The civil services is not easy to crack, but you don't have to be a topper in school and college to make it into the premium services of the country, observed Hyderabad City Police Commissioner A.K. Khan.
Infusing a sense of confidence among hundreds of aspirants who listened to him in rapt attention, Mr. Khan said that determined efforts will yield positive results. Those who miss out the first time should keep trying with same enthusiasm and luck would favour them, he said.
He was speaking to aspirants at a seminar on “Civil Services Aptitude Test: 2012 – Approach and Opportunities”, organised by The Hindu in association with TIME Pvt. Ltd at the Sundarayya Vignana Kendram here on Sunday.
Boosting their morale, he said officers with innovative ideas and lateral thinking succeed in the profession than those with a brilliant academic record. Referring to the negative image being projected about civil services officers, he asked aspirants to look at the positive side of services that provide an opportunity to serve millions of countrymen. He said the next five years will throw up more vacancies due to the huge shortage of officers and this was to the advantage of aspirants. DCP (Traffic), Hyderabad, A. Ravi Krishna, a 2006 batch officer, instantly connected with the young aspirants sharing his experiences about style of preparation, his initial exciting days in the profession, and how it provided the opportunity to change things in society. He advised them to pick up positive stories from newspapers to read and those related to the examination like development, economy, business and government policies.
“Read editorials and articles written by experts and then write on the same topic with your perspective, and analyse it. Practice makes one perfect apart from giving a new perspective to preparation,” he said.
Regarding choosing optionals, he reminded that availability of study material and good coaching facilities should be considered apart from interest. Working professionals can also be successful if their preparation is qualitative. Dream, visualise your dreams, keep away worries and have faith to achieve success, he said referring to Mahatma Gandhi's famous quote, “Faith, it moves mountains.”
TIME director P. Vishwanth threw light on the changes brought in the civil services examination since last year and how aspirants need to prepare. He presented an analysis of the types of questions asked in the changed format and the new areas where aspirants were tested. He said TIME had studied tests conducted to recruit civil servants across the world which helped it understand the new format and guide students accordingly.
