It is the result of your hard work and dedication that you have cleared the second stage i.e. ESE 2017 Mains exam. Now it is time to face the crucial and final stage i.e. the Interview Board. It is the outcome of this interview which is finally going to decide who should be on the list of the selected candidates. For some of the ESE 2017 Mains qualified candidates, preparation for the ESE 2017 interview might sound a silly idea. However, the fact is that this thought of yours can make or mar your chances of getting your name printed in the final list of selected candidates. It might not be you alone in committing this mistake of considering the interview phase as not so important, there might be many more candidates like you. But you and all those who think like you must get out of this impression, if they are serious about cracking the ESE 2017.
It is very important to understand that just like other skills, interviewing is also a skill that can be improved by preparation and practice. It is the preparation level of a candidate which is the deciding factor in a candidate’s rejection and selection. Here we are going to discuss some tips and techniques that can help you prepare for the UPSC interview for ESE 2017, but before that we should try to understand the purpose of an interview.
The main objective of the UPSC interview board, while interviewing you, is to check whether you have all the personality traits that are required for an engineering government official or not. The personality traits that they are looking for in prospective candidates are honesty and integrity, logical exposition/structuring response, leadership quality, mental alertness, balance of opinion, variety and depth of interest, response to situations, spirit of service, and gender sensitivity.
The required personality traits are derived from your responses to the questions that are based on the information you provide to the interview board in the form of Detailed Application Form (DAF). DAF is a very important document that a candidate fills. The DAF defines everything from the personal information of a candidate to their professional career so far. It is in the DAF itself that you would provide your preference of department. Therefore, it is very important for all candidates to fill the DAF with extra care. The DAF provided by you to UPSC would be there in the hands of all the members of the interview board during your interview.
Facing an interview is all about maintaining your cool. This calmness of yours should be consistently reflected on your face, from the moment you enter the interview room to while giving reply to the questions thrown at you. The members of the interview board are experts in getting the real you, out of you. They would try their best to pile up pressure on you. The intention behind putting up the pressure is to gauge you endurance level. Sometimes they may even not agree with you on certain points by giving their own logics. You should be consistent with your views, but in such a manner that it should not sound rude. Also, when a question is asked don’t just jump into answering it without giving a thought. Give some time to structure your response so that the message you want to convey is not lost. Be very careful while listening to the question. If you are not clear about the question, do not hesitate in asking for a clarification in a polite way.
In this session candidates come to know about the importance of the DAF, and how they have to fill it. This can save them from facing awkward questions during the actual interview. In this session, Mock Interviews are also conducted to find out the areas on which a candidate needs improvement. During the mock interview sessions, one-to-one informal interaction is made with the candidate, his doubts related to the filling of DAF are cleared, how to arrange their order of preference, which hobbies or achievements to mention in the DAF and handle questions related to them, discuss possible questions related to his professional experience, etc. In addition to all this, a brief discussion on the methodology to be adopted for interview preparation is also done. The best thing about IES Master Interview Guidance Program is that this session i.e. the Informal Interaction Session is FREE for all ESE 2017 Mains qualified students.
In this session, the interview panel includes experienced technical and psychological experts. They analyse candidates’ weaknesses and psychological problems in addition to analysing practical situations for interview requirements. The technical sessions are conducted under the expert guidance of Kanchan Kumar Thakur who is and ex-IES and IIT Roorkee alumnus. The Personality Development and Current Affairs sessions are taken by experts to improve candidates’ level of confidence.
At the end of session, Mock Interview sessions are conducted. A comprehensive feedback on personal attributes is provided to each candidate to analyse his standing. If a candidate wishes, video recording of the Mock Interviews sessions are provided to understand their weaknesses and improve their overall personality.
The Regular batches of Interview Guidance Program are starting from 11th July, 2017. Interested candidates can register now as there are limited seats for each session. To know more about the Interview Guidance Program, interested candidates can contact the IES Master Help Desk at 0 80100 09955, 0 97118 53908.