UPSC Interview Dates Announced: Tips from Previous Toppers on How to Ace Interviews

Anu Kumari, AIR 2 in the 2017 CSE examinations says, “The interviewers on the panel are experienced and learned people, and they will know when you stray from who you are.”

By Vidya Raja

June 22, 2020

The Union Public Service Commission has now released a detailed schedule of 2019 Civil Services Examination interview stage which had been postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Beginning on 20 July, the UPSC interview process will go on until 30 July. A total of 624 candidates are set to appear for this interview.

The Interview Round is the last stage of the CSE selection process after the Prelims and Mains.

Things to Know:

Candidates must carry their original documents for verification for their UPSC interview.
The commission will intimate the selected candidates via e-mail and will also send an admit card or an e-summons to appear for the interview.
The commission will most likely release the admit card in July; however, there is no definite date for the same.
There are no minimum marks for the interview round which carries a total of 275 marks.
The marks obtained by candidates in the interview stage will be added to the prelims and mains marks and the commission will release the same.

Tips for Interview Stage

Shreyans Kumat, who secured an All India Rank of 4 in 2018, says that filling out the application form in detail is one of the most important aspects of the UPSC interview. The panel asks a lot of questions from this form, so he advises remembering everything that you filled in it. He also urges aspirants to practice answering questions by standing in front of a mirror.

You can read more tips from Shreyans specifically for the interview stage here.

Anu Kumari – UPSC topper.

Anu Kumari, All India Rank 2 in the 2017 examinations warns aspirants to refrain from bragging about themselves and their achievements. She says, “The interviewers on the panel are experienced and learned people, and they will know when you stray from who you are.”

Dhivya Loganathan who secured an All India Rank of 402 in the 2015 examination has an interesting anecdote to share about her UPSC interview stage.

“They asked me why I spell my name with an “h”. I told them that my mother wanted a Sanskrit pronunciation of my name.” The panel also asked her to draw the map of the United Kingdom. Talking about this experience Dhivya warns, “I politely told them that I did not know the answer. Please refrain from attempting an answer you have no idea or knowledge about. The interviewers are bound to catch on to it. Not knowing answers to all the questions is perfectly fine. In fact, I used ‘NO’ and ‘Sorry I am not aware’ many times through the interview, and yet here I am.”

You can access the whole interview here.

For more tips and strategies adopted by UPSC toppers during the interview stage, click here.

Best of luck!

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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