What is the correct method of answering interview exam questions?

1.Present yourself – Explain why you are the only fit

Even though you are going to become an officer through personality test, behave like a good salesman in your mind” (Focus on gender equality) You are out to sell something and you have to sell your good qualities. You have to showcase your determination, ideas, beliefs, moral values, thinking, and your vision and sell these to the board. The board has to impress you as to why you are the most suitable candidate. Why should they choose you? And only the answers given by you can make this possible for you. So, let us understand this technique of answering effectively and gain control over it.

2.Understand the questions

As soon as you are asked a question, try to break it into parts and try to understand the question clearly. The first effort should be to understand that the board’s question is to know from you ‘what’ or ‘how’ or ‘why’ or ‘when’ on that related topic. Second, try to find out whether they want a fact-based or analytical answer from you. Third, try to understand whether they want your answers in a certain way, such as support of their ideas or for you to express your independent opinion on the topic.

Also try to divide the topic into sub-headings logically, intellectually and conventionally. For example, if you are asked a question on the education system of India, then consider it by keeping education at three levels which are school, college and university level. At the school level, again keep in mind its three levels, primary, secondary and higher level. Once again education can be classified as rural and urban. Another method for classification is of technical and non-technical type. Apart from this, there are types of vocational and non-vocational education. You should present your answer based on the question asked.

3.Listen carefully

Whenever you are asked a question, stay focused and listen to every word of the question with full attention. Often a single word mistake or carelessness can cost you dearly. Additionally, never try to listen to the question and think and prepare the answer at the same time. When you are being asked a question, focus on the question language, the board’s body language and facial expressions. At this time, your mind should be engaged in only one task – remembering the important aspects of the question, the wording of the question and its outline. Only after listening and understanding the question completely, proceed towards answering it.

4.PPP Approach

Take a pause for a moment,

start the process and

please present

After completing the question, you now start outlining the answer. You may take a few moments for this process. This pause has dual benefits. Firstly, you can make your answer beautifully organized, balanced and complete. Second, it gives a positive message that you are a calm and composed person who speaks measuredly. This is an important feature that the Board expects.

It also has a third and pleasant benefit. It often happens that as a result of this pause between the question being asked and its answer being given, the board member himself sheds a little more light on the question. So that you get many main clues as to what and how to answer the question.

Next, process the relevant information in your mind. As far as possible, start the answer from the main points and move towards the lesser points. This gives the impression that you have the ability to process information on a given topic and present it in an organized manner while actually moving. After processing, now present the information in an organized manner. If you have listened to the question carefully, try to include the words used in it in your answer. This gives a good signal to the board that you listened to the question carefully.

5.introduction should not be long

When answering a question, the purpose of your introduction is to put your answer into perspective. Many candidates, when they do not know much about the question, start making long essays to expand their answers. You have to avoid doing this. The board members are smart and intellectual and they will easily understand your plan.

6.complete the answer

Let us first try to understand what we mean by “completeness of answers”.

“Completeness of answers” means providing more information in the answer by adding facts, evidence, phrases, opposing sides so that it sounds soft, not subjective and also points to the circumstances where it is authentic. Not there.

Now the question arises that why do we need to do this? This is because my dear aspiring officers, there are many situations in life which are neither directly right nor wrong. When any ideology is neither completely right nor wrong, then expressing faith in any one ideology means that we are accepting its negative aspects also. Which definitely should not be done. Hence now the importance of this aspect comes to the fore. By accepting an idea, you are expressing your opinion on it but at the same time you are also putting forward its negative aspects and exceptions. This is a sign that you have the ability to analyze a topic objectively without taking sides.

Some of the words that provide completeness to the answers are “It is fine if it is true, but when”, “It can work if”, “To some extent”, “To some extent”, “Approximately”, “ Not completely” etc.

Giving completeness to the answer does not mean that you do not take anyone’s side. In simple words, this means that your stance is clear but you are also aware of its other stance.

7.Respect fairness

Impartiality does not mean that you remain neutral i.e. neither in favor nor against. it’s not like that at all. This means that you should be completely objective and bias-free in your analysis of any topic. The sense is that you solve a problem on its own merits and not because of personal orientation/inclination. If you are impartial, it means that you neither have communist thinking, nor are you racially biased, nor are you casteist, nor are you gender biased.

