ts of a

e. · forces. · ·The.,.
ally lasts betwe en 45
an hour. During this time,

=~ . terviewing officer goes deep

:e personality of the candid ate.
He generally asks questions b~sed on ' C\ / .

the following aspects of your life and Interviewing Officer

so you should be prepa red Conducting an Interview
accordingly.

The Past
This covers your academic pursui ts and includ es your perfor mance in
school and college. The intervi ewer will ask you about your marks and
choice of subjects taken at variou s levels as well as your partici pation
in games and extra-curricular activities. He will want to know your
opinions on the teachers who taught you and your feelings about your
friends. He will also a's k about your family in some detail, going into
your relationship with each memb er as well as your role at home.

The Present
This will include questions about your curren t occupation, be it studie s
or work. The interviewer would like to check your genera l aware ness
of your surroundings. He would seek your views on curren t issues of
national or even interna tional interest. He may also like to know about
your spare time activities, your daily routine , and the friends in your
neighbourhood.

The Future
The interviewer may also like to know about the variou s career option s
you're looking into and what you are doing about them.

Your Personality
The interviewer may ask you questi ons regard ing your own strong
:d Weak points. He may presen t a made- up situati on based on your
e and want to know how you would go about resolving the proble ms.
 yeur pic,ftslic)n. •
ve !1n~ officer canllilt
tie ab<> · d test your knowledge about
, ve· served.15anabout your JO· b prof 1·1e, the
l,odtthe~youba
you L ThiS may include deta1 scale details about the cot1rses
your wor,-. . th . equipment , .
. tionof theUNt, ~ . our authorisations, etc.
organtsa · · officer
-m-tarY traiJUllg, Y ti" run·g the interviewmg
vou have done, 11uu
i lines of ques o '
Apart from all these risms and body language and correlate them
will also read your manne . fin 1 dgment about you.
JU.

rs before making a a . .
to your answe . . f 6 t O 7 rounds of questions which the
.cal Intervtew consISts o •
A typi Ra .d-fire questions. These questions are
candidates generally refer as p1
as follows: . . .
. Background· In this round, the 1nterv1ew1ng
Round 1: Aca dem1c · . .
officer (10) asks the candidate about his education starting from class
10th onwards (in case of candidates going for NDA they may a~k from
class 8th onwards). In this the IO is keen to know about the marks
scored in various examinations the subjects taken after class 10th, the
participation in games and sports in school and college as well as
extracurricular activities. He also wants to know about the teacher who
imp~sed the c~ndid~te most and the teacher who did not impress the
candidate the mterv1ewing officer also asks about the friends the
candidat_e had and who among them are the close friends. The IO may
also ask if the candidate faced any diffi·culty. h'is aca d emic .
R d in career.
oun 2: The Family Round· Aft th IO.
the academic career of th d. 'd er e is satisfied to know about
e can i ate he want t kn b f 'l
background. in this the 10 ask the . s o ow a out the ami Y
mother brothers and sist d ca nd idate to tell about his father
ers an grandpa t . .h
them. He wants to kno b . ren s with their staying wit
. w a out their ed . d
occupation, you also ask the candid ucahon qualifications an
home and whom does he conf d _ate about what duties does he do at
may also ask about the fr1·end i_ e hin about his secrets. Sometimes JO
act· · · s 1n t e ·
iv1bes you indulge in with th L neighborhood and what kind of
pocket money you get and ho:m. astly he also asks about how much
Round 3· Hobb" you use the money
• 1es a d ·
n Spare Time Activ' .
•h es: This round is about
 . '
Round 4: Information about job: In this IO this is intere s~
about the job you are doing at present as·well the jobs done~ tfl as
past. What are y~ur ~es a~d dislike~ about t~e ~ob, ~hat duties you
perform, the relation ship wtth the seruors and JUnIOrs m the office; and
any achievements which you had so far?
Round 5: It is about your strengt hs and weakne sses: In which the
interviewing officer likes to know about any two or three strength s
and any two or three weakne sses of the candida te.
· Round 6: It is about Miscell aneous Questio ns pertain ing to Genera l
knowled ge, Militar y Knowle dg~ or current affairs

