Cognizant vs LinkedIn Interview Questions
Cognizant lists 29 LeetCode interview questions while LinkedIn lists 141. They share 9 problems — 31% of Cognizant's bank and 6% of LinkedIn's. Focus on the overlap first, then drill into 20 Cognizant-only and 132 LinkedIn-only questions.
Overview
Preparation Strategy
Step 1 — Shared core: Solve the 9 overlapping problems first. These are the highest-yield questions for candidates interviewing at both Cognizant and LinkedIn.
Step 2 — Company-specific depth: Add Cognizant-specific problems like Palindrome Number, Count Subarrays of Length Three With a Condition, Smallest Value of the Rearranged Number and LinkedIn-specific problems from the exclusive lists below.
Step 3 — Difficulty tuning: LinkedIn skews harder in our data. Budget extra time for Hard problems if you are targeting that company.
Difficulty Comparison
Top Shared Topics
9 Shared Questions
High-priority problems to practice for both Cognizant and LinkedIn.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Two Sum | Easy |
| Longest Palindromic Substring | Medium |
| Maximum Subarray | Medium |
| Valid Parentheses | Easy |
| Median of Two Sorted Arrays | Hard |
| Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters | Medium |
| Merge Sorted Array | Easy |
| Merge Two Sorted Lists | Easy |
| Fizz Buzz | Easy |
Unique to Cognizant (20)
Problems in Cognizant's list that do not appear at LinkedIn.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Palindrome Number | Easy |
| Count Subarrays of Length Three With a Condition | Easy |
| Smallest Value of the Rearranged Number | Medium |
| Fibonacci Number | Easy |
| Valid Anagram | Easy |
| Second Highest Salary | Medium |
| Remove Duplicates from Sorted Array | Easy |
| Longest Common Prefix | Easy |
| Managers with at Least 5 Direct Reports | Medium |
| Reverse Integer | Medium |
| Product Sales Analysis I | Easy |
| Count Primes | Medium |
Unique to LinkedIn (132)
Problems in LinkedIn's list that do not appear at Cognizant.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Max Stack | Hard |
| Nested List Weight Sum II | Medium |
| All O`one Data Structure | Hard |
| Word Ladder | Hard |
| Find the Celebrity | Medium |
| Nested List Weight Sum | Medium |
| Design Authentication Manager | Medium |
| Find Leaves of Binary Tree | Medium |
| Shortest Word Distance II | Medium |
| Max Consecutive Ones III | Medium |
| Number of Islands | Medium |
| Maximum Product Subarray | Medium |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many LeetCode questions do Cognizant and LinkedIn share?
Cognizant and LinkedIn share 9 LeetCode interview questions. 20 problems appear only in Cognizant's list and 132 appear only in LinkedIn's list.
What topics overlap most between Cognizant and LinkedIn?
The most common shared topics between Cognizant and LinkedIn are Array (4 shared questions), String (4 shared questions), Hash Table (2 shared questions), Two Pointers (2 shared questions), Dynamic Programming (2 shared questions). Mastering these areas prepares you for both companies.
Which company asks harder LeetCode questions: Cognizant or LinkedIn?
Cognizant has 18 Easy, 10 Medium, and 1 Hard questions. LinkedIn has 25 Easy, 90 Medium, and 26 Hard questions. LinkedIn has a higher proportion of Hard problems in its interview set.
How should I prepare if interviewing at both Cognizant and LinkedIn?
Start with the 9 shared problems since they cover what both companies ask most often. Then add 20 Cognizant-specific and 20 LinkedIn-specific questions to round out your prep.