About the BCS
Preliminary
exam…….
Buy two or three job solution books covering the 10th to 35th BCS and non-cadre PSC examination questions (if possible, at least 250-300 sets) and solve them with understanding. Mark them up and revise at least 2-3 times. Read the mind of the question setter, not the mind of the guidebook writer. You’ll need to thoroughly consult newspapers, internet resources, and reference books.
Buy two sets of written exam guidebooks and go through previous years’ questions and suggestions. Complete the topics that align with the preliminary syllabus first. This way, half your written preparation will be done. When reading references, understand whether you actually need to read the entire book. More than 60% of written exam material overlaps with preliminary preparation.
Most students first read reference books, then start solving questions. This approach has two problems.
One: You don’t get enough time to solve many questions. The more questions you solve, the better.
Two: Most portions of reference books aren’t useful for BCS exams, yet reading entire books wastes time and creates unnecessary fear about BCS. Besides, there’s no need to remember everything.
So walk the opposite path. I did the same. Turn one question into the source of three more questions. Yes, it’s difficult to flip through reference books. But if you can endure this difficulty, you’ll benefit in both preliminary and written exams—that’s even more certain.
Skip books like Current Affairs, Current World, Today’s World, Economic Survey for preliminaries. At most 5-6 questions come from very recent topics that are only found in such books. Among these, at least 2 can be answered by reading newspapers. What harm comes from letting the remaining 4 go? I can’t fathom why people torture themselves for these 4 marks. Actually, reading those tedious books gives a false sense of studying. This falls under high-class procrastination. Don’t pretend to study—actually study.
Let me share a fact. Some difficult questions won’t stick in your memory no matter how many times you read them. Stop trying to memorize those. Because one such question pushes several easier ones out of your head. The preliminary isn’t about achieving the highest marks—it’s simply about getting cut-off marks to pass. Scoring 190 and passing preliminaries is the same as scoring 90 and passing. Spend the extra effort from unnecessary marks on written preparation—that will be useful. Think less about what others can do. What you can do might ultimately serve you better than what others can do. Remember: difficult questions carry 1 mark, easy questions also carry 1 mark.
Rather than convincing yourself and everyone else that you’re preparing, actually prepare. ‘The appearance of preparation, but lack of preparation.’ This happens when preparing for competitive exams. Better to study smartly and pass than to work hard and fail. You need to perform well or reasonably well in every segment. So during preparation, you can’t put all effort only into what you’re good at. My technique is to take extra care of what I’m good at, so I can gain much more advantage than others. But first I check whether what I’m better at is actually worth leveraging. Suppose you’ve memorized even Clinton’s wife’s friend’s pet dog’s name, but you write “My grandfather was a black dog…” for “আমার নানার একটা কালো কুকুর ছিল”—that won’t work.
First attempts don’t succeed? Who said that? I became a cadre on my first attempt. There are countless such examples. The stories of Pather Panchali (Bibhuti and Satyajit), Nagarik, The 400 Blows, Wuthering Heights, The Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Kite Runner. Doesn’t the thought of taking such a tedious exam as BCS again frighten you? That alone should motivate studying. Why should you, like everyone else, have to take BCS multiple times? Though luck does play a role here. Those who become cadres are both capable and fortunate.
Many will say they’ve finished studying such and such topics. Take it easy. Just because someone finishes their work before you doesn’t mean they’ll have the last laugh. And if someone studies more than you, that’s not your fault. When I started preparing for BCS, I saw many had finished studying so much. You’ve seen 3 Idiots. A friend’s bad result saddens you, but a friend’s good result upsets you more. When I realized I knew virtually nothing compared to others, I did two things.
One: I tried to understand whether what they knew was actually necessary.
Two: I stopped comparing myself with them and started comparing today’s me with yesterday’s me.
How necessary is group study? It depends on your habits. I didn’t have this habit. I didn’t do group study for two reasons.
One: When I saw everyone knew so much that I didn’t, my mood would sour. I don’t like thinking I can’t do something. Remember The Pursuit of Happyness dialogue? What’s the benefit of hearing from everyone that you can’t do it? Everyone saying it won’t make you suddenly capable; rather, it might diminish your desire to become capable.
Two: Studying with everyone made me want to chat more, and I’d think what they were doing was right and mine was wrong. I don’t like blind imitation.
Sometimes you won’t feel like studying—I didn’t either. Constantly wanting to study isn’t a sign of mental health. Why so serious? Job for Life, not Life for Job. You don’t have to become a BCS cadre! Your livelihood is already predetermined. There’s so much else to do! So take breaks, give studying a holiday. Frequently. Close your room’s doors and windows, play music at full volume, shake off all thoughts and dance! Shout to your heart’s content! What else is there in life! There’s no point in feeling bad about not studying for two days and wasting two more days. Who learned without making mistakes, where, when? Where’s the time for regret? You haven’t committed the world’s greatest mistake! You’re not the world’s most miserable person either!
