A mock interview is basically the simulation of the actual interview. It is the closest you can come to the actual interview conditions. The basic idea behind taking the mock interviews is to acclimatize yourself with the interview and the prevailing conditions. It helps you to better your preparation and to actually see how you will respond in the interview conditions. You can rectify the mistakes that you are performing while giving the mock interview. It also helps boosting the confidence and removing that 'fear about the interview' from your mind.
Appearing in a few mock interviews is always going to be beneficial. It is all the more beneficial to those Aspirant Officers who have never faced any interview conducted by the UPSC. There are some aspects related to the mock interviews which I think we should discuss in detail.
When to start?
This is a very important question and there is a lot of confusion regarding it. There is no perfect answer to this question. Hence I would suggest what I think is the best and try to give the reasoning for the same. Well friends, I feel that you should start the mocks a bit 'early'. When I say 'early', that means when about two months' time is there for the actual Personality Test to take place. This first mock interview is for a very special purpose. It will tell you your level, your status, your strengths, your weaknesses in your original form; when you have not yet started any kind of coaching related to the Personality Test. Based on this first feedback , you can then prepare your blueprint and it will be this very first mock interview which will help you in deciding that how many mock interviews you should take and when you should take them.
How many?
Based on your first 'early mock test' and the blueprint formed thereafter you should decide the number of mock tests. This will obviously vary from one candidate to another but I would suggest that one should take at least 2 to 3 mock tests. Also, you should try to appear in front of the same mock board twice, at least once. In this way you will be able to get two feedbacks from the same mock board which will help you in ascertain whether you have been preparing in the right direction or not.
Which institute to join?
You should join only a reputed coaching institute. Refrain from joining the institutes which try to trap you through the 'free mocks'. Remember friends, in this world there are no free lunches. Everything that is coming to you as 'free' has certain hidden cost attached with it. At this juncture you should not fall prey to such things. You should also keep in mind the composition of the mock board. You should join only where the experienced and expert people are the members.
What should be the approach?
You should always keep in mind that this is a mock interview and not the actual interview. I am trying to emphasize on this because I have seen many candidates who somewhere mistakenly cause the displacement of goals. They start taking the means as the ends. Mock interviews are the means to achieve the end of performing well in the Personality Test. instead of learning from the mock interviews they try to take the mock interviews as the actual test. The result of this approach is that they cannot learn from the feedback and from the mistakes of the mock interview. You should avoid this at any cost.
After every mock interview you should write down each and every aspect of the feedback clearly on your Personality Test Buddy. Then you should frame a plan how to overcome those deficiencies and also how to strengthen your strong areas. Then you should make it a point to perform as per this plan in the next mock interview and after this second mock interview you should make an analysis to what extent you have been able to perform in this second mock according to the plan.
What about the feedback of the mock boards?
Generally it is seen that at the maximum 1 or 2 members of the mock board are the people who have some kind of expertise in this field; rest are no authority. In many cases the entire board is composed of the latter type of members. Hence you should be very selective while taking the feedback of these mock interviews. When I'm saying 'selective', that does not mean that you should take only the positive feedback or only that part of the negative feedback by which you get easily convinced with. By the word 'selective' I mean that you should see that who is giving you what feedback. For example, a person who himself has a very bad command over the language is criticizing you or appreciating you over your linguistic skills makes no sense.
Secondly, regarding the negative feedback, don't stress yourself much, don't feel demoralized. You should, on the contrary, feel very good that at least one negative part of your personality has been brought to your notice and it can be rectified so that the same will not be repeated during the actual Personality Test. Same caution has to be exercised with the positive feedback as well. Very often it has been seen that the candidates start feeling complacent when they get a positive feedback about a particular attribute. You should not do that.
Amateur Mock Interviews:
Apart from the above mentioned mock interviews, being conducted by the professional coaching institutions and the NGOs, you can also prepare through what I term as the 'amateur mock interviews' or 'friends-based mock interviews'. Here the mock interviews are being conducted by you and your peer group. No doubt it cannot match the level of the above mentioned mock interviews as all the participants of these interviews are themselves aspirants; nevertheless they have some of their own inherent advantages.
Firstly, because your friends are now interviewing you they can grill you more on those areas which they know you are weak at. Secondly, by rotation you will be many times on the other side of the table that is, interviewing another of your friends. Now when you ask questions you tend to get an idea about the mind and perspective of the Board members. This helps in the better judging of the questions that the actual Board can ask you and hence the better preparation.
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