MOCK INTERVIEW
Let's Go through a full mock intervie w with a candida te Mukesh
Sharma (PIQ Attache~) who is going for CDS entry. This is his first
attempt at SSB

Candidate Name: Mukesh Sharma

,.,vo•
e,~~±-- ,~e«i.o~
\ PERSONAL ljFDRW\TJQN OU£STJONH•..U!E
-•w- _ - · !.l?f COlO

. -- -- .1
ecu; No. ,
__ _1__1,~--- ~,,'---
~ tit,t ~ -

•- ·- '
l>t4010

2. - In CAPITALS (Al in mallteulltion ce,t,r.c;ot.) _ h-\1.lJl!.SH~ ,n - --

 IO: Please Come in .
CANomATB MUICl&I: Jai Hind. Sir
io: Jai Hind. Please sit down_ from?
IO: Which town are you conung
CANDIDATE: Sir Baghpat

IO· Tell Me more about your Hometown .

all town in western UP.. Located
.
CANDIDATE
MUI<1$H: Sir, Baghpat
It has popu1a tion. of 1.2 lakhs. It has 3
is a asm
on banks of River Yamuna. .

tehsils and 290 yillages. Id like y· ou to tell me about your

rt "th I wou
IO: That's good. Tosta ~ I 10th onwards and commg up your
·
·
academic career starting with c ass b t the subjects you s tud"ied ' the
Present level. I would like to know
.
a ou
. the sports and games
.
m w
hich
. . s exammations,
marks obtained m vanou . t which you had in them. I would
. . ted and any achievemen s h" h
you particrpa b t the extracurricular activities in w IC you
also to know
likeated
artici in school or co11ege and I would like to know
a ou . about the
p heryou
teac p liked the most th so
· you
· and the teacher who did nothimpress
h Talk about your friends which you had and w o among e~
;:,~c~ere close to. Did you face any problems during your academic
career talk about that?

CANDIDATE MUKEsH: Sir, I have done my class Xth from Government

Secondary School Baghpat in 2016 from UP board. I studied Subjects,
English, Hindi, Maths, Science, Social Studies. I scored 88 percent of
marks. I was First in my Class. My favourite subject was Social Studies
and English in which I scored 94 and 90 per cent respectively.
I changed my school after Xth as my father who is in the army got
posted to Meerut Cantt. Where I got admission in XI in the Army Public
school. I took humanities stream in class XIth with subjects Pol Science,
Economics, English and Computer science (subjects) as I had a lot of
· terest in political science as a subject. I scored 82 percent of marks ill
th. .

th, I continued in the same school with the same subjects

tage of marks and secured 2•d position in my clasS
 During school, other than acadetnics, I partidpah!if
as debate, declama tion and I was regular on stage for news retif1it
sessions when we had the duty of my house. I also particip ated in interJ.
house, inter-sch ool and inter-college basketba ll events, I was also the
football team captain of school football team for two years in class 10th
and 11 th • in Class 12th I was made the school captain. ·
The teacher I liked most was Tripta Ma' am and taught us English
in school. I liked her because I was from Hindi medium but she took
extra care to help me develop the confidence in spoken language. The
teacher who did not impress me so much was our Maths Sir in Xth.
One reason that I was a bit weak in Maths the other he used to teach
very fast and finished the syllabus very fast.
I had a number of friends in school and college. (Give the names of
four or five friends.) Among these, I was very close to Ravi, Kuldeep,
Parminder and Sanjay. The reason was that all of us stayed in the same
colony and daily went together to school and in evening played football
together.
I did not face any problem s during my academic career.

