[INTERVIEW INITIATIVE] Think, Rethink and Perform (TRP) 2020 for UPSC/IAS Personality Test!

Dear Friends,

Just open your television set or connect to youtube for understanding the nuances of budget 2021. Most likely, you will leave more confused and perplexed. Such is the information overload around us, it is common for aspirants to get overwhelmed. While there is no dearth of information, having a reasoned point of view is a different ballgame altogether.

Like it or not, but you need to overcome this challenge in the last stage of your UPSC journey. To become a successful civil servant, you need to become a balanced individual first. While it is easy to hide your prejudices and inclinations in the Main examination, there are chances of getting exposed in front of the interview board. While it is not bad to become a thinking individual, there are certain traits that are required in a civil servant. The interview board is absolutely sure about your information base and analytical abilities.

What it wants to test is your personality in 20-30 minutes. While such a short time limit may sound unreasonable to test your real strengths and aptitude, you must accept it and take the challenge head on. It is high time that you declutter your mind, become poised and start preparing for the next phase.

Your ability to process information and learn complex issues has already been tested by UPSC in the Preliminary and Main stages. In the last stage i.e, the Personality Test, something else is at stake. When we talk about personality, there are certain elements that come to our mind – communication, posture, confidence, expression and so on.

One vital element of personality for prospective civil servants is that they are highly opinionated. It doesn’t mean that they are required to have extreme views about issues. What it simply means is that civil servants must have some view, be it their own or borrowed. The problem with most of the aspirants is that while they can articulate their views on myriad number of issues in the Mains examination, they become flummoxed when they have to narrate their views to the interview board. Blame it on months of confinement for preparation or lack of confidence, the issue is real and all pervasive. 

The solution to this problem is twofold –  first, preparing your views on a wide array of issues and second, practicing to express your views as effectively as possible. For helping you with this, we are ready with yet another version of our TRP initiative. Under the TRP initiative, we post thought-provoking questions on current affairs.

These questions are designed to probe your critical thinking abilities. You will be forced to refer to multiple sources and create a reasoned and balanced view on the issue in question. Thereafter, you are expected to submit your written response. We also expect you to practice your answers in front of the mirror. The more you practice, the more confident you will become. Moreover, practising multiple current affairs will also help you define and balance your thought trajectory to suit the demands of the interview board. We are sure that the questions posted by us will make you a thinking and contemplating individual.  

The second set of questions posted in TRP relates to your inner self. Mostly, you are not aware of your own inclinations and you hardly get the time to explore the dimensions of your own personality. When the interview board poses questions on your inclinations and thought process, you start fumbling and that is definitely not a good sign.

We remember many candidates fumbling while answering a simple question during the mock interviews as to what made them happy. Imagine, a civil services candidate not being able to give a convincing reply to such a basic question. While there is no guarantee that the interview board will pose such questions, self-awareness is imperative to succeed in the Personalty Test.

This is the best time to invest some time on yourself. Start asking those simple yet probing questions to yourself. What makes you happy, what makes you sad, what matters the most to you, what makes you angry, who is your favourite leader and so on. We will help you in this. As part of TRP, we will post many self-awareness questions. We don’t expect you to reply these questions on the portal. We want you to invest 10-15 minutes of your daily time to pose these questions to yourself and try to find the answers. Believe us, this simple exercise will transform you as a person and also as a candidate, making you more self aware, confident and relaxed. 

The initiative will start on 4th Feb. We will post the questions 2-3 times a week. Make TRP an integral part of your interview preparation journey and we are sure that you will shine. 

Interview preparation is one of the most neglected part. Generally, a student who is confident of clearing prelims will start with the mains preparation. But it is not the same with interview preparation.

If you are confident of clearing Mains, start with your interview preparation right away.

Please fill up the Google form given below. Students who fill the form will be added to a telegram group so that there can be healthy discussions with other students who will be appearing for the Interview/Personality Test. Also, Mohan sir will be interacting one on one with all the students who will be appearing for the same.

REGISTER HERE – CLICK HERE

Thanks and All the best 🙂

IASbaba