Understanding HCL Recruitment Process (2024) For Freshers

HCL Technologies is one of the top multinational IT companies in India. It is one of the few software pioneers in the Indian entrepreneurial scene that has brought it to the podium on the world stage. After the USA, India is one of the IT powerhouses. HCL is heavily involved in digital technologies, the internet of things (IoT), cloud tech, automation, cybersecurity, analytics, infrastructure management, and engineering. Their employees provide a huge workforce in these areas. So, the HCL recruitment process does its best to filter out the talented IT and CS engineers suitable for the brand motto.

But do you want to go behind the scenes in the HCL technologies recruitment process? Here is a detailed explanation of the procedure.

About HCL Tech (Company Profile)

Before we dive into how the interview process at HCL technologies is conducted, here is a brief overview of the company. Spearheaded by Shiv Nadar, an electronics engineer, and his partners, the company's foundation was set up in Noida. From there, it went on to become a global powerhouse conglomerate providing an IT workforce and building software infrastructure. Since then, HCL has been setting new landmarks.

HCL Recruitment - Job Roles Offered

HCL recruits freshers for the following roles -

Software engineering - These roles are specifically meant for software developers who would be building apps for the local server or for the web.
Data engineering - HCL has an automation division where high-level AI and ML are involved. Data engineers would be absorbed for such roles where data manipulation is done.
Electrical engineering - HCL has a hardware division where hardware boards and chip designing are done. Electrical engineers are expected to handle this division.
Mechanical engineering - If you are interested in product designing, manufacturing, quality checking, and maintenance of the supply chain, then you are the right fit for this division.
Cloud services - If your forte is deploying cloud-based applications and maintenance of the cloud architecture, then you will be hired in this division.
Cybersecurity services - If you want to enter this specific division in HCL, then you would be dealing with system security and how to ward off phishing attacks from the web. You will be performing them at the local server level and at the cloud level also.
Project management - If you are a natural leader and are interested in supervising and coordinating with various team members on projects, planning various stages of the project, recording and maintenance of documentation, and various other aspects of project handling and management, then you should apply in this division.

The application process should be done online. Just mail over your resume on the company's portal and wait for an interview call or you can appear through your college campus placement interviews. If your career goals coincide with HCL's motto then you should give the job interview a shot. Below is the timeline for the HCL recruitment process:

An Insight into the HCL Tech Recruitment Process

HCL is an active recruiter in the IT sector. The company conducts recruitment for both IT and non-IT roles. However, here we will be specifically referring to the IT roles only. Every year HCL hires new talented candidates for various job roles. But how is the selection process conducted? Here is an overview:

The recruitment process of the company normally consists of these 4 rounds:

Round 1: Written/Aptitude Assessment Round

This section of the interview generally comprises an aptitude test, which further consists of questions that are related to logical reasoning, mathematics, and verbal skills, along with your technical grasp of the relevant subjects.

Round 2: Group Discussion

After you clear the aptitude round, you qualify for the Group Discussion (GD) round. Just like a GD is conducted in an MBA interview, here also a GD is kept for the same purpose. Your presence of mind and confidence level shall be checked here. Topics are usually on general/social topics of national importance. You are expected to lay down your points in front of a panel.

Round 3: Technical Interview Round

After you have cleared the previous round, brace yourself for the technical round. In this round of the HCL recruitment process, questions can be asked on programming language topics. The concerned languages are C, C++, and JAVA or you could be asked about operating systems like UNIX and LINUX. A proficient aspirant will be able to crack this round if they are thorough with their programming fundamentals. Apart from the technical ability, your algorithm development concepts will also be checked.

Some of the most common questions asked in the technical interview are related to:

1. Terminologies and related information — Class Cast Exception, Big Data, Nested classes, DBMS, Synchronization, etc.
2. Various cloud computing service models
3. Four pillars of Object-oriented programming systems (OOPs)
4. Java — Finalize () method in Java, Polymorphism in Java, etc.
5. SQL— Joins in SQL, Constraints in SQL
6. Differences between:
• C and Java
• C and C++
• Primary key and Unique key
• Method Overloading and Method Overriding
• Compiler, Interpreter, and Assembler
• Abstract Class and Interface

Round 4: HR Round

The final round of the HCL interview process is the easiest of all. It is for those job aspirants that have cleared the technical interview. In this round, your communication skills will be checked. The recruiters ask general questions in this round. They inquire about your interest in joining HCL and try and understand your motivation and goals in the company. Personal questions about your past work, present responsibilities, and future ambitions are asked. Questions can be random, or for serious considerations, which you are expected to handle with calm and confidence.

This gives you a fair idea of the technical and HR interview rounds. The best way to prepare for the technical skills is to make your data structures and algorithms strong. You should also have updated knowledge of the recent developments in information technology. For the HR round, you need to practice mock interviews beforehand. Have a fair concept of how you wish to present yourself, and prepare ahead for the most possible questions.

There is a tip for grabbing the eyeballs of recruiters. Have a genuine thirst for knowledge and let it be known to them. This specific quality (of never-ending thirst) will certainly get you priority. Just think from the perspective of a hiring manager. Another trick is to have solid algorithm development concepts along with the knowledge of data structures. The technical panel appreciates job applicants with a solid foundation.

Salary Offered in HCL Technologies Limited

The average salary for freshers hired by HCL Technologies India is around ₹ 2.8 LPA. This salary is for those candidates who have an experience of less than 1 to 2 years. The typical salary offered to freshers at Campus Interviews in HCL Technologies is in the range of ₹ 1.7- ₹ 3.7 LPA.

HCL Recruitment for Freshers - Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility criteria can be divided into two parts (a) Graduation criteria and (b) Academic criteria

Graduation criteria

Only full-time courses are considered.
Aspiring candidates should be a B.E/B. Tech fresher from ECE, CSE, EEE, and IT branches.
HCL recruitment process requires the students to have at least 60% in their graduation.
Graduation degree must be from an accredited university by the Central Government of India.
Applying freshers should be graduates of the same year or the previous year.

Academic criteria

Students should have at least 60% in their 10th, 12th, and graduation.
A maximum gap of 1 year is allowed after 12th and not after 10th or in between semesters of graduation.
A candidate should not have any pending backlogs.

HCL Recruitment - Documents Required

The following documents (both original and photocopies) that should be kept ready before you apply for the HCL recruitment process, are mentioned below:

Original mark sheets related to SSC/10th, Intermediate/12th, and graduation should be produced on the date of the interview. You are supposed to carry all documents at the time of the interview.
Updated and latest resume
Recently snapped passport-size photographs
Original Government of India ID proof like Aadhaar card, PAN card, Voter ID, Passport, etc.

HCL Recruitment Policies

Candidates who are ineligible to apply:

Those who have attended the HCL Tech Recruitment process in the past 6 months from the date of application
Rejected candidates are ineligible to apply for 6 months.

If for some reason after application, a candidate misses the recruitment interview, then he/she can apply again.

So, if you aspire to be a part of HCL Technologies, then brush up on your areas of development. With an overview of the process, you can develop your skills as per your requirements. And for all the aspects of an interview process that you are already confident about, keep refining yourself.

Shivangi Vatsal

Sr. Associate Content Strategist @Unstop

I am a storyteller by nature. At Unstop, I tell stories ripe with promise and inspiration, and in life, I voice out the stories of our four-legged furry friends. Providing a prospect of a good life filled with equal opportunities to students and our pawsome buddies helps me sleep better at night. And for those rainy evenings, I turn to my colors.