Preparations for the Personality Test | Crack Civil Services in First Attempt by Divey Sethi, IRS - UPSC PDF Download

 Page 1


Preparations for the Personality Test
A delight it is to see your name among the list of successful candidates 
who are selected for the round of personality tests (PT) – that is what 
UPSC calls them – not interviews! This PT won’t attract a bombarding 
of questions of general knowledge as seen in the game show ‘kaun 
banega karorepati.’ In fact, highly contrary to it, the board members 
would engage the candidate in a round of conversations and try to 
elicit the personality traits of that person and check whether these 
fall in line with the requirements of civil services. So what are those 
qualities which a civil servant must possess? Many of these must be 
very much evident to the aspirants as these have already been a part of 
discussions in paper 4 of GS. Some of these are honesty, perseverance, 
integrity, mental alertness, social cohesion, and leadership, balance 
of judgment, constructive approach, decision making, politeness, and 
many more.
Even though we know all these aspects, some of the aspirants score 
low marks in the interview, and others score very high. Nevertheless, 
the final selection takes into account both the score in PT as well as 
in mains. It may thus be possible that candidates scoring low marks 
in the interview may get through the final cut off if their marks in 
the mains examination are high. However, the importance of the 
interview in the present times can’t be understated. The candidates 
selected for appearing in the personality test are placed quite neck-
to-neck in this cut-throat competition, so this PT should not be taken 
lightly, especially when we have a wide range of marks awarded in the 
interview.
Therefore, our endeavor should be that an aspirant puts in genuine 
effort to do well in the PT. For this, some plain facts need to be 
understood. The contention that one should begin their preparation 
Page 2


Preparations for the Personality Test
A delight it is to see your name among the list of successful candidates 
who are selected for the round of personality tests (PT) – that is what 
UPSC calls them – not interviews! This PT won’t attract a bombarding 
of questions of general knowledge as seen in the game show ‘kaun 
banega karorepati.’ In fact, highly contrary to it, the board members 
would engage the candidate in a round of conversations and try to 
elicit the personality traits of that person and check whether these 
fall in line with the requirements of civil services. So what are those 
qualities which a civil servant must possess? Many of these must be 
very much evident to the aspirants as these have already been a part of 
discussions in paper 4 of GS. Some of these are honesty, perseverance, 
integrity, mental alertness, social cohesion, and leadership, balance 
of judgment, constructive approach, decision making, politeness, and 
many more.
Even though we know all these aspects, some of the aspirants score 
low marks in the interview, and others score very high. Nevertheless, 
the final selection takes into account both the score in PT as well as 
in mains. It may thus be possible that candidates scoring low marks 
in the interview may get through the final cut off if their marks in 
the mains examination are high. However, the importance of the 
interview in the present times can’t be understated. The candidates 
selected for appearing in the personality test are placed quite neck-
to-neck in this cut-throat competition, so this PT should not be taken 
lightly, especially when we have a wide range of marks awarded in the 
interview.
Therefore, our endeavor should be that an aspirant puts in genuine 
effort to do well in the PT. For this, some plain facts need to be 
understood. The contention that one should begin their preparation 
Preparations for the Personality Test
at least one month before the actual date of the interview is false. As 
we have discussed at the beginning of the book itself, Personality test 
preparation begins at the time when you decide to start studying for 
civil services. It is an ongoing process and not an immediate one.
Secondly, an aspirant must remember that the detailed application form 
presents you to the board before anything else. This has to be filled in 
with utmost care. It is suggested that the advice and help of selected 
candidates and teachers may be solicited for this purpose.
Thirdly, an aspirant has to be utmost cautious at the end of the interview. 
That would carry the last impression and might possibly determine 
your final score. This is from the personal experience of my own 
interview. At the end of the personality test of engineering services, 
after successfully answering most of the technical questions related to 
my subject, the chairman of the board changed the atmosphere from a 
serious one to one filled with humor. He asked me questions about my 
personal life, which I relished, and in the process became too casual 
in my approach. Instead of smiling, I was laughing out loud. I felt 
triumphant because I had answered most of the questions correctly, 
and I felt that the board members were delighted with my answers. 
