Good People, Good Opportunities, but A Big Corporation - Associate Software Engineer Cognizant Employee Review

4.0
2 Sept 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Great, high-profile clients - Enrichment (udemy, etc) - Good Pay and Benefits

Cons

- Onboarding was confusing - COLA statements were misleading - It is a large organization. Communication mix ups can lead to problems. - Highly bureaucratic -- way too many meetings for nothing - Often expected to be available/work/check emails well into the evening AND very early in the morning ! - Little to no assistance in finding new projects once you are on the bench That is the big one. Admittedly, I was benched during the pandemic but, if anything, that is even more reason to give assistance to us. We were benched through no fault of our own. There was a lot of lip service about getting us new projects, but there was no plan in place for how to utilize the many assets released from projects, We were left completely in the dark on whether or not we were being considered for anything aside from the very opaque internal job site. Internal recruiters proposed me for roles for which I did not qualify, and I made no progress. Maybe it would be better under normal circumstances, but I felt very alone in my search for a new role, and all the while management was blaming me for not doing enough. In the end, I felt Cognizant had no interest in retaining me despite that fact that I had been an exemplary employee at every turn.

Explore other reviews about Cognizant

5.0
27 May 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good projects, challenging work, lots to learn

Cons

The way the bench status is structured

1
3.0
17 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Cognizant can be a great place to work at. You have to be self-motivated and driven. You won't often be given a script on how to do your job well. But if you are willing to search for new opportunities, you will find success.

Cons

Just like many other tech companies, layoffs are happening all the time. This often brings many projects to a complete halt. Management never communicates when someone is laid off. And when they are laid off, they often never back fill positions, leaving existing team members working the equivalent of three jobs at once. Most teams there are skeleton crews, ensuring that they cannot reach their full potential.

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