Relaunch your career with Cognizant
At Cognizant, we value diverse perspectives and are committed to creating inclusive workspaces, strengthening our ability to take on the challenges of an increasingly competitive digital world.

The decision to re-enter the workforce after an extended career break can be both exciting and challenging. We believe a pause in your career to pursue other important life callings helps you emerge not only stronger, but raring to go.

Transition back into the workforce through the Cognizant® Returnship Program, a 3 month paid experience for talented technology professionals 

•    With a minimum of 5 years of prior professional working experience 
•    With at least 18 months of a career break 

Update your skills in a supportive work environment, get involved with real-time projects and work with cutting edge tools and technology. You’ll be considered for a position with Cognizant at the conclusion of the program. The exact technical requirements will vary with the job roles under consideration and will be subject to the business needs, from time to time.

Power your confidence and your next big step.
Join us in engineering modern businesses to improve everyday life.

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Testimonials
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Maryam Saffari,
Sr. Engineering Manager - USA 

As a working mom, I had this unrealistic expectation that I should be able to do everything perfectly – a successful and fulfilling high tech career, raising a happy family and taking care of my elderly parents. 

I eventually conceded. With over 12 years of experience leading software engineering projects at Oracle, I took a break to raise a family initially and continued the break in order to take care of a parent who had a terminal illness.

Coming out of an 18-year break, I was beyond ready to go back to work. There was a strong feeling within me that I had more to give and that I could make a positive impact on the world that was greater than what I was able to do by being a caregiver.

In researching Cognizant, I knew I would get exposed to latest technology. Even more importantly, through the interview process, I felt that every person respected me, my ability, my experience, my enthusiasm and mostly my choice of taking a break for my family.
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Cognizant’s training and the people working here are its best assets. The guidance I have received at every step has helped me do my best work. Additionally, the comradery and collaboration I am experiencing within my cohort has been one of the best parts of this experience. It is such a pleasure to work with like-minded and very smart people.
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Abhishek Kalla,
Sr Agilist, Project Manager - India
I had 12+ years of experience and was working as a Project Lead when I had taken the career break. I returned to be with my family and tried to setup something of my own. However, due to the pandemic it couldn’t progress much. The best part of the year 2021 was when I got the call from Cognizant regarding the Returnship Program. I was a bit sceptical initially as I had never heard of any such programs being run by any of the organizations, but decided to give it a try and it turned out to be the best decision of my life. I am happy to be a part of an organization that pioneered this approach (in India) and many orgs have followed suit since then…
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The program helped me realize that, I still have the capability to shine and just need a little polishing. The training programs are the best - designed to do just that and help to cover up for lost knowledge. The best team , best mentors. The most important part is that it gave me an immensely extra-ordinary opportunity to be part of the workforce again and instil that confidence in all the participants which we had somehow lost in those years of exile. It’s the best program. Kudos to the team and really a BIG THANK YOU for ideating and sharing this opportunity.
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Manju Vasundhara,
Delivery Manager - India 
The Cognizant Returnship program has been a perfect fit for me and a great launch-pad after a career break. I have 18+ years of experience in performing diverse project management roles  for large scale technology projects. After spending 18 long years in IT, I took a break to guide and support my daughter with her board exams. The 3 year break allowed me to channelize my energy towards my family, rejuvenate, regroup and even pursue my hobbies - dancing, reading and swimming.

​​​​​​​After a few years of staying home, I felt reenergized to return to work. I was thrilled to receive a call from Cognizant regarding the Returnship Program. I re-entered the workforce as part of an industry with the Project Management Office. Through this program I was able to enhance my knowledge and learn about processes, program management and got an opportunity to refresh my learnings and was able to perform to the expectations for the projects allocated to me. I have found a team that helps me thrive! I’m an ex-Cognizant associate and the Returnship Program gave me the opportunity to be a part of this exceptional organization once again, where everyone is treated like family. 
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If you have a disability that requires a reasonable accommodation to search for a job opening or submit an application, please email CareersNA2@cognizant.com with your request and contact information.

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Some job candidates have reported receiving fraudulent offers after posting their resumes on certain websites and portals from people posing as Cognizant employees. These notifications may involve promises regarding the selection process. In some cases, prospective candidates are asked for payment as a condition for consideration. The documents may appear legitimate, with our company logo or personal details taken from social networking pages. They may include a job description and salary details.

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If you receive any offers you suspect are fraudulent, please email us at tagcompliance2@cognizant.com

By making you aware of this, we hope to avoid, and ultimately prevent, unsuspecting prospective candidates from falling victim to this scam.