At Infosys the interview is not decided by the technical rounds alone; the education and experience checks at the end weigh as heavily as any coding answer. It is not a product-company algorithm gauntlet, and candidates who prepare for it like one aim at the wrong target, because the process leans on computer-science fundamentals, depth in whatever tech stack you have claimed on your CV, and strict verification of your background. Most of the candidate reports behind this guide come from experienced and lateral hires and from the Specialist Programmer track, so that is where the detail is richest.
The shape of the process varies by role. It usually begins on the Infosys careers portal, where you are shortlisted against a specific skillset event, a step that can stall or misfire (one candidate was shortlisted and then told no event was planned for their skillset). Experienced hires often describe a shorter path, a single technical round followed by HR. The Specialist Programmer route puts an online assessment first, cleared before the technical round is scheduled, and one Technology Analyst candidate described two technical rounds and a phone screen ahead of the HR round.
On the technical side the bar is fair rather than brutal for anyone with real experience. Reported questions cover trees, strings, OOP, DBMS and SQL, plus depth in whatever stack sits on your CV, such as Spring Boot or .NET. In the fullest write-up, one Specialist Programmer hand-wrote a string problem on paper, walked through its time complexity, and after asking to be graded was given a seven out of ten with advice to shore up the fundamentals. The style is closer to a viva that checks understanding than a grilling on hard algorithms.
The recurring pain point sits at the end. Candidates clear the technical rounds and then reach the HR and background-verification stage, where Infosys recalculates counted experience (discounting a degree earned while working full-time, docking an education shortfall, or reading a certificate whose date slipped a year) and drops the salary band or pulls out late. The offer itself can drag: one candidate waited over a month for a package that leaned on variable pay, though another was quoted 90 percent fixed, so there is no single rule. One more cleared everything, reached salary discussion with HR, was promised the letter, and then heard nothing for two months. Treat the paperwork as seriously as the code, because at Infosys it decides as much.
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See how it worksThe interview process, round by round
- Application and shortlisting Infosys careers portal
You apply through the Infosys careers portal and wait to be matched to a hiring event for your specific skillset. Reports describe this stage as unpredictable: shortlisted candidates told no event is planned for their skills, interview invites that never arrive, and document-verification mails that do not line up with anything showing on the portal.
- Online Assessment (OA) Online
For the Specialist Programmer route, an online test is the first gate you clear before an interview is scheduled. One candidate described it as an anxious first hurdle before the technical round.
- Technical interview One to two rounds, in person
Often more of a viva than a whiteboard marathon. Expect data structures (trees, strings), core OOP and Java, DBMS and SQL, and detailed questions on the stack listed on your CV. One candidate reported writing pseudocode and hand-writing a string problem on paper, then stating its time complexity. One Technology Analyst candidate, by contrast, faced two technical rounds plus a phone screen.
- HR round Salary and verification
Presented as a formality on the surface (relocation, salary discussion, and the experience and education checks), but this is where experience and education are checked in earnest. Two candidates cleared every technical round and were only then told their counted experience fell short of the requirement.
- Background verification and document check Portal and email
Infosys verifies your exact graduation date and continuous experience. A degree completed while working full-time, an education gap, or a certificate showing the wrong year can cut your counted years, push you into a lower salary band, or end the process after everything else went well.
Interview questions candidates report
Data structures and coding
- Questions on trees
- Count the frequency of each character in a string (for "aaabbbcc", return a=3, b=3, c=2)
- Remove a specific number from an ArrayList
- State the time complexity of your solution and explain it out loud
- Write the code on paper or as pseudocode rather than in an IDE
OOP and core Java
- Pseudocode covering constructors, recursion and inheritance
- The difference between static and non-static members
- The different ways to create an object in Java
- SOLID principles
Databases: DBMS and SQL
- Core DBMS concepts
- Two SQL query questions, with one deliberately incorrect to see whether you spot the error
- Write and correct queries under light time pressure
Framework and stack-specific
- Spring Boot concepts
- Walk through a project from your CV in depth
- Role-specific depth for your stack (for example Informatica and ETL, .NET, or DevOps delivery)
HR and verification
- Willingness to relocate (one candidate was told to relocate to Pune)
- Your exact graduation date and total post-graduation experience
What candidates said about the process
This candidate walked through a single wide-ranging technical round. They struggled on the tree questions, then moved to OOP, where the interviewer asked for constructors, recursion and inheritance in pseudocode. DBMS went better, until the interviewer handed over two SQL questions, one of them deliberately wrong, and gave two minutes to spot the flaw. The round finished with a hand-written string problem (counting how many times each character appears) and a talk through its time complexity. At the end the candidate asked to be rated and was given a seven out of ten, with advice to polish the fundamentals.
