data sufficiency problems based on mathematical conditions.

3. English

• Identify the grammatical errors in a sentence.

• Choose the correct synonym for “obstinate.”
• Read a passage and answer the comprehension questions.
• Identify whether the sentence is correct or incorrect.

4. IT Fundamentals

• Identify the output of a given c program using loops.

• What is a pointer in C++?
• Which SQL command is used to fetch unique records?
• Identify the correct syntax of a join operation in SQL.

Round 2 – Technical Round (Coding Round)

Questions

SQL Queries

1. Write an SQL query to fetch all employee details from a table where
salary is greater than ₹50,000.
2. Write an SQL query to find the second highest salary from an employee
table.
Programming questions

1. Write a program to check whether a string is a palindrome or not.

2. Given an array of integers, find the missing number in the sequence

Round 3 – Hr Interview

Questions asked

Personal & general questions

• Tell me about yourself.

• Why do you want to join HCL ?
• Can you describe the projects mentioned in your resume?
• Who is your inspiration and why?
• How do you handle work pressure?
• You come from a non-it background. Why did you choose it?
• Explain how to write a formal email to your manager.
• Are you comfortable working night shifts?
• Are you willing to relocate?
• Can you work under pressure and tight deadlines?
• What are your two weaknesses?
• How do you feel about working in a team?
• What do you think are the qualities that define a team leader?
• What do you know about HCL tech?
• Your two role models in life? Why do you consider them your role
models?
• Are you ready to relocate?

Technical Questions In Hr & Technical Interviews

1. Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) Concepts

• What is OOP?
• What is encapsulation? Examples of encapsulation in Java.
• What is abstraction?
• What are abstract classes?
• Is it possible to create an object for abstract classes?
• What are interfaces?
• Why can’t we extend two or more classes in Java?
• Explain the diamond problem.
• What is constructor chaining?
• What is polymorphism?
 • What are the methods accessible by a parent reference of a child object?
• Explain polymorphism in Object-Oriented Programming.
• What is the concept of inheritance in OOP?
• What is encapsulation, and how does it improve code security?
• Explain abstraction with an example.
• What is method overloading and method overriding?
• What is the difference between an abstract class and an interface?

2. Java-Specific Questions

• String reference and string literal difference?

• String constant pool and string immutability.
• What are StringBuilder and String?
• Difference between C++ and Java?
• What are access specifiers in Java? Explain working details.
• Difference between final, finally, and finalize.
• Why is Java platform-independent, and what are JVM, JRE, and JDK?
• Explain the pillars of OOP with real-world examples.
• What are interfaces and abstract classes in Java?
• What are the types of constructors in Java?

3. Data Structures & Collections

• Properties of List, Set, and Map.

• How does a hashing algorithm work?
• How does HashSet avoid duplicates?
• Difference between List and Vector?
• How and when to override the equals and hashCode methods?
• What is the use of Comparator interfaces?
• Difference between Comparator and Comparable interfaces?
• Custom sorting.
• How does TreeSet or TreeMap sorting work?

4. Multi-Threading & Synchronization

• Difference between wait, suspend, and sleep methods.

• What is a deadlock?
• How can we make a thread return some value?
• Race condition and synchronized keyword.
• Difference between synchronization and serialization.

5. SQL & Database Questions

• Steps to establish a JDBC connection.

 • When will we go for serialization?
• Difference between serialization and externalization.
• Basic SQL queries and database management concepts.
• What is the difference between SQL and NoSQL databases?
• Explain ACID properties in DBMS.
• What are joins in SQL? Explain different types.
• What is normalization, and why is it important?
• Explain the difference between DELETE and TRUNCATE in SQL.

6. Java Reflection & Exception Handling

• What is reflection?
• Where are you using reflection in your project?
• What is a marker interface?
• Can we have a try block and finally without a catch block?
• Difference between throws and throw keyword.
• Difference between checked and unchecked exceptions with examples.
• Use of final, finally, and finalize keywords.

7. Miscellaneous Question
Algorithm & Programming Concepts

• Simple program to remove duplicate elements from an array.

• What is the Fibonacci sequence?
• Given an array of integers, find the missing number in a sequence.

8. C and C++ Concepts

• What are pointers in C, and how do they work?

• Difference between C and C++.
• What is the difference between malloc() and calloc()?
• What is a dangling pointer, and how can it be avoided?
• Explain the concept of dynamic memory allocation in C.
• What is the difference between struct and class in C++?

9. Operating System (OS) Concepts

• Explain memory management in Operating Systems.

• What are deadlocks, and how can they be prevented?
• What is the difference between process and thread?
• Explain paging and segmentation in an OS.
• What are different types of scheduling algorithms?
• What is virtual memory, and how does it work?
Final Discussion & Conclusion

• Brief introduction.
• Why HCL?
• Why should we hire you?
• What are your hobbies?
• What was your role in the project?
• Any achievements during college life?
• Internship experience.
• Do you have any questions for the interviewer?
• Any feedback from the interviewer.