When the score arrived, I found that the board had given me one of the 
lowest scores on the list!
In the CSE personality test, I was determined not to repeat this 
mistake. The whole interview revolved around my job profile, which 
I had already anticipated and was ready with balanced answers to 
opinion-based questions. Throughout the interview, I maintained my 
calm and controlled my delight as I had answered all the questions. 
At the end of the interview, a lady asked, while smiling, a factual 
question which I didn’t know. I apologized for not knowing the fact 
with a smiling face. Till the last minute, I kept my posture balanced, 
only smiled but never laughed. The corrective efforts bore fruit when 
I found that I received 171 marks, which were about 10 to 15 marks 
above the average score.
Page 3


Preparations for the Personality Test
A delight it is to see your name among the list of successful candidates 
who are selected for the round of personality tests (PT) – that is what 
UPSC calls them – not interviews! This PT won’t attract a bombarding 
of questions of general knowledge as seen in the game show ‘kaun 
banega karorepati.’ In fact, highly contrary to it, the board members 
would engage the candidate in a round of conversations and try to 
elicit the personality traits of that person and check whether these 
fall in line with the requirements of civil services. So what are those 
qualities which a civil servant must possess? Many of these must be 
very much evident to the aspirants as these have already been a part of 
discussions in paper 4 of GS. Some of these are honesty, perseverance, 
integrity, mental alertness, social cohesion, and leadership, balance 
of judgment, constructive approach, decision making, politeness, and 
many more.
Even though we know all these aspects, some of the aspirants score 
low marks in the interview, and others score very high. Nevertheless, 
the final selection takes into account both the score in PT as well as 
in mains. It may thus be possible that candidates scoring low marks 
in the interview may get through the final cut off if their marks in 
the mains examination are high. However, the importance of the 
interview in the present times can’t be understated. The candidates 
selected for appearing in the personality test are placed quite neck-
to-neck in this cut-throat competition, so this PT should not be taken 
lightly, especially when we have a wide range of marks awarded in the 
interview.
Therefore, our endeavor should be that an aspirant puts in genuine 
effort to do well in the PT. For this, some plain facts need to be 
understood. The contention that one should begin their preparation 
Preparations for the Personality Test
at least one month before the actual date of the interview is false. As 
we have discussed at the beginning of the book itself, Personality test 
preparation begins at the time when you decide to start studying for 
civil services. It is an ongoing process and not an immediate one.
Secondly, an aspirant must remember that the detailed application form 
presents you to the board before anything else. This has to be filled in 
with utmost care. It is suggested that the advice and help of selected 
candidates and teachers may be solicited for this purpose.
Thirdly, an aspirant has to be utmost cautious at the end of the interview. 
That would carry the last impression and might possibly determine 
your final score. This is from the personal experience of my own 
interview. At the end of the personality test of engineering services, 
after successfully answering most of the technical questions related to 
my subject, the chairman of the board changed the atmosphere from a 
serious one to one filled with humor. He asked me questions about my 
personal life, which I relished, and in the process became too casual 
in my approach. Instead of smiling, I was laughing out loud. I felt 
triumphant because I had answered most of the questions correctly, 
and I felt that the board members were delighted with my answers. 
When the score arrived, I found that the board had given me one of the 
lowest scores on the list!
In the CSE personality test, I was determined not to repeat this 
mistake. The whole interview revolved around my job profile, which 
I had already anticipated and was ready with balanced answers to 
opinion-based questions. Throughout the interview, I maintained my 
calm and controlled my delight as I had answered all the questions. 
At the end of the interview, a lady asked, while smiling, a factual 
question which I didn’t know. I apologized for not knowing the fact 
with a smiling face. Till the last minute, I kept my posture balanced, 
only smiled but never laughed. The corrective efforts bore fruit when 
I found that I received 171 marks, which were about 10 to 15 marks 
above the average score.
