Trending @Cognizant; New Joinee (need suggestions)

Use Udemy to skill up and have updated CV and try to switch as early as you can.

As per policy you can enjoy the 18 month cooling period without doing anything too, but why spoil your own career. There are so many smart practices in Cognizant to keep you engaged. 1st on bench, 2nd allocated to project but no access, 3rd allocated to project with access to client vdi but no application access no KT, 4th got all accesses but no work...and so on...

As a PAT for 1 year you won’t have much work even if get tagged to a project, make use of this precious time, explore other options such as GATE, GRE, CAT, other govt exams or if you want to proceed with the existing graph- keep studying different technologies, build portfolio project. Make use of this time effectively!

What is your domain? Or service line?

On how much package you joined as GENC

If you are lucky you will get some free time for around 2-5 months, first focus on developing skills rather than office friendships, because they don't help and I have faced it. Try to complete external certifications as much as possible

Use Udemy upskill and start looking out