The third and final stage of IAS examinations is the interview which is conducted after the Mains examinations. The core objectives of the interview are- to judge the knowledge and overall personality of the aspirant. These include knowledge, administrative skills, communication ability, and interpersonal skill, everything all together of an aspirant. Being a civil servant is not a simple desk job and how fit are you to take the burden is all about the interview, to sum up.
There are some very important points you should take care of:
Proper Dress Code:
For an official event, the first and foremost thing that is keenly noticed by the higher authority is how are you dressed up. Maintaining a proper dress code is essential in an IAS interview as well as it shows your taste. It is highly suggested to wear formal attires in IAS interviews. Dark colored formal bottom wears paired with light colored formal shirt and formal shoes are suggested for male aspirants. While female aspirants should wear traditional formal attires such as Saree, Salwar Kameez, or mekhela chadar (in case of APSC interview) in sober colours and decent patterns paired up with flat sandals and minimal jewelry.
Good Communication Skill:
Interviews are held not just to test your knowledge but to analyze your communication skills. To grab the interviewer’s attention, aspirants must pound on effective vocalizations. Remember, these interviews are not about speaking for longer durations but about making sense while expressing your points avoiding irrelevant points.
Being Mentally Prepared:
Physical, as well as mental preparedness, is very crucial for your success. UPSC CCE or any state civil service exams are stressful things! That is why you should take care of your physical as well as mental health by having a healthy meal, trying light exercise, yoga, and meditation. Also do consider taking short breaks with your loved ones which makes your mind happy, relaxed, and overall content.
Positive Body Language :
Effective body language can work wonders in an interview instead of being pretentious. It helps you a lot even though you might not answer all of the questions correctly.
Get ready with FCQ (Few Common Questions):
There is some set of common questions likely to be asked by the interviewers in UPSC interviews. These questions can be referred to as, reasons for choosing civil service as a profession, reasons for giving preferences for the order of services, etc. Moreover, if you have a job background already, you might be asked reasons for switching your profession, pros and cons about your past and present company. Be a critical thinker and prepare your questions wisely, as they might be testing your reliability.
Be Up-To-Date With Your Current Affairs & Optional Subjects:
Current affairs remain an integral part of the entire civil service journey. You must keep yourselves very much updated with the regional, national and international current happenings. Read newspapers every day and watch good news shows and make it a habit.
Be Smart Enough to Know Yourself :
“Tell us about yourself” is a very common question asked in almost all the interviews. This is to know about a candidate’s knowledge about his own strengths and weaknesses, their past experiences and future goals in life. You should know each and every word of your CV and very carefully practice all the possible points mentioned in there.
Common Sense:
One of the important aspects of this interview is to judge the character and personality of the aspirants. You will be evaluated on factors like honesty, logic, unbiased, and presence of mind. There will be some trick questions that you might not answer but you have to be very smart while dealing with the same. Moreover, take some time before answering every question and try to think logically about whatever they ask.
Last Words:
An ideal aspirant should have etiquettes and an impressive personality. The points mentioned above are should be practiced carefully if you want to crack the IAS interview with flying colors!
Good Luck…