GENERAL TRAPS, MYTHS, AND FREQUENTL Y ASKED QUESTIONS
1) I have studied the developments of ancient and medieval India. It 
will be sufficient for art and culture in GS paper 1.
No. The reading of NCERTs, ancient and medieval India, forms the basis 
on which specific knowledge of art and culture has to be developed. 
For this, read the above section. However, do not think that specific 
knowledge can be built without knowing the socio-economic settings 
of the ancient and medieval world.
2) History is not just about memorizing facts.
A contention that is absolutely wrong. For prelims, nothing has to be 
memorized, and for mains, the suggested readings should be more 
analytical than factual. Please see the mains questions if this myth 
creates a hurdle in your preparations.
3) I read all news about politics and witness heated political debates 
on television, so as to be good in polity.
After the minor success at the preliminary examination of 2013, I 
was invited to a small party by one of my friends who had tasted that 
success 2 times earlier also. During the dinner, he switched on the 
debate on the TV channel Times Now hosted by Arnab Goswami. That 
was the first time I had witnessed such an outrageous debate live on a 
news channel. I inquired about the reason for my friend’s enjoyment 
during the show. “These debates help you create an opinion, and these 
opinion-based questions would come in your mains examination in the 
polity paper.”
My friend was a victim of the similarity created by 2 terms, polity and 
politics. Both are widely different. An aspirant is required to bring the 
polity out of the political news. For example, I may be least interested 
in what Mr. Kejriwal campaigns for, bringing the BJP govt to conduct 
elections in Delhi. But I have to check in the constitution that, as per 
A – 239AA, for how long can the president’s rule stay in Delhi. What 
Page 4


Preparations for the Personality Test
A delight it is to see your name among the list of successful candidates 
who are selected for the round of personality tests (PT) – that is what 
UPSC calls them – not interviews! This PT won’t attract a bombarding 
of questions of general knowledge as seen in the game show ‘kaun 
banega karorepati.’ In fact, highly contrary to it, the board members 
would engage the candidate in a round of conversations and try to 
elicit the personality traits of that person and check whether these 
fall in line with the requirements of civil services. So what are those 
qualities which a civil servant must possess? Many of these must be 
very much evident to the aspirants as these have already been a part of 
discussions in paper 4 of GS. Some of these are honesty, perseverance, 
integrity, mental alertness, social cohesion, and leadership, balance 
of judgment, constructive approach, decision making, politeness, and 
many more.
Even though we know all these aspects, some of the aspirants score 
low marks in the interview, and others score very high. Nevertheless, 
the final selection takes into account both the score in PT as well as 
in mains. It may thus be possible that candidates scoring low marks 
in the interview may get through the final cut off if their marks in 
the mains examination are high. However, the importance of the 
interview in the present times can’t be understated. The candidates 
selected for appearing in the personality test are placed quite neck-
to-neck in this cut-throat competition, so this PT should not be taken 
lightly, especially when we have a wide range of marks awarded in the 
interview.
Therefore, our endeavor should be that an aspirant puts in genuine 
effort to do well in the PT. For this, some plain facts need to be 
understood. The contention that one should begin their preparation 
Preparations for the Personality Test
at least one month before the actual date of the interview is false. As 
we have discussed at the beginning of the book itself, Personality test 
preparation begins at the time when you decide to start studying for 
civil services. It is an ongoing process and not an immediate one.
Secondly, an aspirant must remember that the detailed application form 
presents you to the board before anything else. This has to be filled in 
with utmost care. It is suggested that the advice and help of selected 
candidates and teachers may be solicited for this purpose.
Thirdly, an aspirant has to be utmost cautious at the end of the interview. 
That would carry the last impression and might possibly determine 
your final score. This is from the personal experience of my own 
interview. At the end of the personality test of engineering services, 
after successfully answering most of the technical questions related to 
my subject, the chairman of the board changed the atmosphere from a 
serious one to one filled with humor. He asked me questions about my 
personal life, which I relished, and in the process became too casual 
in my approach. Instead of smiling, I was laughing out loud. I felt 
triumphant because I had answered most of the questions correctly, 
and I felt that the board members were delighted with my answers. 
