IAS Interview Tips

IAS Interview Tips: Civil Services Interview Tips and Tricks- IAS 2020

IAS recruitment completes in 3 stages- Preliminary Exam, Main Exam & Personal Interview. IAS personal interview one of the toughest stages of this recruitment process. However, a personal interview can be cracked by following some simple strategies and tips. Some of the important tips for IAS 2020 have been given below.

Documents need to be submitted for IAS  Interview

The qualified applicants of the IAS Main exam have to submit these documents at the time of personal interview in front of the interview board.

  • SC/ST certificate proforma, OBC certificate proforma, Undertaking, Physically Handicapped Certificate Proforma, Proforma of Hailing from Certificate.
  • Questionnaire, Attestation Form, TA Form.

Stages as per IAS Personal Interview

1. Filling of Questionnaire Booklet

A questionnaire of 7 pages is needed for research & analysis section of UPSC & is used for assessing background information of the applicants appearing for the personal interview. The questionnaire is divided into many parts that have to be filled & submitted by the interviewer during the interview.

  • Background of the applicant
  • Employment status
  • Previous attempts of civil services exam
  • Competitive exam qualified
  • Reasons for interest in civil services
  • Education details
  • Parents/Guardians backgrounds
  • Source of information for civil services
  • Coaching attended
  • The optional subject was chosen.

2. Attestation Form

This form has to be filled with required details such as residence, nationality, education, etc. and has to be signed by the Gazetted Officer before submission during the interview. Self-attestation can also be allowed as per Govt. of India.

The questionnaire, attestation form & TA form are available at the official website of UPSC www.upsc.gov.in. The applicants belonging to SC/ST/OBC/PH categories have to fill their respective certificates.

Details as per IAS Interview Tips

The Kothari Committee of UPSC has made a list of qualities that needs to be rated in the interview as “Clarity of expression, grasp of narrative & argument, reasoning ability, appreciation of different points of view, awareness & concern for Socio-Economic problems, ranges & depth of interests & personal attributes relevant to interaction with people.

The personal interview stage of civil services also termed as Personality Test. The main aim of IAS personal interview is to assess the applicant’s personality. The applicants will be tested not only his/her intelligence but also their overall personality development, their attentiveness, the balance of judgment, integrity & leadership.

The interview board will look out for some attributes in the applicants & will decide whether he/she is suitable for civil services posts or not. For these expectation the applicants need to have a positive attitude, must have an alert mind, need to be free from any sort of prejudice, needs to be good at decision-making abilities, etc.

Preparation for civil service personal interview is a continuous process. This process includes a wide reading of books, journals, magazines & minimum 2 newspapers. The applicants need to improve their communicational skills. They also need to get prepared on answering questions based on their background, hobbies, extracurricular activities etc. Discussing current affairs & recent issues with your friends is a very good habit to practice for the interview. One can also go for mock interviews & group discussions. A very important tip for the preparation of civil services personal interview is “Self-analysis of their strengths & weaknesses & making a conscious effort to play on their strengths”.

Useful tips for IAS personal interview

  • Have a positive body language.
  • Maintains correct posture & gestures.
  • Answer the questions asked in the interview with confidence.
  • Try to be calm & composed.
  • Try not to get involved in long explanations or answers.

Don’t during IAS personal interview

  • Avoid an expression of “I am Sorry”.
  • Try to maintain a cheerful expression on your face. Keep smiling most of the time.
  • Avoid communicational clichés such as “As you know”, “That’s right”, “Of course”, “Quite obvious” etc.
  • Avoid technical jargons. However, if any member continues to probe you in a technical field then you can use technical expressions.
  • Avoid giving lengthy introductions. Come straight to the point.
  • Try to show human concerns whenever possible during answering the questions.
  • Try to be logically consistent & analyze the things rationally while communicating. You are supposed to defend what you answer but with due respect to the views of the board. Do not try to defend an answer if it becomes difficult to do so logically.

Questions asked in UPSC interview as per the tips of IAS personal interview

  • Question-related to your name. Any popular personality who has the same name or surname as yours.
  • Question about your career choice. Why have you chosen civil services as a career option?
  • Question-related to your hobbies.
  • Be active on reading & watching the news. Be prepared if any recent headline has some connection with your subject.
  • How will you use your particular knowledge in the services (such as if you are a doctor, lawyer or engineer)? Hence, it is very important to have knowledge about your particular field.
  • Situational questions (such as if you were the SP of a city, what action you would have taken after a terrorist attack?)
  • Questions related to your choice of services.
  • Questions related to your institution where you have studied.
  • Questions from your form, so go through your form thoroughly because most of the questions come from there.

Some of the actual questions asked in the IAS personal interview

  • Don’t’ you think that you can do better for your country by becoming a doctor & treating poor people? Why do you choose to be a civil servant?

The best would be to answer this question from the practical point of view instead of emotional stating that you want to serve the country because even a doctor serves the people. A doctor from Kerala was asked this question & her answer was “Because I want to treat the primary malady that afflicts our country that creates so many poor in India, whereas being a doctor I can treat only the secondary maladies”. She also came with a preparation of statistics & suggestions on a rubber plantation for poverty alleviation indicating has she had spent considerable time & thoughts on her future goals. She got a 85% score.

  • What are the problems wheat cultivation is facing in your state? An M.Sc (Agriculture) student from Palanpur was asked this question in the interview. The answer of that student was “The problem is not so much to do with agronomy but with the lack of a seed bank in Palanpur”. This student scored 80% in the interview.
  • Once a law graduate was asked a question “Is there any law in Physics that is relevant to administration?” Yes, Newton’s third law of motion which says that for every action there is an equal & opposite reaction. He got 80% in the interview.

15 thoughts on “IAS Interview Tips”

  1. Hello sir,can u plzz suggest me the best coaching centre for IAS nd books too i will be highly obliged if u reply me as soon as possible

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  2. i am very intersting for IAS & its my goal & achieve fofr the suceess ……………&all the karantaka people help me & bless me going on exams &interviews ….thank u ALL MY KARANTAKA peoples & my seniorsism

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  3. Sir I have completed my masters in English but I am not indulged in any kind of service for three years. Will it be problematic for me to clear personal interview round . Pls advise me

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