List of Do’s !
- In an interview, interviewers form their opinions about interviewee in first few minutes; rest of the time is used to reinforce those opinions. This happens because of the effect of first impression. About the first impressions, a general saying is, “first impression is the last impression.” Looking at this phenomena, it is essential that you create a good impression in the minds of the interviewers. In the UPSC
- Interview board, generally there are five members with the Chairperson seated in the centre. Enter confidently and greet the Chairperson, and pleasantly nod at other members. However, if there is any female member in the interview board, greet her first to show your politeness.
- Be thorough with your Mains Application form.
- Give utmost respect to the board members. Behave gentlemanly & in a formal way. Treat them as colleagues of your parents who are learned & experienced. You must respect their experience & erudite wisdom.
- Always maintain eye-contact with the board members.
- Never look down. When answering look into their eyes. So that they can read your mind. When one member asks you a question, look at him most of the time. But in between for some seconds look at other board members too. But don’t move your head like a fan. Just take them with you while presenting your views. This can be done by eye-contact & facial expressions. But suppose a member asks you a very serious question then don’t smile. Give a serious answer. When they smile, you smile. When they laugh, you smile.
- Wait till you are asked to sit. Take your seat calmly after you are asked to sit, saying thank you to the board members as a whole.
- In answering any question, judge the required patience shown by the member/members talking to you and cut short your answer according to the demand of the situation. Listen carefully and think for a few seconds before you start answering the question. This will show that you are organising your thoughts in mind before starting to speak.
- If an interviewer has asked a question which you could not hear properly, may be because of lack of appropriate loudness of voice of the interviewer, disturbance of any kind, or your own inattention, it is better that you ask gently to the interviewer to repeat his question again. Similarly, there may be possibility that an interviewer may ask a question whose meaning is not as precise as wished. In such a case, you simply say, “sir, do you mean……?” do not feel shy that the interviewer will feel agitated. On the contrary, he will be happy that your approach is precise and this will go in your favour. Instead of giving wrong answer to a question, it is better to ask for repetition and clarification. However, this practice, if adopted quite frequently, becomes annoying. Keep this phenomenon in your mind while using this practice.
- Hold positive views regarding the efforts of government of India & your state government. Don’t criticize government policies too much.
- Answer exactly what they have asked. Don’t beat around the bush, neither say something which they have not asked. Be precise & to the point. Speak the most important point first & then tell other points in the order of their importance.
- If you do not know any of the answers to any question, say politely and firmly that you do not know the answer. This will show that your approach is clear and straight forward.
- If the board compliments any of your answers, do express thanks.
- Leave some room for difference in opinions. Do take a stand, but don’t be or at least don’t look adamant or unwilling to appreciate the board’s opinion if you feel that the board’s opinion is nicer.
- If in answering any question, you make a mistake and the interviewer points out it, accept your mistake. A mistake is a wrong judgment of a situation and acting on that. Therefore, committing a mistake is not very unusual phenomenon while, committing a mistake is a natural phenomenon, persisting on that mistake after it has been discovered is a blunder. Therefore, if you commit any mistake during the interview process, admit it and offer an apology. Do not bring your ego which is false in this process.
- Be objective and unbiased
- Be firm
- Try to remain calm and composed even when faced with provocative questions.
- Take an interview just like a one day cricket match, batsman score runs at a brisk rate during the first few over’s; this rate goes down in the middle over’s; but this rate goes brisk again during the last few overs to score a winning total. In the same way, if you have created good first impression in the beginning of the interview but have faulted in giving the best possible answers of some questions, you can erase the memory of such faulted answers by creating good last impression. For creating good last impression, you can follow the same approach which you might have used in creating good first impression with a slight difference. Generally, chairman of the interview panel closes the interview by saying to the candidate, “thank you” and wishing him good luck.
- Indian constitution is your biggest guide when answering a question which leads to a dilemma. Never say anything which is against the values and ideals enshrined in the constitution.
- Do use your knowledge which you gained while preparing for Ethics and Integrity paper at main’s stage for answering questions which are situational and involve ethical dilemmas.
List of Don’ts !
- Avoid the expression, ‘I am sorry.’
- Avoid conversational clichés, like: ‘as you know’, ‘that’s correct’, ‘of course’, ‘indeed’, ‘obviously’, etc.
- Avoid technical jargon. However, if a member continues to probe you in any technical field, you can use technical expressions.
- Do not make unnecessary movements of your hands, head and your body. But at the same time keep in your mind that you are not sitting unnaturally stiff. Your posture should be attentive and relaxed. Do not crouch or bend forward toward the table.
- Do not make wild guesses or speculations. First listen carefully and then come to the central issue of the inquiry immediately. Moving around the bush will irritate the interviewer.
- Nobody expects that you know everything. So, if you have no idea about a question, politely admit the fact and make an intelligent guess if you are asked to do so.
- Do not go for an argument deliberately with the interview board. In case an argument arises, argue logically and generalize correctly.
- Do not try to read too much between the lines.
- Never try to bluff the interview board. The board members are senior and experience holder. It is always better to be honest in front of the interviewers.
- Do not show over confidence or arrogance in replying to anything even when you are sure that you are 100% right and you are very much comfortable in dealing with the issue on which you have been asked.
- Do not relate unnecessary jokes just to be friendly with the interviewers. However, a situational light joke is fine if at all you can relate it sensibly.
- Never unduly criticize anybody or anything. Always support your position with data.
For more such notes, Articles, News & Views Join our Telegram Channel.
Click the link below to see the details about the UPSC –Civils courses offered by Triumph IAS. https://triumphias.com/pages-all-courses.php