When the score arrived, I found that the board had given me one of the 
lowest scores on the list!
In the CSE personality test, I was determined not to repeat this 
mistake. The whole interview revolved around my job profile, which 
I had already anticipated and was ready with balanced answers to 
opinion-based questions. Throughout the interview, I maintained my 
calm and controlled my delight as I had answered all the questions. 
At the end of the interview, a lady asked, while smiling, a factual 
question which I didn’t know. I apologized for not knowing the fact 
with a smiling face. Till the last minute, I kept my posture balanced, 
only smiled but never laughed. The corrective efforts bore fruit when 
I found that I received 171 marks, which were about 10 to 15 marks 
above the average score.
GENERAL TRAPS, MYTHS, AND FREQUENTL Y ASKED QUESTIONS
1) I have studied the developments of ancient and medieval India. It 
will be sufficient for art and culture in GS paper 1.
No. The reading of NCERTs, ancient and medieval India, forms the basis 
on which specific knowledge of art and culture has to be developed. 
For this, read the above section. However, do not think that specific 
knowledge can be built without knowing the socio-economic settings 
of the ancient and medieval world.
2) History is not just about memorizing facts.
A contention that is absolutely wrong. For prelims, nothing has to be 
memorized, and for mains, the suggested readings should be more 
analytical than factual. Please see the mains questions if this myth 
creates a hurdle in your preparations.
3) I read all news about politics and witness heated political debates 
on television, so as to be good in polity.
After the minor success at the preliminary examination of 2013, I 
was invited to a small party by one of my friends who had tasted that 
success 2 times earlier also. During the dinner, he switched on the 
debate on the TV channel Times Now hosted by Arnab Goswami. That 
was the first time I had witnessed such an outrageous debate live on a 
news channel. I inquired about the reason for my friend’s enjoyment 
during the show. “These debates help you create an opinion, and these 
opinion-based questions would come in your mains examination in the 
polity paper.”
My friend was a victim of the similarity created by 2 terms, polity and 
politics. Both are widely different. An aspirant is required to bring the 
polity out of the political news. For example, I may be least interested 
in what Mr. Kejriwal campaigns for, bringing the BJP govt to conduct 
elections in Delhi. But I have to check in the constitution that, as per 
A – 239AA, for how long can the president’s rule stay in Delhi. What 
Preparations for the Personality Test
is the role of the Lt. Governor of Delhi in such a scenario when the 
capital is functioning with no elected government? Similar thoughts 
must baffle your mind while reading the political news.
As far as the debates on TV channels are considered, the more 
provocative a debate is, the higher its rating may be. Thus, it seems 
to me that there is a competition among the news channels and the 
hosts of the prominent shows to ask agitating questions on burning 
issues. The media is utterly callous to the intolerance that is being 
propagated by these methods of propaganda. Surprisingly, these 
shows are big hits. People are enjoying word wars – the murkier it 
gets, the more enjoyment it brings! Thus, dear aspirants, even if you 
have a little propensity for these prime-time political debates, please 
avoid them. They will do more harm than good, not only by wasting 
your precious time but also by making you an intolerant personality 
in the long run, which, in fact, is a character contrary to the quality 
of a civil servant.
4) How do I revise polity?
The better word should be how to revisit polity. Do it whenever you 
find suitable news which can have its root in polity. Imbibing polity 
is a continuous process. You can’t just, one fine day, get up and take a 
pledge to remember all the articles by night. Even if you do so, it would 
be a redundant exercise. Remembering articles is not at all important, 
but their usage is.
5) The ethical decision-making questions in paper 4 can be answered 
without any preparation.
No, do not take that risk to write a layman’s answers in that section. Use 
specific approaches in an organized fashion. This will only take your 
score to more than 100 plus. Also, these 125 marks would not require 
significant energies. I think practicing 6 or 7 questions in a time-bound 
manner and with space constraint is more than sufficient. Then why 
leave this stone unturned?
