The last stage of the UPSC selection process is the Interview/Personality Test. The written part of the main examination of UPSC CSE is held for 1750 marks. The candidates who qualify in the examination will be selected for the Interview/Personality Test which is geld for 275 marks. The interview plays an important role in determining the final rank of the candidate.
The candidates who have cleared but have poor marks in the main examination will have the opportunity to score exceptionally high marks(>70%) in the interview and can improve their rank in the final merit list. If the Interview performance is poor, no matter how high a candidate scores in the main examination, the rank will either go lower down in the merit list or may get eliminated from the list altogether. Therefore, the interview marks, though accounting for a small percentage of the total marks, are very important in determining the rank of a candidate.
The Aspirants often search for sources in the market that could improve their performance in the interview. The candidates appearing in the UPSC interview should keep in mind that the main objective of the Interview/Personality Test is to assess the personal suitability of the candidate for a career in public service. The candidate will be asked questions on matters of general interest. A candidate must have good knowledge about various aspects of his/her life.
Most of the questions will be based on the Detailed Application Form(DAF). Therefore take extra care while filling the DAF. Newspaper reading is very important till the date of the interview as we can expect questions on the current events. Therefore, the important sources for UPSC interviews are
- DAF (thorough knowledge of details mentioned in DAF)
- Newspapers
Importance of DAF for UPSC Interview
- Candidates have to fill out the DAF before UPSC Interview. It defines everything from the career of a candidate to their posting.
- The candidate will be asked questions on details filled in the DAF related to
- Educational background
- Work Experience
- Reasons for choosing civil service
- Optional Subject
- Preference of services
- District and State he/she belongs to
Importance of Newspapers for UPSC Interview
UPSC Notification mentions that “Candidates are expected to have taken an intelligent interest not only in their special subjects of academic study but also in the events which are happening around them both within and outside their own State or Country”.
Therefore, the candidates must have knowledge of current events of national and international importance.
Some important sources for current affairs are
- The Hindu
- Yojana Magazine
- Press Information Bureau (PIB)
- PRS India
Apart from the above sources, the candidate must start working on their personality development. Self-assessment is very important to prepare for the interview. To know more about “How to crack UPSC interview?”, the candidates can read the linked article.
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