8.Do not discriminate against gender

Adopt a neutral attitude towards gender discrimination during your address. Like use the word chairperson instead of chairman. Instead of saying salesman, say “salesperson”. This viewpoint of yours shows that you are not one of those people who think that this world was created only for men, by men and the right way to answer questions is by men.

9.Be humane

As far as possible, display human qualities while answering. It often happens that aspiring candidates, in their zeal to prove themselves to be efficient, strictly abiding by law and enforcing law and order, present themselves as “mechanical” and “robotic”. In which human feelings and thoughts lack human touch. For example, if while working as a DM, you have to get an illegal settlement vacated. So you cannot go to that place and demolish the houses and render those slum dwellers homeless. You have to be sympathetic towards the elderly, women, children and sick people there. This doesn’t mean you won’t take action. This means that we will take this issue into account when processing your eviction.

10.Be practical

Your answers should reflect practicality and realism. Never give an answer that is not practical or is very difficult to implement. Never let the board get the impression that you have only bookish knowledge and are far away from the ground reality.

11.Be optimistic

Your answers should reflect your positive and optimistic thinking. Avoid giving answers that are full of disappointment and unhappiness on any topic. It is not wrong to mention problems or evils related to any topic but at the same time you should also provide its solution. Avoid using words like “Nothing can be done about it” or “This is not possible in our country”.

12.Don’t just suggest solutions, explain them.

Do not limit yourself to just suggesting a solution to the problem; as far as possible, try to also suggest ways to implement your suggested solution. For example, if you suggest that there should be more government funding, you should also give examples of how it would be spent. Through which agencies this funding will be done, how will be the region wise division etc. This will provide information about the clarity of your thinking.

13.Lakshya Beghan

While finding out the causes of any problem, try to find out its root and root causes and do not limit yourself to superficial or secondary causes only.

14.Make eye contact and talk

When listening to questions, maintain eye contact with board members. This will help you in two ways. First, it gives a positive impression on the Board that you are giving appropriate and necessary respect to the Honorable Members. Second, sometimes it also provides you with an opportunity to read the facial expressions of board members. This is necessary because sometimes their question is like a trap. Which is reflected through a slight movement in their eyes or a smile on their face and you can pay attention to it.

Even while answering, you should maintain eye contact with the board members. You should maintain eye contact with the member who has asked you a question for a very long time, but in between you can also establish eye contact with other members. Apart from this, you also have to keep in mind that you should not keep shaking your head rapidly and continuously because it gives a wrong message.

First of all, it is important to maintain eye contact with the member who asked you the question, and in between, you also establish eye contact with other members. This is necessary for many reasons. Firstly, in this way you will be able to guess the thoughts of other members whether they are satisfied with your answer or not. Secondly, this way other members will not feel that they are being ignored. Thirdly, it leaves a positive impression that you can engage other members along with speaking during the discussion. This intermittent eye contact with the other member becomes even more important when one member is asking one question after another.

15.What kind of hesitation in explanation?

If for some reason, you are not able to hear the question properly then politely request the board to repeat the question. But while doing this, you should show restraint and do not repeat it.

If You do not understand the meaning of a question correctly, it is better to clarify it rather than giving a wrong answer. But this should be done politely, respectfully and gently. In such a scenario you can ask like this “Sir, I apologize that I did not understand” Sir,

What is its meaning” etc. Use the words “Sir, you should not repeat your statement again and again because doing so could imply that your linguistic ability is in question.”

16.Errorless and concise answers

Your answer should correspond to the question. Don’t wander here and there. Your answer is correct and concise. Firstly, your effort should be to mention the specific and main points of your answer and be very detailed. If the board wants to discuss any point in more detail, it can do so by asking another question. In this situation, you can express your views in detail.

17.Answer to the only question asked

Never try this type of thing. Often, we try to answer what we know and not the question that is asked. The board would take this as a signal that your understanding power is very low. Also, the board will understand that you are trying to fool them and the board members will find this very bad and the candidate may have to face dire consequences due to this.

18.Sorry, don’t hesitate to tell me I don’t know.

If you do not know the answer to any question, then directly politely inform the board, Sir, I am sorry, I do not know about this subject. Generally, candidates feel that such an answer sends a wrong message to the board and has a negative impact on your marks. But this is not correct. Come, now let us see the beauty of the answer in this way.

