HCL exams and roles info

1. HCL Recruitment Overview

HCL Technologies hires candidates through multiple channels:

• On-Campus Drives: For fresh graduates from engineering colleges.
• Off-Campus Drives: Open to freshers who missed campus placements.
• Referral Drives: Current employees refer candidates.
• Experienced Hiring: Lateral hiring for experienced professionals.

HCL primarily recruits for technical and IT-related roles but also occasionally hires for business operations, analytics, and sales support roles.

2. HCL Roles

HCL offers various roles depending on the profile, experience, and skills:

A. Graduate Engineer Trainee (GET)

• Eligibility: Freshers (B.Tech/B.E/M.Tech), 60%+ marks in academics, no backlogs.
• Profile: Software development, support, and maintenance in IT projects.
• CTC: ~4.3 LPA (varies based on location and role).

B. Specialist Roles

• HCL hires for domain-specific roles based on branch/skills:
  • Software Developer – Coding, application development.
  • Network Engineer – Networking, servers, and IT infrastructure.
  • Database Administrator – SQL, Oracle, and database maintenance.
  • Cybersecurity Analyst – Security monitoring, ethical hacking.
  • Testing Engineer/QA Analyst – Automation/manual testing for software.

C. Lateral/Experienced Hiring

• HCL recruits experienced professionals in software, cloud, data analytics, AI/ML, DevOps, and IT consulting.

3. HCL Recruitment Exams

The recruitment process varies by role. For freshers, it generally has two main stages:

A. Online Written Test (Cognitive/Assessment Test)

• Purpose: Screening for basic aptitude and technical knowledge.
• Duration: 60–75 minutes
• Sections:
  1. Quantitative Ability / Numerical Ability – 15–20 questions on arithmetic, algebra, percentages, etc.
  2. Logical Reasoning – 15–20 questions on sequences, puzzles, arrangements, coding-decoding.
  3. Verbal Ability – 15–20 questions on grammar, comprehension, vocabulary.
  4. Computer Fundamentals / IT Basics – 25–30 questions on basics of programming, networking, operating systems, DBMS.
• Difficulty: Medium; candidates with strong basics can score well.
• Negative Marking: Usually none for GET positions.

B. Coding Test (Optional for some roles, like PGET/Technical Roles)

• 1–3 questions on algorithms, data structures, or problem-solving.
• Platforms: HackerRank, Codility, or internal HCL portal.
• Languages: C, C++, Java, Python.

4. Interview Rounds

After the exams, HCL conducts interviews:

A. Technical Interview

• Duration: 30–90 minutes
• Focus Areas:
  • Programming languages mentioned in resume (C/C++/Java/Python)
  • Database (SQL, Normalization, ACID properties)
  • DSA (Stacks, Queues, Linked Lists, Trees, Recursion)
  • Branch-specific questions for ECE, EEE, ME, etc.
  • Internship or projects mentioned in the resume
  • Real-time coding/algorithm problems

B. HR Interview

• Duration: 15–30 minutes
• Focus Areas:
  • Self-introduction, career goals, strengths and weaknesses
  • Willingness to relocate or work in shifts
  • Salary expectations
  • HCL knowledge (services, products, culture)
  • Behavioral and situational questions

5. Special Notes

• HCL PGET (Premier Graduate Engineer Trainee):
  • Includes an additional coding round and higher salary than GET.
  • Targets candidates with exceptional programming or domain skills.
• HCL GET Recruitment Ratio:
  • Varies by college tier; typically 20–30% candidates pass the initial assessment.
  • Technical interviews eliminate ~80–90% of candidates.
  • Final selection depends on overall performance in all rounds.

6. HCL Benefits for GET

• Salary: ~4.3 LPA (in-hand varies by city and deductions)
• Perks: Relocation allowance, insurance, fitness reimbursement, food allowance, flexible benefits points.
• Growth: Annual increments 15–25% depending on performance and appraisals.