Joining the prestigious Indian Civil Services has been a cherished dream for decades, for millions of young aspirants. The year-long, three-stage selection process called the Civil Services Examination, conducted by the UPSC, culminates with the personality test or the interview. With nearly 275 marks (out of 2025) in the fray, the personality test represents the make or break stage for the nearly 3,000 aspirants called for it.
So, what is the test of personality all about and how is it conducted? This test is usually held around March to May. The various Boards constituted by the UPSC conduct the interview by posing questions, seeking views and assessing the objective appreciation of a candidate regarding different issues of national and international significance.
Further, areas related to their personal profile as disclosed in their ‘detailed application form’ (DAF), submitted to the UPSC, form a crucial domain of evaluation.
A conversation
The tenor of the interview is that of a purposeful conversation. The objective is the assessment of the thoughts and overall personality of the candidate and not merely bookish knowledge or theoretical concepts. The most important qualities the Board endeavours to assess in the aspirants is her/his ability to think and analyse, coupled with an honest and positive approach, sincerity of purpose and willingness to toil. But how to go about the preparation? Here are a few helpful and practical tips.
The preparation can begin with a more purposeful reading of newspapers and magazines. The issues of national and international significance often form the nucleus around which the interview revolves. As such, aspirants must go through a couple of national dailies and at least one good magazine (preferably The Frontline ).
It is advisable to collect the old issues or go through the net archives of a magazine and identify the articles of national/international/regional importance and those of enduring significance. Go through them and prepare brief notes on them.
Note-making should be precise as well as concise. Once one has gone through the article, one must reflect on it and ask oneself: is it of relevance to me? If yes, then is it worth making a note or can I mentally summarise the essence of the article? Am I in agreement with what is stated in it? If not, why? Always endeavour to analyse the viewpoint expressed and develop your own perspective. Identify the most important points in it and jot down such three to five salient points in a small note book/spiral pad/smart phone.
Television too is an important aid for preparation. However, discretion needs to be exercised as to what and how much to watch. It advisable to watch prime time news on national channels. Listening to All India Radio (FM Gold) and programmes like ‘News at Nine’ ‘Market Mantra’ ‘Spot-light’, etc. are equally good options.
The Internet has emerged as a viable option for all of the above and more. Internet resources are rather valuable while working in areas related to one’s personal profile (DAF). However, beware, net surfing can be addictive and at times a drain on your time.
Besides the above, widen the horizon of your thoughts by reading good books (non-fiction) authored by the likes of Dr. Kalam, Ramchandra Guha, Narayana Murthy, Amartaya Sen etc. Also look out to meet successful candidates of past years’ or experts/seniors etc. from the field of your job, educational, discipline etc.
The author is an IRS officer and author of ‘Civil Services Interview: How to Excel’, and other civil services examination preparation books.