Questions About Family

IO: Suppose you tell me about your father, mother, brothers and sisters
and grandpa rents if they are staying with you. I would like to know
about their educatio n qualifications and occupation. What duties do
you do at home and whom do you confide in about your secrets. I
would also like to know about the friends in your neighbo urhood and
what kind of activities you indulge in with them. Lastly, I would also
like to know about how much pocket money you get they get and how
you use the money.
MUI<Estt: Sir, We are a nuclear consisting of 4 members. My father is a
~ost Graduate and working in Army His rank is Subedar._My mother
18 a graduate and a homema ker. I have a younger brother who is
studying I class XII in APS Meerut. l share my secrets with my father as
Well as my mother and seek their advice whenev er required. I also, at
· ounger brother and we discuss a lot of things.
l lake put:in a lat11f::adldile.lf
gadgets,~ my m•to·dw.WIII•_. ·
house. I also teach my young'1' ~ - J ~ n , / : ~ ~
our birthdays and, organise family even~- I get~ ~as :y'..fflCJmhi~
pocket money, and I spend it on my statwnerY requuemen and -.a
eatables.
Questions on Hobbles and Spare 111118 ActlvHles
IO: Tell me something about your hobbies and spare time activities.
Sir, my hobby is playing guitar, I read the daily n~paper, and Cllrrent '
affairs magazines like GK Today, Yojana, Outlook, Indta Today, etc. I watch
the WION channel for daily news update and sometimes Net Geo for
and History Channel. I often watch Rajya Sabha TV for news analysis. 1

I use the internet for my studies as well as updating my general

knowledge and current affairs. I subscribe to the GK today YouTube
channel and AMAS website for daily news clips for the same:
M~ routine on a working day is as follows I get up at 6 am and aft

~
domg my daily ablutions go for jogging and exercise. I have:
breakfast by 8 am and by 8.30 I am off to college. I come back b 3
P~- ~ave my lunch and rest for an hour. From 5 to 6 m I y .
district sports stadium where I play basketball dail F P go to the
I do my college study work. From 8 30 t Y· rom 7 to 8.30 pm
especially WION alongwithd' F. o 9.30 I watch News channels
tor SSB I sleep by midnight. mner. rom 10 pm t 0 a1most 11.30 I study

During Sundays and holidays I t .

go for a jog. During day time I ge up a bit late around 7 am but still
home errand like buying grocer· genhe~ally go to the market· on some
. I also spare some time on Sund ies w 1ch my moth er tells me to liking.
. ay to play my guitar.
Questions for Service Cand'd
I ates

wher ou . in which I
I 0: Tell me ab t your Job .
what •/ave performed. What are your ~uld be keen to know about
onwarJ:. your achievements. You can :1:;:::
dislikes about the job
m your basic training
SERVICE CANDIDATES: I reported tom . .
(month and year) . Dunng. my basic yreg1mental/tra·
traini . . centre ort--
in1ng
ng as a recruit, I perfol1lled .
~fWst~~
1ato0n writer, etc.). Duringnniy ~•wit
~pated in inter:oon'panY · _ ~ / V O l lll!Ulliit
hockey/handball/ cross-country marathon, etc.) c¥m~ ,
scored excellent in BPET/PPr and MM in firing.·In the passing
parade, I was __ (squad leader/ parade leader, etc.). . .
1 was posted to __ battalion as my first unit. In the ·battalion, I
performed duties such as __. I played __ (game) up to · (level).
My special achievement during this tenure was __
(Your achievements must include appreciation by your CO and above
in letter/commendation card.)
(Repeat the same for every unit you·have served in.)
I like the discipline and adventure involved in my job. There is nothing
in particular that I dislike.
My working conditions are __. (Talk about your duty hours and the
type of job you are doing.)
My basic salary is __ and other than my salary I have __ as income
from my farm.
I am very satisfied. However, I want to upgrade myself to a higher
level of responsibility and knowledge.
~andidates doing a civil job: I started my career w~th campus placement
in - (company /organisatio n). Thereafter, I worked there. My
res~onsibilities were __. My salary was __. My special achievements
dunng the job were __. My working hours in the company were
~- My work involved _ _ (travelling/ computer job/ field job/desk
10 /project handling,
etc.). _
~ . .

tak Tell me about 5 National and 5 International events which have

en place over the past year: .
~Uloisl!: Sir the five national and internationa l events are as follows.
Pare these as per your preparation)
. .
10: ok, now
t ll
· e me about your ~trengths and weaknesses.
 MUKPSH: Sir my strengths are I am . .
and I an extrovert so I have.many &i . . • •··
:' . . . conunUJ11cation,s ; . . .•
I
And my weaknesses are ~tly lack good · · · . '.· . . · .. ·.
am little over weight.
.
*. * *
. uestlon• the 10 may ask lhe S81Yfce
In addition to the above mentioned,:elr service knowledge or service
entry candidates anything from
history . . ent/Corps history
1. Knowledge about Umt/Re~ation and strength of your Unit/
2. Knowledge about the orgam
Battalion · d equipment held by your Unit/
3. Knowledge about weapons an
Battalion

THE LAST DAY OF SSB .

