How many mocks should I take before taking the final UPSC Interview?

The purpose of the UPSC interview is to determine your suitability for a career in public service. The interviews are differently designed based on the post a candidate is being recruited for. The UPSC panel interacts with each candidate for about 30 minutes or more to judge the suitability of the candidate for the job.

The marks scored in the main examination and the Interview of the UPSC Civil Services Examination will determine the final ranking of the candidate. The interview plays an important role in determining the rank of the candidate in the final list. There is a possibility to score very high in the interview (>70%) which helps in getting a better rank even when the score in the written examination is low. If the interview marks are poor, no matter how much you score in the written examination, the rank will either go lower down in the merit list or may get eliminated from the list altogether.

UPSC notification mentions that interview is a directed and purposive conversation that is intended to judge the candidate’s qualities like the

1. Mental alertness.
2. Critical powers of assimilation.
3. Clear and logical exposition.
4. The balance of judgement.
5. Variety and depth of interest.
6. The ability for social cohesion and leadership.
7. Intellectual and moral integrity.

Importance of Mock Tests

The interview plays an important role in determining the rank of the candidate in the final list. There is a possibility to score very high in the interview (>70%) which helps in getting a better rank even when the score in the written examination is low. If the interview marks are poor, no matter how much you score in the written examination, the rank will either go lower down in the merit list or may get eliminated from the list altogether.

Therefore, it is very crucial to score well in the UPSC interview. Mock interviews help the candidates to avoid some common mistakes and analyse his/her performance. It improves the consistency of the candidate. Some benefits of giving Mock interviews are given below

• • Understand the type of questions asked: It helps to understand the type of questions asked in the interview. The general knowledge of the candidates has been already tested through their written papers. The candidate will be asked questions on matters of general interest like profile related, current affairs, questions based on situation and behavioural questions. To know more about the types of Questions Asked in the UPSC Interview, read the linked article.
  • Positive body language: Body language means communicating without speaking. These nonverbal cues can include your posture and eye contact (or lack thereof) as well as toe-tapping and other common actions. Mock interviews help to improve body language and avoid gestures that do not suit the occasion.

• Balanced answers: The candidate must judge impartially and have a balanced view of the events/topics. Giving mocks will improve the candidates’ ability to give balanced answers without any bias.

• Communication skills: Attending mock interviews will improve the candidate’s ability to communicate and express thoughts clearly.

• It also builds self-confidence and a positive attitude.

Giving mock interviews has many benefits. It is recommended to give a few mock interviews(around 5) before the UPSC interview. Also ‘Excess Of Anything Is Bad’. Giving too many mocks has disadvantages as well. There are many ill-informed mentors in the market who have no clue about the actual process of the interview. There are a large number of self-appointed experts in the market who distort the candidate’s vision and confuse their minds about the interview.

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