Cisco Software Engineer interview: fair questions and disputed cheating concern

I entered the interviews confident because the questions matched my strengths: backend concepts, Java, system design, and coding. The interaction felt positive, and I believed I answered clearly.

After the rejection, I spoke with HR to understand what happened. I learned that the interviewer thought I was looking at answers during the interview. That surprised me because I was not using anything external. I tend to look away while thinking or trying to recall concepts, and I think that may have been read as cheating.

The questions felt fair, and I do not dispute that the evaluation resulted in no offer. Still, I was uncomfortable that my technical performance seemed overshadowed by a misunderstanding that was never clarified in real time.

Location: Bengaluru. Overall feedback: Negative. Offer status: No offer.