Closing Address .
The dosing address is generally given by the Deputy President t~e ?f
board, in which he explains the assessment process of the selection m
brief and also asks after the well-being of the candidates.

The Conference
It's a formal occasion arid all assessors are dressed formally. The service
. officers are in uniform and civilian officers in formal clothes. Each
candidate is called before the board and asked a few questions. The
performance of the candidate is discussed and the decision regarding
selecting _him or not is taken here.

The De Novo Selection System

The present 5-day selection process has been.around for more than 3o
year~. In~tially, there was no Stage One, so a day was saved. In 2012,
considering th~ changes taking place in the society, new tools of
assessment ~vailable, and incorporating technology in the process, the
. Defence Institute of Psychological Research embarked on a project to
make some changes to the selection system. This project is nearinS
 SCHe
. . . '

• · pietiOil and~ likely to be introduced by 2020. After u·'-0ftl.aJI-J

~feedback, the system will be implemented in the prototype.,..
: some SSB's. The final ~ o~ p~ures has not been declassified yet
but it is presumed that 1t will de-link Stage One from the main $B .
testing, which will then shrink to 3 days. Some changes _in techniques
are also on the horizon. However, the three assessor system (G~,
Psychologist, and Interviewer) is here to stay.
 · ·3.-·GENERAL KNOWLEDGE AND CURREtfT.AFFAIRS .·r.

e,eneral knowledge and CWTent affairs are two ·different things though
most people mistake them to be the same. Hence, we will cover both
separately.

General Knowledge
General Knowledge (GK) or General Awareness (GA) includes the
following information:
a) India-· geography (physical and political), economy, history,
states and union territories, culture and traditions, sources of
- r* • ·• '• ~
. b·' ia -.. , ~. . . .~
. ,, in dl nd rep , ~-iUIM ~~- ~ , . with
. ASn,r.n .1 . SCOI WTO, etc.),·-
A.-.i.,,
. . . .
. .
cou ntr ies· ..
c) India-sports(Olymp1cs,
Asian Game&, Co mm on we alt h~
. .
etc.), sport stars ce Programme, Nuclear Progranune)
d) Ind ia - technology (Sp~ents treaties and agr
eem ent s
e) World - economy, con / . ~ ter rito ry yo
f) Knowledge of the sta te uru u belong to, the city
o
you_ stay in, etc. b d kno wle dge abo ut the
Arm y, Na vy and
g) Indian Arm(by - ; a role we apo ns in use
Air Force ranc es, , doc trin e, etc.) (AU
'
•
~t a~ ~~ :1 ...·b1 t the website ww w.bh aratra ksha k .com.)
ea b'
h) Academic Knowledge - basic kno wle dge
of the su J~cts you
have studied at high school, gra dua tion or pos
t-?1 'ad uat ion level
i) Knowledge about you r job - job pro file ,
dut ies , ~rocedures,
responsibilities, knowledge of the com pan y
.
Preparation
. The·days of buying general knowledge yea rbo
oks and compendiums
have passed. Today, mo st of the inf orm atio
n is ava ilab le online~ I
recommend to all candidates wh o seek to und
ert ake self-preparation
to first read the material online, the n tak e a 100
-pa ge reg iste r and write
down the gist of the issues for later reference
and qui ck revision. It is
always better to make you r ow n notes in ord
er to rem em ber things
tha n to rea d the rea dym ade not es giv en
by som eon e. General
Knowledge and General Awareness req uir e ser
iou s pre par atio n; hence
I strongly recommend the candidates to pre par
e well.
Current Affairs
This requires a very different kin d of pre par atio
n. Ca ndi dat es must do
threadbare stu dy on the current issues pre vai
ling in the country and
world. By current, I me an tha t you sho uld kno
w abo ut all events
bee n hap pen ing in the cou ntr y and the wo rld
in the past one
e events could cover var iou s asp ect s like:

Jnternational Affairs
Defence Forces
sparts
1mp0rtant National Events
1mp0rtant International Events
DP, inflation, d ·
Rise of China, India-US reJa ·
New weapons, Aircrafts, Ships
Performance of Indian teams at various events

