Interview Rounds Explained: L1, L2, Client, Managerial & HR

Recruiters in Indian IT companies describe interviews by round names: "Your L1 is on Thursday", "You've cleared L2, next is the client round", "Only the HR discussion is left". The names are not official and every company uses them a little differently, but the pattern is consistent enough to prepare for.

Here is what each round usually means, who conducts it, what it tests, and how to prepare.

The usual order

For an experienced (lateral) hire, a typical process looks like this:

1. Recruiter screening call: your experience, notice period and salary range, in ten to fifteen minutes.
2. Online assessment, in some companies: a timed coding or MCQ test.
3. L1: the first technical interview.
4. L2: a deeper technical interview.
5. Techno-managerial round: technical depth plus project and team questions. Some companies merge it with L2.
6. Client round, for roles where you will work on a client's project.
7. HR round: salary, notice period, joining date and documents.

For a fresher, on campus or in an off-campus drive, it is usually shorter: an online test (aptitude and coding), a technical interview, then a managerial or HR round, sometimes combined into one.

Not every company has every round. The simplest way to know is to ask the recruiter: "How many rounds are there, and what does each one cover?" It is a normal question, and the answer saves you guesswork.

L1: the first technical round

L1 stands for level 1. It is usually taken by a senior engineer or team lead from the team you would join, and it lasts thirty to sixty minutes.

L1 checks that the skills on your resume are real. Expect:

• Questions on the main technologies on your resume, starting basic and going one level deeper each time.
• Live coding or writing a SQL query, often on a shared screen or a coding link.
• Questions about your current or final-year project: what you built, and why you chose your stack.

How to prepare: revise the fundamentals of your main language and your database, and be ready to write code without an IDE's help. The Java, Python, SQL and OOPs questions cover what L1 most often tests, and how to explain your project covers the rest.

L2: the deeper technical round

L2 is the second technical interview, usually with a more senior person: an architect, a technical manager or a principal engineer. It goes deeper than L1 and moves from "what is" to "how would you".

Expect:

• Scenario questions: "Your API is slow under load. How do you find the cause?"
• Design questions, from a small feature to a full system design for experienced candidates.
• A detailed walk through the hardest thing you have built, with trade-offs and what you would change.

How to prepare: practise answering scenarios out loud, step by step, and review the system design framework if you have three or more years of experience. L2 interviewers reward a clear thought process over a perfect answer.

Techno-managerial round

The techno-managerial round is taken by a project manager, delivery manager or engineering manager. It mixes technical questions with questions about how you work on a real project.

Expect:

• Questions on your project's architecture and your exact role in it.
• How you handle deadlines, changing requirements and production issues.
• Team situations: disagreements with a lead, a teammate who isn't delivering, explaining a delay to a client.
• Process: how your team runs sprints, estimates work and reviews code.

How to prepare: prepare three or four real stories from your work using the STAR method, and go through the managerial round questions, which have sample answers for the situations above.

Client round

The client round happens mainly in IT services companies, when you are being hired for a specific client project. A manager or engineer from the client's side interviews you, sometimes from another country and another time zone.

The client wants to know whether you can work with their team from day one. Expect:

• Technical questions focused on their project's stack, often more practical than in L1 or L2.
• Questions about your experience with similar projects or domains, such as banking, retail or healthcare.
• A check on communication: whether you explain clearly, ask good questions and admit what you don't know.

How to prepare: read the job description closely, ask your recruiter what the client's project involves, and go through the client round questions, which have sample answers. Speak a little slower than usual, avoid your own company's internal jargon, and if you haven't used a tool they mention, say so and explain what you have used instead. Clients value honesty over bluffing, because they will see the truth in the first sprint.

HR round

The HR round is usually the last step. It covers your expectations and logistics rather than your skills, but it can still end the process if the expectations don't match.

For experienced candidates, expect your reason for changing jobs, your current and expected CTC, your notice period and whether you can join earlier, counter-offers, and relocation or shifts. For freshers, expect your strengths and weaknesses, willingness to relocate or work in shifts, the training period and any service agreement.

How to prepare: decide your salary range and your realistic joining date before the call, and keep every number true; many companies verify them. The HR questions for experienced candidates and the HR questions for freshers have sample answers to adapt.

Online tests and automated interviews

Many companies now add a timed online test before the interviews, and some run an automated first interview, where you record answers to set questions or speak with an AI interviewer. These rounds have their own rules, which often forbid any outside help, notes or other software. Read the instructions carefully and follow them; breaking them can end your application.

Frequently asked questions

Is L2 harder than L1?

Usually it is deeper rather than harder. L1 checks whether you know your skills; L2 checks whether you can apply them to problems you haven't seen. Candidates who prepare only definitions find L2 harder; candidates who practise explaining their reasoning often find it easier.

Can the HR round reject me?

Yes. HR can stop the process if your salary expectation is far outside the budget, if your notice period is too long for the role, or if something in your answers doesn't add up. That is why honest, well-reasoned answers matter in this round too.

Do all companies have a client round?

No. It is common in IT services companies and in roles where you are hired for a specific client's project. Product companies usually don't have one.

How long does the whole process take?

It varies widely: from a single day for some campus and walk-in drives, to several weeks for experienced roles with a client round. Ask the recruiter for the expected timeline, and follow up politely if a week passes without news.

How should I prepare for rounds held on video calls?

Most rounds are now online. Test your setup the day before using the checklists for Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or Webex, and practise with mock interviews so speaking your answers out loud feels familiar.

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Next: self introduction for freshers, how to explain your project, and interview questions by topic.