Interview

I have to appear before an Interview Board for the coveted Civil Services Exam 2014. This will be second time I am appearing before the board for this particular exam. Every single person I meet tells me to be confident, read a lot and take it seriously this time as last time I was not able to make it in the list.

But how can a person actually prepare for an interview ? How can you guess, what sort of questions are going to be put up? How can you frame your answers before hand?

The interview which comes to my mind is the recent interview of Rahul Gandhi with Arnab Goswami. Many critics say that Rahul Gandhi was not well prepared for this interview and the lack of conviction was visible about what he spoke. He used the rhetoric's to answer the questions. Also I saw the interview of Arvind Kejriwal the other day in which he looked very convincing about his answers.

The learning from this interview are :-

1. Be honest, because when you lie and not convinced about your answer, it is visible on your face.
2. It will be possible that you have made mistakes in the past, it better to accept those mistakes, otherwise you will be grilled on your mistakes and the important time will lapse in which you can make an impression.
3. Rehearse some of the probable questions that are certainly going to be asked with respect to your background. 
4. Convincingly put forward your view points and that is possible only when you are thoroughly read. Last minute mug up will land you in trouble.
5. Choose your words wisely and be accurate on what you intend to say.
6. Smile, don't give an impression, that you have been trapped.
7. Don't get bogged down by pressure techniques, If you think you are right emphasize on your points.
8. People will always have different opinions. In an interview, you have to tell your opinion provided that it is substantiated with logic, rationality and evidence.

The second thing to overcome is the fear in the mind. We think that if we fail what will happen. If you think that you will fail, chances are that you definitely will fail. But even if you fail, that is not the end of life. 

Some people say that It is the fear that makes us work harder. Let's take an example. In the Dark Night series movie, (I don't remember the part) Batman is in a prison which is identical to a deep well. Every time he tries to escape, he tries a rope to take the leap for the last stone from where he can get out and in the event he breaks his spine. 

The old man in the prison tells batman that the last person who was able to escape from the prison did it without ropes. So this time Batman tries without ropes. This leap is now the leap of faith where you will either cross it or you will die.

We become complacent when we have something to fall back on. Choice is deceptive. The true nature of a Hero comes out when he has to chose between the two. This side or that side. Then the person gives his best. So if you are ready to give your best without thinking about anything, the least about the result, you will succeed.