As discussed in part-1, we are continuing from next point from summary sheet of CSM DAF,
1- Particulars of prizes and medals etc.-
In this column if you have made an entry and
now after going through your DAF you find it silly or not worth mentioning then
you can’t undo that, so better thing is just try to justify that honor in 25
minutes ,if question is raised from that topic like generally any winner in
district, state, national championship in Extempore, Debate, Quiz or any Talent
search exam like NTSE or scholarships
like Olympiads then most probably they may ask you about contribution of such
schemes for scholar development and academics , your topic for the event like
in debate, essay etc. they may even ask you to speak for 2 min. on any random
but weird topic ,if extempore, debate or public speaking is your hobby, then
don’t try to speak impromptu but take few seconds ,make few points in mind and then speak, even after
lot of efforts you are not coming with any credible point or forceful argument
then it better you say that you are unable to recollect the main a substance of
issue. Speaking for sake of speaking or impressing upon that you can’t let go
any question unanswered will do more harm than good because it conveys message
that you can catch the ball in your hand even when you even don’t know how to
throw it.
2- Team /sports/adventure etc.-
If you have in this mentioned column any sports or games then you must be
enthusiastic (Oh really!!!) About it but
that may be the case before you opted for UPSC preparation. Notwithstanding
your current level of affection with the sports you have to be really updated
about it with technicals as well as current scenario. So if you are a cricket
enthusiast go through the prevalent issues like betting, shifting of IPL to a neutral
venue (as by that time it will be in full flow), etc. If its football then questions pertaining to Premier league or
club football may be taken, reasons for low level participation in the game
from India, recent Santos trophy win of Manipur, major clubs in India and major
players and other technicalities.NCC (if mentioned ) is another potential
ground for queries as it shows aspirant in very good light and is appreciated
due to its commitment to discipline and officer like qualities, so basic
questions like emergence and background of NCC, Role of NCC in character
building of youth, reason for not so expected spread of NCC in schools/
colleges, what are the certificate associated with it and other details need to
be updated , also ,Rangers and NSS -national service scheme and related aspects
on similar lines could be well prepared. Those aspirants who have mentioned
adventure sports need to prepare what drives them to such sports and what are
the different formats like bungee jumping, scuba diving, rafting etc and what
are the potential places in India and failure to develop and tap potential of
such places should be looked into.
3- Position of authority in school etc-
Like in
charge of any committee or fest in college or being a school or House captain
in school days. This information basically checks one’s leadership instincts
and his/her involvement in extracurricular so that it brings an overall
perspective of personality. So from this they can ask what were the bottlenecks
in organizing that event or how they managed to get cooperation from all
stakeholders ,how I dealt with indifference or resistance, how they would like
to assess their performance like in CSE 2012 interview was asked same question as below-
Q-You were house captain in school. What was your work?
A-Sir, we have to motivate our colleagues and juniors to participate in extra- curricular activities and prepare them for competitions. Also when I lead the school team then coordinated with team for best performance.
Q-Do you face any problems
in it?
A-Sir, sometimes we
had hard times to convince the parents of the participants to allow their
wards to participate as they felt that it may affect their academics, also
motivating juniors for competitions was hard but we convinced them.
Q-At a scale of 10,
how you rate your performance of captain?
A-Sir, the fact that the yr I was house captain, it was elected as cock house i.e. Winner house speaks about my performance.
So
these types of queries may appear for which you have to respond in very
balanced manner.
4- Extra –curricular activities /hobbies-
This is most asked topic because
board thinks that since it is your hobby so candidates will be very enthusiastic,
well-prepared and comfortable but
problem arises when we in order t o impress
upon board put a hobby which we don’t have any interest just to show our
intellectuality or due to other reasons like CSE preparation are unable to pursue but notwithstanding all the past what you
have to do is that you get well research done on that aspect from Wikipedia or
any related website so that theoretical part is covered and frame random
questions on yourself . You have to justify how debating, reading newspaper,
following current issues (if mentioned) qualify as you r hobby. Off late
watching documentaries has become a trending hobby in chartbusters of UPSC
hobby list due to its potential in turnaround of interview as you can s specify
the genre and then if lucky could limit few questions to that specific area but
for that be prepared, also go through the questions related to hobbies which I
will be putting in next article.
5- Employment record-
If anyone was working previously in any NGO,
corporate, self-enterprise or govt. /public sector, from here they can surely
expect some enquiries like nature of work performed, employer’s reputation,
working culture, differences between that sector and peers as well as govt.,
questions related to place of employment, why you want to switch from there to Civil
services for which each one should be ready with a rough outline of answer
which should be truly yours.
5-Service preference-
Though it is not in summary sheet but is very crucial
if you have opted for only few services or relegated IFS to 3rd or
below in hierarchy which is often a case or Put IPS as top choice. Those who
are already in civil services and giving for “improvement” in service should
prepare why they consider X service as better than Y and beginners please go through initial knowledge,type of work of services so you aren't surprised when asked about the nature of service.
6- Cadre choices-
Not
much attention is paid to this column generally, if they are not in tune with
general trend i.e. preference to home cadre then queries may be raised for the
reasons for doing so. Also memorize your cadre choices (at least starting 5 of
each 1) as they can randomly ask to check seriousness of aspirant while filling
choices. during the course of interview never show your biasness or eagerness
to any region specific but if asked for preferences then you can respond that
due to better understanding of the issues concerning specific state and being
home state or near to it, it gives you a better opportunity but if posted else
where you will imbibe those values and culture and serve the nation.
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so work hard... |