Preparation
'
'

Daily newspaper rea din g is the bes t wa y to enh

anc e you r knowledge
of current affairs. Ho we ver , the re is a me tho
d to read the newspaper
for preparation. ~n the mo rni ng we hav e less
time so we can give a
quick glance at all the pag es and wit h a pen ma
rk the important news
items that require det aile d reading. Du rin g the
day whenever one has
time, one can sit dow n and rea d the ma rke d item
s. I suggest my students
note down the dai ly im por tan t new s items
in a few sentences in a
notebook or a register so tha t at a later stage one
does not forget about
them. Also, new spa per cut tin gs of imp ort ant
articles can be kept. It is
also very imp ort ant to tak e tim e to wa tch som
e discussions on current
issues on good new s channels. There are ma
ny channels like Rajya
Sabha TV, WION, Times Now, NDTV, and BBC
where important issues
are debated ver y well. Listening to suc h debate
s, views, and counter-
views about the topics hel ps you form you r ow
n opinions. Also, note
down the im por tan t poi nts tha t you hea r
in you r cur ren t affairs
notebook. Remember, you are doi ng this to upd
ate you r current affairs
knowledge. So, if you don 't not e the informatio
n down, you are likely
to forget important points. ·.
· -
4. KNOWLEDGE ABOUT YOURSELF
Everyone thinks this is the easiest par t of SSB bec
ause you juSt have to
answer questions abo ut you r per son al life. Ho
coneerned, wever, as far as I am
it is the tric kie st bit . I feel thi s req uir
· es ma xim
· um
·Pl'eparation. It has two parts: . · ·
you rse lf - Refresh you r memories on the ~a
rio ~
e suc h as academic life, family _details, and
.,
 b) NuratbigwhatyouJmowa b i n i t ~ .
. to prepare what you plan to tell theassessor
when he uii
your life.
You can divide your life into the following parts:

I) Student lite
You must remember all the subjects that you studied in school after
class X, how many marks you obtained in each class, which stream
you chose after.class X and the reason for it, and how your perfonnance
was in class XII exams. You must also recollect facts about your
graduation and post-graduation (if applicable). You may also like to
talk about the co-curricular activities and the sports activities in which
you participated. These could include participation in academic debates
seminars; quizzes, Olympiads, entrance exams, technical fests in coll~
and the role played by you in it.

II) Family life

While describing your family it is important to know about them
tho~oughl!'_ You should speak about your father, mother and siblings
their qualifications
. · ·
, 1·ob d esignahons, '
their personality traits (in brieO'
what their presence meIans in . . ,
household work h your hfe, how you help them with
fam·1 I , o~ c ose you are to each one of them what your
i y va ues are and the stron d ,
personalities. If any memb h g an weak points in all their
can be added. er as some special achievements, those too

iii) Friend circle

Some interviewers may go slightl dee .
would like you to tell them b Y per into your personal lives and
a outyourclo f .
th ought beforehand to wh se riend circle. Give a serioUS
O 11
Then you should make yours If actua11Yconsider your close friends,
a you
the~ jobs, their college, prob~e.:t:r~ of all aspects of their lives, Jike
achievements. - eing 'faced by them, and general

Iv) Job
who have a job must be p . . 11
ab<>
such as the job pro:!a~ t~ talk knowledgeably: th;
' hierarchy, the peer group, ,
 .
·· questions abou t the job~ and what ~our _ .
v) Spare time activities
Whether or not you have a job, you alwa ys have some spare time durin g
the day or on holiday. The inter view ing officer woul d like to know
how you utilise your spare time a_n d what activities you like to indu lge
in.

vi) Hobbies and other Interests

Hobbies are certa in activ ities whic h we take up in our spare time
willingly and lovingly. Spor ts cann ot be coun ted as a hobby, thou gh it
may be a passion. In case you have a hobby, you must be able to talk
elaborately on it, prep are how to desc ribe it, and have adeq uate
knowledge abou t it.