Page 5


Preparations for the Personality Test
A delight it is to see your name among the list of successful candidates 
who are selected for the round of personality tests (PT) – that is what 
UPSC calls them – not interviews! This PT won’t attract a bombarding 
of questions of general knowledge as seen in the game show ‘kaun 
banega karorepati.’ In fact, highly contrary to it, the board members 
would engage the candidate in a round of conversations and try to 
elicit the personality traits of that person and check whether these 
fall in line with the requirements of civil services. So what are those 
qualities which a civil servant must possess? Many of these must be 
very much evident to the aspirants as these have already been a part of 
discussions in paper 4 of GS. Some of these are honesty, perseverance, 
integrity, mental alertness, social cohesion, and leadership, balance 
of judgment, constructive approach, decision making, politeness, and 
many more.
Even though we know all these aspects, some of the aspirants score 
low marks in the interview, and others score very high. Nevertheless, 
the final selection takes into account both the score in PT as well as 
in mains. It may thus be possible that candidates scoring low marks 
in the interview may get through the final cut off if their marks in 
the mains examination are high. However, the importance of the 
interview in the present times can’t be understated. The candidates 
selected for appearing in the personality test are placed quite neck-
to-neck in this cut-throat competition, so this PT should not be taken 
lightly, especially when we have a wide range of marks awarded in the 
interview.
Therefore, our endeavor should be that an aspirant puts in genuine 
effort to do well in the PT. For this, some plain facts need to be 
understood. The contention that one should begin their preparation 
Preparations for the Personality Test
at least one month before the actual date of the interview is false. As 
we have discussed at the beginning of the book itself, Personality test 
preparation begins at the time when you decide to start studying for 
civil services. It is an ongoing process and not an immediate one.
Secondly, an aspirant must remember that the detailed application form 
presents you to the board before anything else. This has to be filled in 
with utmost care. It is suggested that the advice and help of selected 
candidates and teachers may be solicited for this purpose.
Thirdly, an aspirant has to be utmost cautious at the end of the interview. 
That would carry the last impression and might possibly determine 
your final score. This is from the personal experience of my own 
interview. At the end of the personality test of engineering services, 
after successfully answering most of the technical questions related to 
my subject, the chairman of the board changed the atmosphere from a 
serious one to one filled with humor. He asked me questions about my 
personal life, which I relished, and in the process became too casual 
in my approach. Instead of smiling, I was laughing out loud. I felt 
triumphant because I had answered most of the questions correctly, 
and I felt that the board members were delighted with my answers. 
When the score arrived, I found that the board had given me one of the 
lowest scores on the list!
In the CSE personality test, I was determined not to repeat this 
mistake. The whole interview revolved around my job profile, which 
I had already anticipated and was ready with balanced answers to 
opinion-based questions. Throughout the interview, I maintained my 
calm and controlled my delight as I had answered all the questions. 
At the end of the interview, a lady asked, while smiling, a factual 
question which I didn’t know. I apologized for not knowing the fact 
with a smiling face. Till the last minute, I kept my posture balanced, 
only smiled but never laughed. The corrective efforts bore fruit when 
I found that I received 171 marks, which were about 10 to 15 marks 
above the average score.
GENERAL TRAPS, MYTHS, AND FREQUENTL Y ASKED QUESTIONS
1) I have studied the developments of ancient and medieval India. It 
will be sufficient for art and culture in GS paper 1.
No. The reading of NCERTs, ancient and medieval India, forms the basis 
on which specific knowledge of art and culture has to be developed. 
For this, read the above section. However, do not think that specific 
knowledge can be built without knowing the socio-economic settings 
of the ancient and medieval world.
2) History is not just about memorizing facts.
A contention that is absolutely wrong. For prelims, nothing has to be 
memorized, and for mains, the suggested readings should be more 
analytical than factual. Please see the mains questions if this myth 
creates a hurdle in your preparations.
3) I read all news about politics and witness heated political debates 
on television, so as to be good in polity.