Viva: the art of selling yourself
BCS + IBA
Have a look!! (video clip)
Actually, viva exams have no pattern. I’ve given vivas where marks matter in two places so far: IBA viva and BCS viva. I was in the IBA viva board for 18-20 minutes, in BCS for 4-5 minutes. How long they kept you there, what they asked, what you could answer, what you couldn’t—these aren’t as crucial as people think. All’s well that ends well.
I think viva is much more subjective than objective. What does our experience tell us? Some people make you calculate your words when speaking. Others make you want to slap them twice. If you can’t, you feel uneasy somehow. Remember during viva: no one is obligated to give you a job. You’re not indispensable either. For doing well in viva, preparedness matters more than preparation. Everyone practices, yet the century goes to Tendulkar’s account. Whether that day is yours is largely determined by your fortune.
Much more important than what you know is what impression I form about your knowledge. Usually, within the first 20 seconds of seeing someone, an impression forms—positive or negative. Use this. You will never get a second chance to make the first impression. You can’t tell everything to everyone, nor do you want to. Some people make you want to ask how the Taj Mahal continues bearing witness to love; others make you want to ask about the number of bricks in the Taj Mahal. Some people’s appearance and attitude make you want to ask about the Padma River’s length; others make you want to hear stories of floating in boats on the Padma’s breast, touching moonlight, or walking hand-in-hand with a lover by the Padma’s banks. Or something else that requires no knowledge to tell, yet conveys everything easily. Sell yourself. Convince them why you should get the job instead of someone else. Wipro’s example. Two examples from BCS Foreign Affairs viva.
Those on viva boards are truly much more experienced and expert. They understand very well what you’re saying, what you’re hiding. Cheating is an art. Catch me if you can! A clever man knows how to cheat, an intelligent man knows how to make others let him cheat. I was asked questions about literature! Why?
Experience tells us that there are at least a hundred techniques for doing well in interviews, none of which actually work. What you have accumulated matters less than what you possess within. Present yourself just as you are, beautifully. Don’t listen to or do anything that breaks your confidence or prevents you from being yourself. Be yourself. Be natural.
In civil service, there’s only one rule: Obey or Leave! In other jobs too, what is, is the rule; not what should be. You won’t be hired to bring about a revolution. Whatever your mindset, prove that you can adapt to the institution’s needs. Those who sit on the interview board are, for that moment, your bosses. You are in no way smarter than your boss. There can be no ego clashes with the boss. Save all your pride and ego for your beloved.
The things that seem to be evaluated in interview boards, in my opinion, are:
Positive Attitude
Body Language
Mental Maturity
Ready Wit
Thought Clarity
Decent Appearance
Etiquette
Commonsense
Cool Temperament
English Fluency
Situation Handling Capability
Analytical Skill
Nervousness will be there—that can’t be avoided. It will exist. Leave some of the responsibility for overcoming it to the situation itself. In my case, nervousness actually helped me get good marks. Let me tell you the story. Another incident from the BCS Police interview. A knife kills. Well, a knife saves too!
If you’re mistreated in the interview board, don’t take it personally. Everything done here has a purpose—to judge you. An incident from the BCS Admin interview.
Maintain eye contact during the interview. Looking elsewhere while speaking serves no purpose. Besides, it’s important to gauge the immediate expressions of the interviewers.
There’s no rule that having BCS Foreign as your first choice means the interview will be in English. Many in Foreign have become cadres after giving more than 50% of their interview in Bengali. My first choice was Customs, yet 85% of my interview was in English.
It’s better not to study for the interview when going to give it or just before entering the interview room. This increases nervousness. The biggest difference between those who become cadres after the interview and those who don’t is—luck!
Talk to those who have given interviews before. Get a fair idea about what types of questions are asked. Instead of answering the way everyone else does, arrange your answer in a slightly different way within yourself. Presentation matters! Try to read the mind of the interviewer. More important than what you want to say is whether you can say what they want to hear. It’s not what you said that matters, but how you said it. Hiding is an art. Learn euphemisms. For instance, if you’re asked about a weakness of yours, answer in a way that doesn’t reveal anything too negative about you. (I was asked this at IBA.) Or when asked about Bangladesh’s problems, try to mention issues that are already being addressed. Try to speak positively about your family, previous job, career prospects, etc. If you suddenly lose your train of thought, pause and think, then answer slowly and steadily. Don’t move your hands, neck, or eyes in a distracting manner while speaking.