vii) Special Achievements in any Sphere

In case you have had any special achievements durin g your academic
career, sports, co-curricular activities or in your job, you shou ld be well
prepared to describe it with confidence.
After you have thou ght abou t what you wish to spea k abou t the
~spects listed above or some other s too, I recom mend you write it down
m_a notebook and read it a coup le of times. By doin g this exercise you
will not miss out on speak ing abou t any impo rtant aspec t of your life.
After you have prepa red what you want to narra te abou t yourself, you
should be able to do it confi dentl y and clearly. The questions ·may or
~ay not be direct but they are likely to cover the abov e-me ntion ed
issues. During the narra tion in the interview, the IO may also ask you
Il\any new questions relat ed to the issue s that you highl ight abou t
!o~rself. For example, if you say that your favourite game is football
Y:u You h~ve played for your school or college team, the IO may ask
You :uesti0ns related to football, tryin g to gaug e how much passi on
ave for the game.
Interview
ew is on e co nt in uo us tas k. Ho we ve r, so me teachers at SSB
Th e in ter vi
ng ce nt re s an d au th or s of the typ ica l SSB gu ide bo ok s break the
co ac hi
in to fiv e or six su bta sk s. No ne the les s, the 45 mi nu tes ·to I
in ter vi ew
 fiffMl'lC8.I answer to this starts t, ~
-_co~ ~hei:e the ca~didate has .wor~ed. ~ -
in~ lJ\ &,.~m~ out s~gh~y mo~ thanJUSt your work ~.
f{ere the intervte~ ~ o~cer s quenes are related to your lead~
achievements, activities m sports, extra-curr icular interests, hobbies,
{anlily, friends, and gener~l awa~eness about your surroundin gs. Other
than this, throughou t the interview, the Interviewi ng Officer observes
your overall _c on~uct an_d mannerism s. He indirectly assesses your
ability to understan d the questions posed to you and the way you
answer them. You are at liberty to say what you want and in however
much detail you see fit. However, it's not good to attempt to hide any
facts from the interviewi ng officer. Do not give any false information
either, because the interview ers have ways and means to find out the
truth. A typical interview also includes some technical questions based
on the subjects you have studied at school or college level or other
professional courses. For example, if you are going for JAG entry, some
questions based on your law subjects may be asked. Candidate s with
an engineering backgroun d going for Technical entries could be asked
questions on engineerin g facts and nuances. Other than this, questions
on General Knowledg e and Current Affairs also form a part of the
interview. Those of you going for service entries like ACC, SCO or SL
should also be prepared to answer questions about the army and its
various branches such as arms and services. As the spectrum of
questions that can be asked is very wide, thorough preparatio n is a
.must for the SSB interview.

Skl//-set required for the Interview

!here are a number of skills that a candidate needs in order to do well
th
U\ e SSB interview. Some of them are as follows: -·
a) Communication Skills: Good verbal expression with good
c0 mmand ..
over language facilitates a cand·date
1 to answer
. ·
the
b) ·questions clearly and confidentl y. ks hree or
Attentiveness· The interviewi ng officer generally as t .
f · • · . bility to listen
our questions at once and you must have the a
t0 , .. d th answer them
and register them in your mind an en _
 ..
~· . in tbe
d) .Self-Auuraa• While;1111~b~, ._,.._
display a good amount of selfra811U'8Dce I><:> not fidget a._
1

your arms or legs Ullll~Y. Sit firm ~d l?°k int~ the ey~
of the interviewing officer while answenng his questions.
' e) Knowledge about Yourself: As I brought out ~lier t~, the
SSB interviewer would like to go into as much detail ~bout YoUr
life as he may deem necessary to get an i~ea of your ~rsonaJity.
At times, questions about the marks obtamed by you ma subject
in Class X or Clas~ XII may seem irrel~vant and awkward to
you, but vague answers such as, "I don't remember, Sir'' are
certainly not going to help you and ~o not reflect well on you.
So, prepare yourself well in advance on all details pertaining to
yourself, your past, and your family members. Another common
. answer from candidates, when asked about their father's salary,
is, "Sir, I don't know", which clearly shows the assessors how
ignorant the candidate is of the things around him.
Do's and Don't's Regarding the Interview
i) Approach the interview with a positive attitude and
truthfulness.
-~~) Dress up formally in well-fitted clothes.
~) Enter the room with a confident smile.
iv) Don:t put Y?ur hands in your pockets.
~) Avoid wearmg heavy make-up.
. ~~) Have a neat haircut and coni.b it well.
vu) tHa_vte proper answers regarding your positive and negative I
ra1 s.
viii) ~otsiti:e body language must be displayed throughout the
1n erv1ew. .
ix) Don't get adamant on a .
. the issue d h ny point unless you are very sure about
an t e facts about it ·
x) Questions are gener 11 ·
Understand th ~ Y asked together in a rapid manner.
. e questions and a h . 11
xt) In case you don't kn nswer t em sequentla y. .
. say: "Sorry sir I d ~w the answer to a particular question, 1ust
· ' on t know the answer. I will find it out.''
 (PAST~
. .
~RESEm A
. . . ~ . .

