The 35th BCS Viva (First Installment)
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With the 35th BCS viva in mind, I’m writing about some general aspects of the BCS viva examination. But let me say this upfront: there are at least a hundred techniques for doing well in the viva, none of which actually work. Keep this in mind as you read my techniques.
1. If any question is asked in English during the viva, you must answer in English as well. Often questions are asked in Bengali but you’re told to answer in English. Under no circumstances should you ask permission to answer in Bengali. To improve your conversational English skills at this stage, here’s what you can do: One. Watch American-accented English movies with subtitles on. Two. Pay attention to speaking patterns from BTV’s 10 PM news, Al Jazeera news, TED Talks, and YouTube videos about speaking English. Three. Practice speaking in English for 5 minutes daily with a friend who’s roughly at your level of English proficiency. Four. Turn on your phone’s voice recorder and practice speaking English in front of a mirror. When you listen back, you’ll understand where your problems lie. Five. Simply assume that you can speak English well. Then act like an Englishman speaking English. Six. Always think about various topics around you in English, and occasionally speak to yourself about them. Have conversations with yourself in English. Seven. Try to avoid regionalism when speaking English. Eight. Speak English slowly and steadily. Rushing increases the risk of getting tongue-tied. Nine. You can have English conversations about a particular theme with several people together. Ten. Never feel disheartened about your mistakes. You don’t need exceptional English-speaking skills to get a job even in the BCS Foreign cadre.
2. Have a fairly good idea about your first and second cadre choices, your subject, various current issues, Bangabandhu and the Liberation War, your area, university and famous personalities from there, why you want to join civil service, etc. Keep an eye on newspapers regularly, Current Affairs, Current World, Current News, Today’s World, Economic Review, etc.
3. Open-ended questions carry more marks in the viva. The most common of these types of questions is: Introduce yourself. You’ll find many more such questions in viva guides or on the internet. Search Google to make a list of such probable questions. Try to answer these differently from how ten other people would answer, rather than giving standard responses.
4. When entering and leaving, give very polite salaam/namaskar/adab. The impression you create when entering will largely determine the questions in your viva.
5. Present yourself as an enthusiastic listener. Don’t get into arguments about any topic.
6. If you don’t know the answer to any question, say so politely. If someone else asks a question while you’re answering another, seek permission from the first person.
7. Learn to speak positively about yourself, your family, previous jobs, Bangladesh’s problems, and various other topics.
8. Don’t worry too much about nervousness. The situation itself will sort it out. Being nervous about a job interview is also a form of courtesy.
9. Maintain proper eye contact. Don’t move your eyes, neck, or hands in a distracting manner.
10. Prepare to establish a connection between your academic background and your first choice.
11. Whatever your educational institution and results may be, prepare for the viva keeping in mind that you are not indispensable for any job.
12. If you have confusion about any answer, speak with confidence about whatever you do know. However, if you have no idea at all, it’s better not to answer.
13. Your academic results will have no impact on your viva marks. If your results aren’t very good, prepare a reasonably acceptable explanation for it.
14. It’s better to tactfully avoid controversial political issues.
15. Your viva attire should be completely formal and officer-like. There’s no restriction on religious clothing.
16. Under no circumstances should you lose your temper about anything in the viva board.
17. For technical cadres, you must definitely know the basic aspects of your subject.
18. Learn about some common words with confusing spellings, simple translations, popular books, geography, etc.
19. Whatever you mention as your favorite hobby, have a good understanding of it.
20. If you suddenly start stuttering or lose your train of thought while speaking, pause for a moment and then resume your answer.
Those who have passed the 35th BCS examination are truly very capable and fortunate. You have fewer competitors than in other years. Whatever it takes, you must make use of this wonderful opportunity! Pray regularly and give your absolute best so that the end of this long, exhausting journey becomes very beautiful. You will surely succeed!
I’ll say more about the viva in my next piece. Take care.
This article was published in Prothom Alo’s Jobs page on 29/01/2016. The link is given below:
The 35th BCS Viva (Final Installment)
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The viva dates have been announced. For many, this moment marks the final phase of exam preparation. The closer the exam, the closer the job. Following up on my previous piece, here are some more thoughts on the viva:
One. Keep an eye on 2 English and 2 Bengali newspapers for the 5-6 days before your viva date. On the morning of your viva, check 1 English and 1 Bengali newspaper.
