Cisco is a Silicon Valley giant that leads the global push for progress in cyberspace, but how progressive is its employment policy? Does Cisco Systems drug test for employment? Many potential candidates who wish to work for this multinational company have this question in mind. I have formulated my research on this question in this article to help you get a better picture of what you should expect.
Cisco Systems Company Facts
Cisco Systems has been leading the markets in selling and producing high-tech services and products for the world. They even offer a certification in the name CCNA to people, which is recognizable in companies around the world.
With over 75,000 employees worldwide and headquartered in San Jose, CA, they employ potential employees from almost all areas of interest. That said, most of those revolve around IT and engineering. They also need sales representatives and marketing and finance experts to run their operations. Besides, they hire customer support teams as well.
As you can see, the vastness and scale of the company provides a ton of opportunities for workers worldwide to be a part of one of the biggest companies that provides technology to the IT and security industry to revolutionize it.
Overview of the Application Process
Applying for a position in the company is the same as any other workplace. Initially, you send an application online and then wait for their response for an on-site or over-the-phone interview. The difficulty of the application and interview process will depend on the type of job you are applying for.
According to my research, people who apply for high-grade positions, such as programming and software management, need to pass an extensive and difficult process. For programmers, this may include some coding puzzles and programming solutions.
Conversely, people who apply for less challenging jobs do not necessarily require an expert skill-set; instead, the company will just test your willingness to learn. It is also important to note that Cisco will mostly hire students from top university programs for their internship openings.
Moreover, high-grade hires usually have to sign up on their online job portal, followed by on-site interviews and assessment rounds. Consider all of this with the fact that Cisco will prioritize referrals more than cold hires, and you get a very difficult and competitive application process.
In other words, it is not easy to get a job at Cisco. For high positions in software, you need to be well versed in your field and basic computing. Similarly, you will also need to have basic networking knowledge for lower-level job positions.
CCNA Certification – Is it Important?
As far as the certification requirements go, Cisco may not obligate their CCNA certification as a core requirement, but they certainly give preference to the person who acquires it. The most important criteria for Cisco are expertise and experience in the specific designation. You can prove this by demonstrative measures.
Demonstrating your technical prowess to the company can involve your relative research and information in the form of documents, white paper, or networking protocols if you apply for a high designation as a software engineer.
Overall, my research concluded that entry-level applicants do not require certification; however, the more advanced job may have certification as a criterion. In both circumstances, potential individuals will still have to demonstrate their basic knowledge of the operations of the company.
What to Expect During Cisco Systems Hiring Process?
You can expect Cisco Systems’ hiring process to be a combination of aptitude assessment and technical knowledge tests. Depending on what job you apply for, expect to go through at least three stages of the interview process.
These interviews will not only consist of questions but also assessment activities that you will have to do to show your worth. These interviews and assessments help shortlist individuals for the next interview.
In a way, it allows them to filter out the best people in the bunch. After all the assessments, if Cisco calls you for the final HR interview, then you can almost expect employment at the company. In this interview, you will face questions that encompass your intentions and desires to work for the company.
How Long Does their Hiring Process Take?
After my research on the duration of the process, I found consensus among the people online who claim that the entirety of the hiring process takes around four hours. When it comes to response timing, hiring permanent employees may extend a couple of days because they need to schedule them for all the hiring rounds.
Does Cisco Drug Test for Employment?
In my research, I surprisingly found no information that leads to an extensive and strict drug policy of the company. This may be due to the progressive drug laws of California, the place that is home to the Cisco headquarters.
This, however, does not mean that one can carry and consume drugs in the workspaces of Cisco. According to my findings, Cisco carries out a urine test for pre-employment and may not prioritize a hair follicle test. This shows that they are more lenient towards drug use of the employees despite having legal policies against the possession and consumption of recreational drugs.
California’s friendliness towards the use of marijuana products may influence their drug policies. Reports of marijuana dispensaries in Silicon Valley show that employees of large firms such as Cisco and Facebook make up a large portion of their clientele.
How to Pass Drug Test at Cisco?
If you would like to have the highest possible odds of passing a urine drug test at Cisco, you should be prepared in advance.
If you know your drug test appointment date and you have enough time to detox naturally, you should abstain from using any prohibited substances including marijuana for as long as you can.
If you are a light/moderate user, you need up to 10-12 days to cleanse naturally. For heavy users it requires from 35 up to 90 days to abstain from marijuana.
There are effective whole body detox programs on the market that will significantly speed up your natural body cleansing process. One of the most popular is the Toxin Rid detox program.
If time is an issue, on your drug test day you might consider using a detox drink like XXTRA Clean or Herbal Clean QCarbo20. This approach doesn’t work for heavy users though.
As a backup plan, some heavy users have resorted to using synthetic urine if they are sure that the drug test is unsupervised.
Summery
My research on the drug policies and testing process of Cisco points towards a less conservative drug testing policy.
However, this does not mean that you will not have to make amends to your drug use to achieve success in employment. Remember, policies and procedures are bound to change in response to unexpected events.
We thank you for your interest in our article, “Does Cisco Systems drug test for employment?”
We would love to hear about your experiences going through Cisco Systems hiring process and drug testing procedure.
Moreover, we believe other candidates who are applying for jobs at Cisco Systems will appreciate and benefit from it.
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Helpful links:
“How Long Does Weed (THC) Stay in Your Urine? – Important Data You Need to Know!!!”
“Fact or Fiction – You Can Beat a Drug Test with Home Remedies?”
Learn more here:
PMC, Chemistry, Metabolism, and Toxicology of Cannabis: Clinical Implications
American Journal of Clinical Pathology, The Effects of Adulterants and Selected Ingested Compounds on Drugs-of-Abuse Testing in Urine
Jpo.Wrlc.org, The marijuana detection window: Determining the length of time cannabinoids will remain detectable in urine following smoking
https://drugtestinghq.com/company/cisco/