Read the candidate's account →This candidate cleared two technical rounds and a phone screen, all of which reportedly went well, and reached the final HR round. There they were told their education fell a year short of the requirement (six years expected, five held) and were rejected. Their frustration was that a hard eligibility rule surfaced only at the very end, after everyone's time had already been spent.
Read the candidate's account →This candidate was a senior DevOps engineer at a product company, exploring a lateral move. On their account the technical and delivery conversations went smoothly and HR raised little resistance, so an offer looked close. The problem came later: Infosys found they had finished their bachelor's while working full-time and cut four years off their counted experience, dropping them into a lower salary band. The offer took over a month, arrived as fixed plus variable with no clear structure, and leaned on the variable half to pad the headline figure, so they turned it down.
Read the candidate's account →Moving from another large services firm with several years of Spring Boot experience, this candidate started by explaining a past project, then fielded questions on SOLID principles, the difference between static and non-static, and the various ways to create an object. Asked to remove a number from an ArrayList, they wrote the function but could not get the logic working, before the interviewer moved on to Spring Boot concepts. They left feeling they needed more hands-on practice.
Read the candidate's account →This developer cleared all of the Infosys rounds and reached salary discussion with HR, who said the offer letter would go out the following Monday. Two months later nothing had arrived. It became one of several applications that stalled without explanation, a reminder that clearing the interview is not the same as getting the offer in hand.
Read the candidate's account →How to prepare
- Revise CS fundamentals, not just LeetCode. Infosys leans on OOP, DBMS, SQL and core-language concepts (SOLID, static versus non-static, ways to create an object) far more than hard algorithm puzzles. Dust off the basics you last touched at university.
- Practise away from an IDE. One Specialist Programmer candidate had to hand-write a string problem on paper and sketch recursion, constructors and inheritance without an editor, then give the time complexity. Get comfortable coding without autocomplete.
- Read every question twice, especially SQL. One interviewer handed over a deliberately wrong SQL question purely to see if the candidate would catch it. Sanity-check what you are given before you start answering.
- Know your own stack cold. Whatever you list on your CV (Spring Boot, .NET, Informatica) is fair game, and you will be asked to walk through a past project in real detail.
- Get your dates and documents straight before the HR stage. The most painful rejections here are about experience maths: degrees earned while working, education gaps, certificate dates that slipped a year. Have your exact graduation date and a clean continuous-experience story ready.
- Expect a slow, paperwork-heavy offer. Offers can take over a month, sometimes lean on variable pay, and stall on the portal. Keep other options warm and do not resign until the letter is actually in your hand.
Frequently asked questions
How many rounds is the Infosys interview?
It varies by role. Experienced hires often report a single technical round plus HR. The Specialist Programmer track adds an online assessment before the technical round, and one Technology Analyst candidate reported two technical rounds followed by a phone screen ahead of HR.
What is the Infosys Specialist Programmer interview like?
It starts with an online assessment, then a technical interview covering data structures (trees, strings), OOP in pseudocode, DBMS and SQL. One candidate wrote a string problem out on paper and, having asked to be rated, got a seven out of ten with advice on which concepts to polish.
Is the Infosys technical interview hard?
For someone with genuine experience it is generally not brutal. It rewards solid CS fundamentals and depth in your own stack over hard algorithm puzzles. Candidates report core-Java, SQL and Spring Boot questions far more than LeetCode-hard problems.
Why do people get rejected after clearing all the rounds?
The recurring reason in candidate reports is experience or education verification at the HR and background stage. A degree completed while working, an education gap, or a certificate date mismatch can cut your counted experience, drop your salary band, or end the process late.
What questions does Infosys ask?
Reported topics include trees, string manipulation (such as counting character frequency), removing an element from an ArrayList, OOP (constructors, recursion, inheritance), SOLID, static versus non-static, DBMS, SQL, and Spring Boot concepts.
How long does the Infosys offer process take?
It can be slow. One candidate waited over a month for an offer that leaned on variable pay, while another was quoted 90 percent fixed, so the split is not fixed. In one case a candidate was told the offer letter was coming and then heard nothing for two months.
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