Two. You might face some embarrassing questions. It’s better to prepare for these beforehand. For example, what would you do if your boss instructed you to do something illegal? Questions like that.
Three. Go to the viva keeping in mind that you are not indispensable for civil service. Past matters like your academic results and educational institution have very little importance. At the viva board, only ‘who you are’ will be assessed. Prove yourself worthy of the job.
Four. Ensure your political stance isn’t revealed through your words in any way.
Five. No matter what the board members are like, you should always remain very formal. If you don’t understand a question, very politely say “I beg your pardon, sir/madam” and request them to repeat it. Even the way you sneeze should reflect how formally officer-like you are.
Six. Learn about your first and second cadre choices by studying the relevant ministry websites. Learn about your district from the district information portal. Develop the habit of studying online. You can browse through one or two reference books.
Seven. For professional cadres, know well the basic knowledge and some practical aspects of your academic subject.
Eight. Before your viva date, you’ll find many small note-type books in the market. You can browse through them. But common questions rarely come from those books. Actually, there’s no rule about what will or won’t be asked in the viva.
Nine. Viva marks are given based on overall performance; there’s no segmented marking here. Each board member will give different marks, which are then averaged.
Ten. How many questions you could answer, how many you couldn’t; how long you were kept there—these matters aren’t as crucial as commonly thought. More important than what you said is how you said it. Whether your perspective is officer-like will be assessed.
Eleven. The viva board will assess your knowledge, personality, presence of mind, presentation skills, ability to handle situations, courtesy, loyalty, capacity for clear thinking, mental maturity, etc., through various questions and situations. Prepare for these aspects beforehand. Be careful about your body language.
Twelve. Answers like “I made such a choice without understanding” reflect your indecisiveness. Whatever your first choice may be, your job is to fully demonstrate in your manner of answering why you’re the right person to get a job in that cadre. Any kind of inferiority complex or overconfidence can ruin your viva.
Thirteen. If you see the panel members are paying attention to something else while you’re answering, don’t ever think they’re not listening to your answer. Answer carefully.
Fourteen. Whatever treatment you receive at the viva board, don’t take it personally. Some apparently unusual behavior might be done to test you.
Fifteen. Keep yourself informed about what you need to know as a citizen of Bangladesh. You can read Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman’s book “Citizens Should Know.”
Sixteen. If you have jobs that require clearance/no-objection certificates when going to the viva board, but haven’t mentioned that job in the form, it’s better not to mention that job at the viva board. You can mention private jobs.
Seventeen. If you can’t answer 2-3 questions in a row, at that moment think of the Creator or your loved ones. This works like magic.
Eighteen. For “What have you been doing all this time?” answers like “I’ve been tutoring and preparing for BCS exams” or “I’m teaching at a school” are perfectly fine. Whatever position you’re in, present it confidently.
Nineteen. Present yourself as you are, but in a refined manner. Don’t do anything that breaks your confidence or prevents you from being yourself.
Twenty. While speaking, focus on what you’re saying rather than paying too much attention to the surroundings.
Twenty-one. What questions you’ll be asked depends on what impression the panel members form after seeing you. Present yourself in a very refined manner.
Twenty-two. Bring out the sense that you are sincere, loyal, and responsible toward your work.
Twenty-three. It’s better not to study for the viva when going to take it or just before entering. This often unnecessarily increases nervousness.
Twenty-four. You are in no way smarter than your boss. You cannot have any ego clashes with your boss. Take the viva keeping these two things in mind.
Twenty-five. Think less about what you don’t know. Perhaps you won’t even be asked about it.
Twenty-six. Impressions are formed when you meet and when you take leave. Don’t forget to give a cheerful salaam when entering and a cheerful thank you and salaam when leaving.
If your written exam marks are good, your chances of getting the job are much higher. Unless you behave very incoherently or inappropriately, you won’t get very low marks in the viva. How well someone does in the viva depends entirely on those few minutes of the viva. Pray regularly, keep trying, have faith in your abilities. Victory will surely be yours! Best wishes for you.
This article was published in Prothom Alo’s Jobs page on 05/02/2016. The link is given below:
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