After the minor success at the preliminary examination of 2013, I 
was invited to a small party by one of my friends who had tasted that 
success 2 times earlier also. During the dinner, he switched on the 
debate on the TV channel Times Now hosted by Arnab Goswami. That 
was the first time I had witnessed such an outrageous debate live on a 
news channel. I inquired about the reason for my friend’s enjoyment 
during the show. “These debates help you create an opinion, and these 
opinion-based questions would come in your mains examination in the 
polity paper.”
My friend was a victim of the similarity created by 2 terms, polity and 
politics. Both are widely different. An aspirant is required to bring the 
polity out of the political news. For example, I may be least interested 
in what Mr. Kejriwal campaigns for, bringing the BJP govt to conduct 
elections in Delhi. But I have to check in the constitution that, as per 
A – 239AA, for how long can the president’s rule stay in Delhi. What 
Preparations for the Personality Test
is the role of the Lt. Governor of Delhi in such a scenario when the 
capital is functioning with no elected government? Similar thoughts 
must baffle your mind while reading the political news.
As far as the debates on TV channels are considered, the more 
provocative a debate is, the higher its rating may be. Thus, it seems 
to me that there is a competition among the news channels and the 
hosts of the prominent shows to ask agitating questions on burning 
issues. The media is utterly callous to the intolerance that is being 
propagated by these methods of propaganda. Surprisingly, these 
shows are big hits. People are enjoying word wars – the murkier it 
gets, the more enjoyment it brings! Thus, dear aspirants, even if you 
have a little propensity for these prime-time political debates, please 
avoid them. They will do more harm than good, not only by wasting 
your precious time but also by making you an intolerant personality 
in the long run, which, in fact, is a character contrary to the quality 
of a civil servant.
4) How do I revise polity?
The better word should be how to revisit polity. Do it whenever you 
find suitable news which can have its root in polity. Imbibing polity 
is a continuous process. You can’t just, one fine day, get up and take a 
pledge to remember all the articles by night. Even if you do so, it would 
be a redundant exercise. Remembering articles is not at all important, 
but their usage is.
5) The ethical decision-making questions in paper 4 can be answered 
without any preparation.
No, do not take that risk to write a layman’s answers in that section. Use 
specific approaches in an organized fashion. This will only take your 
score to more than 100 plus. Also, these 125 marks would not require 
significant energies. I think practicing 6 or 7 questions in a time-bound 
manner and with space constraint is more than sufficient. Then why 
leave this stone unturned?
6) I don’t believe myself to be an ethical person, so how can I score 
well in the ethics paper?
Your personal ethics won’t play a major role if these are camouflaged 
in good preparation and organized structuring of answers in paper 4 
of GS. However, during the course of study, you must try to align your 
personal ethics with the requirements of services; otherwise, there is a 
high possibility that it may be laid bare in the interview.
7) One should not bother about the compulsory language papers.
Dear aspirants, these compulsory papers are far from being innocuous. 
I have seen 3 candidates failing in either English or one of the 
languages that you need to take from those listed in schedule 8. It is 
even tormenting that if one fails in these compulsory language papers, 
he/she would not even receive marks in the other mains examination 
papers. Thus, you would simply not be able to know whether you have 
cleared the cut off for the mains or not.
Thus, it is a sincere advice that every aspirant must practice some 
previous years’ papers of both the compulsory languages in a time-
bound manner. This may be done a week before the mains examination. 
Also, in the actual papers, do not leave any section or even a question 
unanswered. I had practiced 3 Hindi papers of compulsory language 
which consisted of one essay at the beginning of the paper. But in 
the actual paper, there were 2 essays to be written in the 2013 mains. 
However, in mains 2014, again there was one essay to be written. The 
candidate is advised to practice writing 2 essays, which would require 
serious effort to complete the paper in 3 hours.
8) Marking in the civil services mains examination is random. High 
subjectivity is involved.
What you can’t see is left open for umpteen interpretations. The 
marking procedure is not disclosed by UPSC, and the constitutional 
body has all the rights not to be under the ambit of RTI in paper setting