When you go for an interview it is very importan t that you know about
yourself and are thorough ly prepared to answer questions regarding
it. Most of you may even laugh that I am professing that a person should
prepare to talk about himself. Yes, I reiterate that there is a serious need
to know about yourself and to do preparati on on the subject before
presenting the facts to an interviewer. We generally carry the notion
that we know everythin g about ourselves and can talk about it anytime. ·
But that is not the case when you are facing interviews. You cannot
afford to talk about yourself at unlimited length or mention frivolous
issues which may actually result in sheer wastage of time for the
interviewer and which is generally not appreciated. What you must
understand as an interview ee is the purpose of the interview er in asking
such questions. The answer is that he wishes to know what you have
done in your past in various phases in life and from which he may pick
cues to clarify some issues. Hence, a good answer to ''Tell me about
yourself" should be brief yet informati ve and unambig uous so as to
cover all the importan t aspects of your life. Some of the details would
also be in the form of data, for instance, marks scored in various exams
(wh· h · ·
ic you may have to memorise ), etc. To be able to deliver a good
answer it is imperativ e that you write these things in your diary and
r:ad it a couple of times so that you don't miss any details. Generally,
t e areas you should cover can be divided under the following headings:

7.,

~?Ber m Puz
Hence, trs impotamt to .
you forgot is generally c ~ • Jddmg ~rb
performance. Connected 'with the marks are a so other 'iillt
th~. wen lllcl
achievements. If yo~ haye any, y~u must ~ember
include them in your narration. ?ese could ~dude Partietpation it\
academic debates, seminars, quizzes, Olympiads, _e~trance exall\s
technical fests in college and the role playE?Cf by you m it, etc. '

2. Famlly
In many interviews, details about your immediate family members can
also be asked: So better be prepared about it. What is important for you
to prepare in this regard is how much deta_il to give. One can speak for
an hour about one's father, mother, or siblings but does it make any
difference? Hence it's important to prepare all facts you must cover in
order to give answers about your family. Basically, you must be able to
give correct answers about their jobs, academic qualifications, and
salaries. If any member has any special achievements, that can be added.

3. Friend Circle
Some interviewers may go slightly deeper into your personal lives and
would like you to tell them about your close friend circle. People have
many friends (online, offline, virtual, office friends, home friends) and
you may end up getting confused about whom to call a close friend. So
it is better to give it serious thought beforehand and make sure you
kn_ow about them in all aspects. Issues like their jobs, college, problems
being faced by them, and general ach~evements are important.

4. Job
The _int~~ewer may also want to know about your past and present
15 asked in almost all corporate interviews. So it is better to
• You should be able to talk about the job content,
t, our achievements in the company, etc.
 ie a1,oU1 a liobby in the ~Q ~ onl~ 'fl
W'it talk about it if asked dunng the mterview. Do n;lsay
andsake of saying it. I have seen many candidates who mention SOdle
th~ in the PIQ form and know nothing about it. Basically, whate\ret
h~ write as your hobby should be genuine and you should be able to
~ about it. Prepare and read about it well.
s/Domain Knowledge .
6. Technical Question
Most of the interviews will not be complete if domain. knowled ge is
not checked. Hence most of the interview s have a set of technica l
questions especially for the people who are technically qualified. Others
may be quizzed on their subjects of study in school or college. So as a
candidate you should prepare well. ·

7. Future Plans/Alternate Plans

A lot of interviewing experts wish to know about the career options
available to the candidate at various times in life and which one they
took and why. The answers to these questions must be well thought of.
Agood candidate should abstain from telling lies and give well thought
out answers with logic.