First, an honest admission that you don’t know shows the board that you are an honest person. Second, you are a courageous person, because it takes a lot of courage to admit that you do not know about the subject and that you are weak in some way. Thirdly, doing this reduces the chances of the board getting upset because if you give an answer that is completely wrong, the board may get angry and this will have a similar negative impact on the next questions. Fourth, by doing this you are saving valuable time of the board. Fifth, by admitting that you don’t know the answer to the question, you create more opportunities for yourself to be asked the question and prove your worth to the board.

19.Partial knowledge

If you know half the answer to the question or you have a little knowledge about it but you are not completely sure, then in such a situation you can always inform the board by saying, Sir, although I am not completely sure, but I can try to answer if you allow. In such situations, when the candidate has little information, he usually thinks that he should not take the risk of answering or the Board may feel bad if the answer is wrong.

In my opinion, this method is not correct because when you do not know the correct answer or do not know it completely, then you are bringing it to the notice of the board before doing so and are giving the answer only with their prior permission. Now the first question that arises is what is the logic behind giving an incomplete answer. The answer is that what we consider ‘probably right’ or ‘half right’ may actually be right or ‘completely right’. Now if you do not take this risk then you lose the opportunity to score marks from this question.

Secondly, if even some part of your answer is correct, then the board gets to know that at least the candidate has knowledge of this subject. It also leaves a strong and positive impression on the board that you are a person who has the courage to face difficulties. Also, if you have even a little information, you have all the qualities like courage, willpower and ability to move in that direction. These are the qualities they are looking for in a future officer. It also shows the board that you have the ability to take calculated risks, which is another quality they look for.

21.Don’t try to twist the question

Many times it happens that a question is asked on one dimension of a subject, and the problem is that we have knowledge about that subject but we do not know anything about the dimension asked related to it. Then we try to fool the board and start answering on some other dimension while speaking on the same topic. This solution is called turning the question, which should never be done. You should never try to fool or belittle people who are older, more intelligent and more experienced than you.

In such situations, you can very politely inform the board that although you are aware of the subject, you do not have knowledge of the particular subject asked.

21.State of silence after reply

Many times it happens that the board does not ask you any questions immediately after you answer. In such a situation, often the candidate starts speaking further thinking that perhaps the board wants more explanation. This may or may not happen. So I want to emphasize that you have to try to find out what is the reason behind this silence by the Board. Many times, they want further explanation from you and you have to figure it out from their body language. If this is the case then you can continue speaking further. But it may also happen that they are satisfied with your answer and perhaps they are considering your answer and just thinking about the next question. Many times this silence is kept deliberately by the board to test you. The board is just curious to know whether such a situation makes you nervous or whether you are able to maintain your calm. This is a very strange situation and here you have to take every step very carefully.

22.Reply

Respond as quickly as possible to any responses given by board members. If they congratulate you on any of your answers, thank them wholeheartedly. If they correct your mistake on a topic, thank them. But God forbid, if they scold you for any reason, apologize politely and do not pretend that your ego has been hurt by it.

23.Making decisions

Many times such questions are asked which put one in dilemma, i.e. in which there is no firm rule for right-wrong, yes-no or right-wrong. In such a situation, you have to present your side and it is also possible that the side chosen is not the best side. Therefore, while presenting your side, always keep in mind the views of others. Never adopt an adamant stance on any subject. This does not mean that you should not take any side or adopt a wavering attitude. This means that you should express your views but present your answer in such a way that some changes can be made in it as per the need in future.

24.Ideological differences

A situation of ideological difference may often arise between you and the board. Many situations can happen like this. One situation is that as you express an idea and the board has some other opinion on it, then you realize that your answer is wrong to some extent. Then in such a situation, admit your mistake and show confidence in their answer, making it clear that you did so only after knowing the correct answer.

Point to note: When changing your opinion and accepting the Board’s opinion, you must ensure that the Board does not feel that you have done so because you are unable to stick to your decisions or that your purpose in doing so is to discredit the Board. Had to please or else you easily succumb to pressure. Quite the contrary, as I suggested earlier, you should give reasons for changing your opinion. So you can say, “Yes sir, I believe that your idea is correct.” I was wrong because…

A situation may arise where the views expressed by the board are not in line with your views but there is clearly no right or wrong solution to this. In such a situation, you have to remain firm on your views while seriously understanding the perspective/perspective of the Board. After listening to his opinion, to the extent you agree with it, you should accept it and for the rest you can politely say, ‘Sure sir, I will try to understand the whole topic again from the new perspective given by you.