If someone else asks a question while you’re answering another question, you must seek permission from the person who asked the first question before answering the second one.
You can occasionally listen to Ted Talks, job interviews available on YouTube and other sites. You can listen to BTV’s 10 PM English news. Listen to CNN, Al Jazeera. You can watch American accent movies with subtitles on. You can practice English conversation with friends occasionally. But never do this with someone who only points out mistakes. What’s the benefit of knowing they know more?
Keep an eye on newspapers for the week before your interview date. Have a good understanding of current affairs, the liberation war, and yourself.
Sometimes not showing smartness is smartness itself. The first impression formed after seeing you largely determines the pattern of your interview. Present yourself as a gentleman/lady.
Never argue about anything in the interview board. Boss is always right! Who’s greater—Manik or Bankim? My own story. The story of cleverly losing at tennis to the boss.
In any interview exam, there are two types of questions:
Informative
Non-informative
Usually, interviewers place more emphasis on the style of answering the second type of question. In interviews, there’s no system where answering this much gets you this many marks—there’s no segmented marking in interviews; rather, marks are given based on overall performance. Answering many questions correctly doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get many marks.
When answering in English, if you notice any mistake in your speech, don’t stop to correct it. Speech is like an arrow—once released, trying to stop it will make your hand bleed. Perhaps the interviewers didn’t even notice your mistake. Why volunteer to point it out? People make more mistakes from the fear of not being able to speak English than from actually not knowing English. As much as possible, avoid regionalism in your speech.
Have a fair idea about civil service, your subject, and your first and second choice of cadre. Keep ready an answer for why you want the job. For IBA, keep ready an answer for why you want to do an MBA. Answering correctly is less important than answering in the right way.
Don’t worry too much about what you don’t know. Perhaps you won’t even be asked about it. Focus on your strength, not on your weakness. And if you are asked and can’t answer, what’s the harm? If interview marks were allocated primarily for answering questions, many parrot-type people would get jobs.
Show yourself as an enthusiastic listener. Let a gentle, refined expression show on your face, making it difficult to scold you. This really works.
Don’t forget to greet with a smile when entering and to thank and bid farewell with a smile when leaving. Impressions are formed when meeting you and when you take leave. You can prepare for non-informative questions online. Like: Imagine You… Inquiries About Your Personal Life… Sometimes try to answer as if you were someone else. Imagine yourself as that person you’ve always dreamt being of.
Let the chat end with stories…
First story:
A crow was sitting idly on a high branch of a tree, doing nothing. Just then, a rabbit was passing by. The rabbit asked the crow, “Brother, can I also sit under this tree doing nothing like you?” The crow said, “Certainly you can!” The rabbit did just that.
After a while, a fox was passing by. Seeing the rabbit sitting there, the fox quickly caught and ate it.
What’s the lesson of this story? The lesson is: when you’re sitting in such a high position that no one can touch you, then you can sit with your hands and feet folded. But before that, you must work hard to earn the qualification to sit in that position. Think about which position you’re currently sitting in.
Second story:
To escape the harsh winter, a small bird was leaving Siberia. Suddenly the bird froze and fell to the ground like a piece of ice. After some time, a cow walking by defecated on the bird. After a while, the warmth of the dung melted all the ice on the bird’s body. The bird then began singing joyfully. A cat was sitting nearby. Hearing the song, the cat pulled the bird out of the dung and ate it.
What are the lessons of this story?
The first lesson is: Not everyone who drops shit on you is your enemy. This means that not everyone who throws dirt on us—that is, scolds us—is our enemy; many of them wish us well. This group includes our parents, seniors, and teachers.
The second lesson is this:
Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend. What this means is that there are many people who offer to help us escape our troubles, extending their hands only to plunge us into even greater peril. Among this group are those so-called wise souls around us who say, “What’s the point of taking the BCS exam? Do something else instead.” Or they declare, “You’ll never make it through BCS.” I believe that if you cannot help a person to do something, you have no right to demoralize him/her saying that he/she cannot do it.
I think the third lesson is the most important of all. It is this:
When you are in the shit, always keep your mouth shut!!
This means that when you find yourself in trouble, you must always keep your mouth closed. Success talks the loudest. Success can buy silence. Your success has the power to silence everyone. So throw down the gauntlet to yourself—not to others.
The end that is not quite the end
The Friendship Rule:
Friend! The ‘block’ button is right here!!
The story of sunk cost: (I told this through a story.)
Let it GO!! (video clip)
(I told the success story of a happy cleaner.)
no easy day, the only easy day was yesterday
Good Luck!
Question and answer session
Thank you, everyone