UPSC Civil Services Interview phase is the final phase of Civil Services Examination which decides the final selections and service allotments to the candidates. Candidates must understand an important fact that unlike Prelims and Mains, which test the academic knowledge and general awareness of the candidate in diverse topics, IAS Interview is more of a personality test.
The Interview panel consists of eminent personalities from diverse field, headed by a chairman and followed by the other members. All the candidates must be aware about the fact that unlike the previous 2 stages, UPSC Interview does not have any definite pattern or syllabus, and therefore, panel can ask anything from personal background, hobbies, general knowledge to academic or professional excellence. And this is why students are strongly recommended Mock Interviews to get a fair idea about the questions and how the candidates should present their overall personality and their opinions in front of the UPSC board members.
The IAS Interview questions can range from any topic; could be extremely simple or could be little tricky. The objective of the interview phase is to just test the personality of the candidate and his suitability for the extremely responsible job position. The fact that you will be competing with the best of best candidates, make this final stage even more challenging, but the right knowledge and guidance can smoothen the road and help you reach your ultimate destination. All you need to do is develop certain personality traits like empathy, right decision making skills, administrative thought process, logical reasoning, and mental alertness and show those traits while answering the questions and while stating your viewpoints at the interview.
To help you get an insight on the type of questions being asked in the UPSC IAS Interview, here are some questions listed below
- Give a brief introduction about yourself
Now, the question is not as simple as it appears. With this question, the board tries to know you in and out. So make sure, you answer this question well. Begin by giving a background introduction about your family, your academic qualification, the place your born and brought up, your likings, disliking and your professional engagements. Make sure that information you give here is concise and yet covering all the above mentioned important points.
- Why do you want to become an IAS?
This is the one question the candidate can never be escaped from. You are surely going to be asked this question. With this question, the board aims at getting an overview on the entire personality of a candidate, so make sure you frame your answer well for this question. The answer must give a overview to your goal, your opinions on the current scenario in our nation, your ideas to bring a positive change, your thought process and what is that thing that drive your motivation and passion be a part of Civil Services. Students are advised to practice answering this question well before they go for the final quest. Watch some interviews of previous successful candidates and seek guidance of experts when you attend mock interview.
- Your positive and negative strengths
This question is another attempt to assess certain personality traits of the candidate, specially the honesty. The board who will be judging you at the interview are extremely experienced and will not take much time to understand whether you are honestly answering this question or not. Be honest while speaking about your weaknesses and strengths and back them with logical explanations and few examples.
Apart from the above mentioned questions, you could be asked some trickier question as well. For eg.
- What happened when the clock was invented?
Right answer to this question should be ‘revolution’. Then add your logical explanation to it. But your first answer has to be Revolution. It shows your mental alertness & your quick thinking ability.
Now, apart from these questions, be prepared to face questions based on your Detailed Application Form. For eg. Questions related to your education stream, some major recalling activity from your hometown or the place you born and brought up, some major achievement or some famous personality in the field which you chose as your hobby and questions on such lines.
Make sure you are well versed about the hot topics of the current happenings as questions will be asked on issues in news and you will be given marks based on your opinions expressed regarding the same.
If you have some previous work experience, then questions on your profession could be asked by the board. For e.g. if you are a doctor then the board might ask questions on any ongoing health issues. If you have an economy background, then the board may ask questions on the current economic situation. The board may also ask you about how you may implement your current profession in civil services. So, you must be prepared well on all the probable questions related to your past and present careers.