By giving this type of answer, you will be successful in telling the board that neither are you a very stubborn person who is not willing to accept the ideas of others, nor are you also one of those people who are easy to understand on any subject. Let’s change our views. You try to show that your specialty is a judicious mix of self-confidence and taking others along.

Another situation may be where the opinion expressed by the board members is, according to you, completely wrong. Generally, such a view of the board which is completely wrong, behind this, there is often a feeling that the board is doing this thoughtfully to know whether you support them under pressure or whether you have wrong views. Has the ability and courage to say what is wrong. So in such situations, support your opinion but never make it seem like you are being arrogant.

Point to note: You should be intelligent enough to figure out whether the board is actually deliberately giving wrong views or whether you yourself are not able to understand the views put forward by them.

25. Admit your mistake

If you feel like this or the board tells you that you have made a mistake in answering, then quickly accept your mistake. Making a mistake is not a big deal. It happens and it can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. There is nothing unusual in this. But it is unusual when the same mistake is repeated continuously despite understanding and knowing. In such a situation, this mistake turns into your ego and pride. This is a terrible mistake, which you must stay away from at all costs.

26.Be determined

You should have strong determination in your mind but this does not mean that you should become egoistic. There is a difference between these two. Determination means that you are firm on your decision. You have confidence in your decision and unless you have proper reasoning, you do not change your decision. On the contrary, pride means that even if you know that your decision was wrong and you have been given arguments and reasons for it. Even then you remain adamant and because of ego and pride you do not change your decision. This should not be done.

27.Patient

A situation may arise in which you are asked a very difficult or controversial or provocative question. At such times you do not need to panic. The second situation is that you are asked a question which you have prepared very well. During such times, you should not be hasty in replying. You always have to maintain patience in your emotions in personality test. This also doesn’t mean that you have to act like a robot, devoid of any emotion or facial expressions. It simply means that you have to show the board that you can remain patient and calm in both situations of success or failure. This important quality of patience and calmness is always taken seriously by the Board in the candidate.

28. Avoid impatience

One of the most common problems faced by aspirants is how to control their nervousness and restlessness. Before I answer this question, know that being nervous is not a bad thing. You are sitting in front of highly educated, meritorious, experienced and intelligent people. It is natural to feel a little nervous in front of them. I would also venture to say that since this is a natural thing to happen, the Board will also appreciate this mild nervousness. But this nervousness should be limited and should not present you as an overly scared person.

Now coming to the question how to remove this restlessness. The most important technique for this is to never lie. If you are telling the truth while answering then there will be no risk of stress and anxiety.

The main reason ends here. Now, if you are facing difficult or difficult situations, then remind yourself very gently that panic can make the situation worse, so the best solution is to remain calm.

29.Don’t be a diplomat

Often the candidate thinks that he will give a completely balanced answer and being a diplomat will not choose either side or opposition while answering the issue. Friends, according to me this is a wrong thinking. I am not saying that you should not balance your answers or behave like a diplomat or establish a firm opinion on any issue for or against it. All I am trying to say is that if you are intelligent, your board is more intelligent than you. Don’t try to be diplomatic with them. Also, they do not need individuals to be as neutral as the bureaucracy. There is nothing wrong in forming one’s opinion on a particular subject, but it is wrong to form one’s opinion without considering other aspects.

30. Some correct ways to answer

Be subjective/objective, sober, balanced and fair in your answers.

Even if you are asked a provocative question, show calmness, patience and coolness.

Be very polite with the board members and maintain a high sense of respect towards them.

Keep pace with the sentiments of board members. If they smile on any topic then you should also support them. But it should only be a smile, not a loud laugh. Similarly, if they express sorrow on any subject, you should also show your sympathy in the same way. While doing this, be careful that you are not sending the signal that you are imitating them or making fun of them. Just show that your feelings on the subject are the same as theirs.

Whatever you say to the board, your confidence, trust, loyalty and conviction should be fully reflected in it.