– Written by Anuj Jindal

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has declared the RBI Grade B DR (General) Phase 2 results recently. The candidates who have cleared the exam will be notified for the interview in a few days.

When an aspirant reaches the interview round, it usually means that he has a knowledge base that is superior to most of his peers. However, in order to crack the RBI interview, a superior knowledge base is not sufficient. An aspirant would need much more than that in his/her arsenal.

Interviews are not as difficult as is perceived, given that you prepare for them “structurally”. Most of us assume that interviews are mere discussions between two individuals. Well, they are not. There is a sequence you need to follow to ace your next interview, whether it is an interview for UPSC, RBI or an interview for consultancy.

Read | RBI Grade B Phase 2 results 2021 declared, check list of shortlisted candidates

An interview demands you to work in multiple dimensions such as communication skills, positive vibes, right expression of understanding among others.

We have all watched it in movies where Leonardo knows exactly what the Haggler in front of him is going to say next. Thus, he moulds the situation in his favour to win. Interviews of competitive examinations like UPSC and RBI are nothing less than a Hollywood movie. After all, the success ratio in UPSC is 0.08%, 0.15% in RBI and 0.09% in SEBI.

This means, for 1 seat, you are competing against 1250 students in UPSC, 700 students in RBI and 1100 students in SEBI. Once you qualify for the interview, the success ratio is 1:3 in UPSC, 1:4.5 in RBI and 1:3 in SEBI. This means that only 1 out of 3 students are selected in the interview process. This ratio is even more gruesome in RBI where only 1 out of 4.5 students is selected after the interview.

Bio-data form: The Bio-data form is a peek into your personality. It is like a 30-second clip summarising 20-25 years of your life. The interviewers have not witnessed your life first-hand so the biodata form is the document that explains you as a person, to the interview panel. If written well, it can contribute immensely towards your success. If written shabbily, it can prove to be a deal-breaker. The problem is that majority of interviewees in government examinations tend to take their biodata form too lightly, only to repent later.

There are two major mistakes made in the bio-data forms:

  • First, students often lie in their form. Let us remember that the interview board consists of experienced folks who have interviewed thousands of students and managed several lakh juniors in their organisations. They can sense when you lie and when you tell the truth. If you want your first impression to be good, stop writing what you do not mean.
  • Second, students often take the questions of bio-data form very lightly. Let us take an example to understand this point. There is a section called “hobbies/ awards and recognitions/ extra-curricular activities” in almost all bio-data forms used by the above-esteemed examinations. One of the most popular answers to the question, “what are your hobbies?” is “I like watching movies” or “I like listening to music”. There is a difference between a “hobby” and a “time pass”. If a student follows any genre of movies or music or if he is an ardent follower of an artist, then only he can claim to have such a hobby, not otherwise.

Understanding of the organization you are applying to: Most of those aspiring to be government employee are not doing it out of passion, rather out of necessity. The Indian society still considers the government job as a panacea for all our problems. In the rat race to get hold of a government job for societal acceptance, we forget about the fact that we will be spending approximately 30 long years of our future in one organization. It is better to be doing what we want to do with our lives.

The interview board is guaranteed to ask you this one question, “Why do you want to join us?” If the answer in your heart is not your own, no matter how much you fake it, you will never make it.

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Fortunately, the answer to this difficult looking question is very simple. You need to understand what the organization does and see for yourself if you can identify with their vision and methods of working. When you are able to answer the question, “why should I be working here at all?”, you will automatically have the answer of “why do you want to join us?”

3. Think like an interviewer: The key to acing an interview here is two-fold: First, to forecast the question you might be asked next, and second is saying what the interviewer wants to listen to and not what you know. This is not an easy job, it requires you to take some basic steps, and repeat them consistently.

Mock Interview: Create sections from where you can be asked questions. For example, the RBI interview is bound to have questions from banking, basics of finance, basics of economics, history of Indian financial system, history of Indian economy, history of Indian banking and current affairs related to finance. Every interview will have a unique set of questions. Once you have created these sections, the real work starts. Within these sections, you need to create questions and find their answers. Your target should be to write down 25 questions and answers in each section, every day, till your Interview.

Your job does not end with questions and answers. You need to practice them regularly. You must practice in front of the mirror. Look yourself in the eye and answer the question you have created. Believe in yourself. Your mind will tell you if you are going right or wrong. Take mock interviews to get as much professional help as possible. Mock interviews create a real-interview like scenario and help you find mistakes in your interview preparation. Remember, the ultimate objective is to increase predictability in the interview.

Learn to deliver quality answers: Quality always precedes quantity. One common takeaway from all interviews is that quality always stands out instantly. Credibility in your answer does not emanate from your opinion or your answer alone. It emanates from the reference given about a renowned personality, a published report, a government agency’s conclusions, independent international publications and verified facts.

For example, the interviewer asks you the following question, “What are the implications of reverse migration, taking place due to COVID-19?”

Now, an average answer would be, “Reverse migration can have short-term and long-term implications on our economy, our social structure, agriculture, Industrial setup, rural sector and our geography”. Then you go on to talk in detail about each area of impact.

A better answer would start with, “The latest economic survey has discussed the short-term and long-term implications of reverse- migration on a variety of factors. These include economic impact, social impact and geographical impact”. Then you may go ahead talking in detail about each area of impact as per the economic survey. The second point here is right usage of facts. Numbers play an important role in sending the right message effectively. numbers cannot be denied or challenged. Use facts to verify your opinion or claims in the interview

The author is an edu-tech expert and CEO, Anujjindal.in, AJC Edutech Pvt Ltd


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