Interview- (Part-I)

Interview- (Part-I)

 Mains results should be out any time soon. Interview even though accounts for only 300 marks is nonetheless very crucial in getting us the service we want. A brilliant mains performance punctuated by a terrible interview score is likely to upset all our calculations. I think this is the toughest part of the entire process only for the reason that it is highly unpredictable. I intend to divide this post into two parts. Part-I is about My own preparation for the interview and some general DO's and DON'Ts for the interview. Part-II will be the factual narration of my interview as much as I can recall.


PART-I


I finished my mains on November 5, 2008 and joined the office of Mr. Shailesh Gandhi, CIC the very next day. By the time I finished writing the mains, I was so fed up with it that I decided to keep UPSC completely away from my work. I had completely forgotten about it, except for the occasional reminders that I would get from family and friends enquiring about the result. Interview preparation was the last thing on my mind and I had no plans to prepare for it until the results were out.

I still remember the day when the results were out. I was at work busy doing nothing very important. Nitin, a friend from Kanpur, called to say that the results were out and he did not make it. He did not sound too sad about not clearing it. He then asked, if I had checked mine. I said no and told him that I was not free and would check whenever I was done with my work. For some reason, I did not feel any strong urge to check my result then. Looking at my disinterestedness, he then volunteered to check it for me. I was happy to let him do the honours. Gave him my roll no, hoping that I had remembered it correctly. I think in the first instance he missed my roll no and told me it was not there. I was not too sad to hear that and told him we will work harder next year. Even before I could finish, he asked me to hang on and in the meanwhile he looked for my roll no again and found it this time in the list.

Was I happy to know that I had cleared the exam? Oh yes,there was a sense of satisfaction and relief but I was definitely not jumping with joy. Mr. Gandhi, my ever generous and caring boss distributed chocolates to every one in the office. I had to tell him and everyone at work that I still had the last hurdle to clear and clearing mains is no guarantee that I will make it to the final list. Called up home to tell my parents and my brother and then got back to work. But the call did not stop coming. Friends and family kept calling entire evening.

I had already booked my ticket to visit home for Holi and did not want to cancel it. But I was beginning to get worried now since I had very little time to brush up even the current affairs. I went ahead with my plan any way. Went home for a week, had a good Holi and came back all rejuvenated. Next day, I went to Vajiram to enquire about their mock interviews and filled up the form for a mock interview with Mr. Raveendran. It was there that I heard people talking about "Samkalp" an institute that provided guidance for interview. I was told it was somewhere near Jhandewalan and I could get information about them from the RSS Headquarter there. On my way back to home from Vajiram, I got down at the Jhandewalan metro station, went to the RSS HQ and got the no of the gentleman who was in charge of the interview Programme. I called him to find out if I could attend their programme. I was politely told, that I was very late and they will not be able to accommodate me.

I had very little time at hand. I think a week or so. I was beginning to panic now. I turned to my friends and seniors who had already gone through the grind and had come out with the flying colours. I think I spoke to Abu (a very close friend from college days and now training for Foreign Services), almost daily and discussed the probable areas that I should focus on. I also spoke to my seniors Anoop and Aparna and was benefited greatly by my interaction with them. Aparna has been a great source of encouragement and support throughout. She made me read out the answers that I had prepared for the probable questions and gave her invaluable feedback on the same.

Since, I did not even have enough time to brush up even law, there was no question of looking at pub-ad for the interview. I browsed on the net for the recent developments in the legal field and read few issues of Frontline and the Economist. Amidst all this chaos, I went and did my mock with Mr. Raveendran. That was a big morale booster. I got excellent feed back there and was little less panicky now than I was before. After a day or two, I went for one more mock at ALS. The mock interview at ALS was of great help because they not only grilled me thoroughly but also gave me valuable feedback on my body language and hand movements. I had this wonderful habit of telling "that's right sir" little too often. I was politely told that I should not be doing that since it did not sound very appropriate.I got an excellent feed back at ALS too.

While I was happy to get these feed backs, I also knew that they were only an indication of how the interview might go. I think this was some 3 days before my interview. But I was confident now and spent last 2 days going through my mains form again and preparing for all the possible questions that could be asked. I wrote the answers, rewrote them, spoke them aloud till I was satisfied with my answers.

That was how I went about my interview. Would I do it differently the second time around? The answer is NO. Is preparing for the interview in the last 10 days only a good idea? The answer is: I Do NOT KNOW. It worked for me (I got 216/300) but it might not work for you. Having said that, I believe its difficult to prepare for an interview since, it is largely the test of our personality than the knowledge that we have acquired over the years. We can not change into a different person in a short span of few months. Therefore, my advice would be to take it easy, be yourself and do not lose sleep over it.

DO's and DON'Ts

DO's

(i) Please read the mains form very carefully. It is very likely that many of the questions will revolve around the information that you have filled in the form. Please formulate answers to some of the expected questions and rehearse them well at home before the grand finale.

(ii) Do read about your Home State, Home District, Educational institution you went to in great details. Ignorance about any historical/important facts associated with these places is not bliss in the UPSC interview.

(iii) Please know the fundamentals of your graduate/post graduate subject well. Not knowing them is unpardonable. Interview isn't only the test of personality. Very often candidates are grilled on their academic background too. I was asked quite a few law related questions.

(iv) Please be well informed and well aware of the events in and outside the country. You can revise your GS notes and also read the last few issues of any decent magazine. For example: rationale for the smaller states could be a probable question because of the ongoing Telangana agitation. Resumption of dialogue with Pakistan is another example. Knowing facts might not be enough. Try and answer questions like: Does dialogue help? What are the alternatives to the dialogue? etc.etc.

(v) No doubt honesty is the best policy when it comes to the interview but brutal honesty at times might not be a brilliant idea. Certain amount of diplomacy(not dishonesty) might go a long way in improving your score card.

(vi) Mock interviews are helpful. But do not overdo it. 2 or 3 mocks from different places should be sufficent.

(vii) Do maintain eye contact. Be polite (not docile), keep the aggression to yourself, apologise if you have had the slip of the tongue. Keep an easy demeanour. Do not force a smile on yourself but do not look hassled either.


DON'Ts

(i) Do not lie to the Board. Once you are trapped in the kingdom of lies, you would never be able to get out of it.

(ii) Do not give the wrong answer if you do not know the answer. We are not expected to have an answer to every question. Say sorry if you do not know. (I said sorry several times in the course of my short interview)Do not guess unless you are asked to.

(iii) Do not jump with your answer even before the member has finished asking her question. Think it over and then answer clearly and concisely. Please be precise and do not beat around the bush. (no one has time to listen to our pearls of wisdom in extensive details)

(iv) Do not give them reasons to ask questions, to which you do not have convincing answers. For example wearing stones in all your fingers,any visible religious marks etc.

(v) People with bad sense of dressing, Please ask your friends and family to help you choose the right attire for the occasion. Being shabbily dressed is a big No. I remember a gentleman who was not wearing his tie, was asked why he was not when every one else was. I am sure he would not have been judged on that count but then why take a chance?