Various sources of preparation for IAS interview
To prepare well for a personality test, you will need many different sources. Every source has its own importance and uniqueness. Therefore, it is better that your preparation includes many diverse sources. Let us explore the various sources of preparation
3.Detailed application form (DAF)
Read the Detailed Application Form (DAF) carefully. Since the information required to be filled in this Detailed Application Form (DAF) is completely yours and filled by you, any mistake made in it gives a very negative impression. For detailed information in this regard please refer Chapter Detailed Application Form (DAF) on page no.
2.Newspaper
Must read at least 02 national level newspapers. Be sure to write down special issues related to new developments and the analysis done on them in your diary kept for personality test every day. (For more details refer to the chapter “Your Friend in Personality Test” on page no. If your background is in economics or commerce, then you must read at least one business newspaper every day. Besides, they will also have to keep in mind the Economic Survey and the Central/National Budget to be presented at the end of February.
It is very important to mention here that your method of reading newspaper for personality test will be different from the method of previous two examinations, preliminary examination and main exam, because now while studying the newspaper, you will have to focus less on facts and more on analysis. Should pay more attention. You will have to understand the different opinions presented on any one topic and you should also be aware of the differences among these various opinions. You should also know how to form your opinion on that topic and what are the reasons for this opinion.
3.Magazines
Magazines are as important as newspapers. I want to draw your attention to one important aspect that while preparing for the personality test, you should not pay too much attention to the general knowledge based books on the latest developments available for other competitive exams, this will help you in your preliminary and main examination. Can be done but not during personality test because there are more facts in them and the amount of analysis is very less. as well as. The articles presented in it are not written by analysts. I would advise you to read national level magazines like Outlook, The India Today, The Week, Frontline, Governance Noise etc.
Something worth noting regarding newspapers and magazines. It is an open secret that almost all media houses have some inclination/orientation in some form or the other. When I talk about this inclination, I do not mean any negative inclination nor do I mean to say that they do this willingly. Or they have such inclination to fulfill their ulterior motives. I just want to draw your attention to the fact that bias of some kind or the other is a reality in almost every type of journalism. While presenting any news, it is mandatory for every human being to have some degree of this orientation, but the degree of this orientation can be different. The presence of this orientation in thinking is to accept the values in which they believe, hence it cannot be called wrong in any way. Therefore, you should be aware of which media house or journalist believes in which ideology and its analysis should be understood in the same context.
For example, if you read a newspaper whose editorial board believes in socialist ideology, you should keep this influence of orientation in mind in the articles they write on topics like liberalization, investment in retail, etc. This will help you in maintaining correct and unbiased thinking. Trust me, the board looks for this quality of impartiality prominently in the candidates.
An Important Tip for Reading Newspapers and Magazines When you read newspapers and magazines, always keep in mind information that matches your Detailed Application Form (DAF) in some way. Doing this will help you a lot in preparing your biodata. I am saying this because when we need any specific information related to our biography, we are not able to collect it. Therefore, in such a situation, whatever information is available should be collected from here and there.
4.Television
Television has great importance in personality test. It may not be important during the preliminary and main examination, but during the personality test, television is not only important but I would like to say that many times it is more important than newspapers and magazines.
Which program should we watch on television?
Without any doubt, news channels are the most important in television. What kind of news should we see? Now there are two types of selection here: the selected news channel and the selected type of news shown in it. Let us first look at the types of news channels. Nowadays many TV channels showing news are available. An educated person knows how much professionalism and seriousness a channel has towards its work because many channels act like entertainment channels by providing sensationalism, superstition and irrelevant information in the name of news. Stay away from these.
Let us now shed light on the second question of how to watch news. The most profitable of these is news discussion during primetime. Generally, watching news bulletins that run throughout the day is not very beneficial because of their focus on a specific news item. Also, news is discussed in primetime which is useful for you.
A discussion in which the participants believe in different ideologies will be beneficial for you because by doing so you will get to know all the possible aspects of that topic. Will become aware of various aspects. Secondly, there is also a possibility that the board members may also be watching the same channel and in this case the questions asked by them may be based on this discussion. This situation will give more impact and efficiency to your preparation.
It is worth noting that it often happens that we see and hear only what we like. In this context, I would like to draw your attention to the topic that is happening in television. Even during discussion, we suddenly start focusing on those thoughts or people whose ideology is in line with our mind and while doing so, we are not able to pay full attention to the thoughts of others. We should stay away from this attraction towards our favorite ideas and people.
For all aspiring officers, irrespective of their optional subject or educational background. It is very important to watch the news. Also, as per the information given in your Detailed Application Form (DAF), you should also watch some other channels like National Geographic, Discovery, Animal Planet along with music and sports related channels. For example, if you have shown interest in wildlife, you can get a lot of information from channels like Discovery.
5.Internet
The scope of the Internet is limitless and infinite. For an aspiring officer who is tech savvy and proficient and accustomed to using the Internet, the Internet can actually replace every other medium such as newspapers, magazines and television because almost every medium has its own website. . Therefore, you can get your desired information, which you have got from these different sources. Can be obtained through internet alone.
Other aspiring officers who are not very adept in the use of technology should not completely replace traditional media like newspapers, magazines and television with the Internet. But still, if they wish, they can use the Internet to get the information they want. This is very useful for preparing the personal biography to be filled in your Detailed Application Form (DAF).
Apart from this, there are many social networking sites where many other aspiring officers from other states of the country share their experiences. You can also try to be a part of such a group.
Additionally, the Internet can also be used for many other general types of study such as reading various types of motivational articles, reading about inspirational people and other interesting articles. This has a great impact on your preparation, whether directly or indirectly. Not only does it make you stress free, but you also get positive energy by reading inspiring people and motivational stories, which plays a very important role in this preparation.
6. Books of general interest (General Nature Books)
You should also try to read some other books apart from your syllabus like any biography, autobiography or any book written by a big personality on social, economic, cultural or national interest.
Prima facie it may appear or one may suspect that reading a book outside the syllabus is a waste of time. Friends, I say it is not so. Without any doubt it seems that it has no direct relation with personality test preparation but it is indirectly related to it because study of such books increases our knowledge, sharpens our mind and helps in understanding the subjects in their respective fields. Helps us to explain in right perspective.