
Name
|
PUJA BARUAH
|
Roll No.
|
090300161
|
Age
|
26
|
Marital Status
|
Unmarried
|
Total attempts in CEE (including this one)
|
First
|
Optional Subjects
|
Anthropology and Education
|
Service Joined
|
Inspector Of Taxes
|
Schooling Medium
|
English
|
College Medium
|
English
|
Medium chosen for Mains answers
|
English
|
Medium chosen for Interview
|
English and Assamese
|
Home town/city
|
Guwahati
|
EDUCATIONAL DETAILS
% in class 10
|
76.6%
|
% in class 12
|
85%
|
Graduation course and %
|
BA in Anthropology; Best Graduate Arts; 83.3%
|
Name of college, city, passing out year
|
Cotton College (2013)
|
Post-graduation
|
Anthropology; First Class First; Gold Medallist; 71.5%
|
Any other professional courses
|
Pursuing PhD
|
Hobbies & Extracurricular achievements
|
Reading books, travelling etc
|
UNDERSTANDING YOUR ONLINE LIFE?
Daily hrs spent on online platforms for predicting cutoff
/ syllabus change / age-attempt limit change and other “peripheral-discussion“
related to civil services.
|
It depends whether I am using it for some constructive
purpose or leisure.
|
Daily hrs spent on WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram study
groups
|
I have used internet a lot during my preparation.
|
1 hour
|
|
Primary Device for online study: desktop, laptop, tablet,
mobile
|
Laptop
|
ANSWER WRITING
Did you use highlighters / sketch pens in your answers?
|
Yes
|
Did you draw any diagram in any paper? (e.g. in
Geography) If yes, Did you draw diagrams with pencil or pen?
|
Yes with pencil
|
Did you use ruler to draw the lines in diagram? Or did
you just make it by hand?
|
No
|
You wrote the answer in blue pen or black pen?
|
Blue pen
|
QUESTIONNAIRE:
1.
Tell
us something about yourself, your family, when and why did you enter in this
field of competitive exams?
Ans: My name is Puja Baruah. I am from Guwahati. I live with
my parents here and I have a brother who stays in Delhi. I have got Inspector
of taxes in APSC (CCE) 2016. It is like a passion for me to serve the society.
2.
In
recent times, there is spur in electronic material- blogs, sites, pdfs,
RSS-feeds. So, how do you balance this i.e. electronic material vs. paper
material (Books, newspapers).
Ans: It’s all about focus. One should always remember why he
or she has started this journey.
3.
Do
you maintain self-notes for revision of optional?
Ans: Yes for few portions I do maintain notes but for me
revision is the key. I read multiple times.
4.
What
was your approach in the exam?
I always try to give my answers as clearly as possible
because clarity is very much necessary.
5.
Did
you write answers in bullet points or in paragraphs?
Ans: Both bullet and paragraphs
6.
What’s
your optional subject and why did you chose it and not something else
Ans: Anthropology is my graduation subject so this exam is
just a revision for me and for Education I have used the book by L Das as my
base book.
7.
What
are the books you studied doing your preparations and your list of recommended
books? How much of internet-research / current affairs is necessary for this
optional? OR can one simply rely on the books and be done with this subject?
Ans: I always believe
that we should keep less books for all these competitive exams and revise what
has already been read. Revision is the key
8.
How
many months did it take to finish the optional syllabus?
Ans: 3 months
9.
Did
you attend any ‘mock tests’? Do you think they’re necessary for success? How
many days/ weeks before the exam, you started answer writing practice papers?
Ans: Yes I did. Every week.
Interview
1.
How
did you prepare for the interview? – (for college grad, hobbies, place of
origin, current affairs at national and international level)
And: This is basically a personality test so the key to
success is remain faithful in the interview and speaking what is true and fair.
2.
Did
you attend any mock interviews by coaching classes? How were they similar /
different than official interview? Do you believe it is necessary to attend
such mock interviews?
Ans: Yes I did. It is not that necessary.
3.
Describe
the formal-dress worn by you on the day of your interview.
Ans: Mekhla Chadar
4.
Was
your interview on the expected lines of what you had prepared or did they ask
you totally unexpected questions? Was it
a stress interview, did they ask any uncomfortable questions? If yes, how did
you handle it? It was on expected lines. It was not a stress interview.
Ans: Yes it was very
much on the expected lines. But honesty is something which they want in the
interview.
5.
Any
side details about technicalities like “make sure you bring xyz document or do
xyz thing, or you’ll face problem”?
Ans: Always carry a pen
6.
Please
narrate your entire interview- what questions did they ask and what did you
reply and other pleasant or uncomfortable experiences during the interview.
(Earlier some toppers only tell me their question but not their answer. I would
appreciate if you give both Question + your original answers)
My interview was about 20minutes. Basically they had asked
about my PhD subject, Anthropology : westernisation, caste system, Syrian war,
Ahom king suhungmung etc.
They asked me why you want to join civil service and not
academics and I told them that academics can be done later also as Ihad already
completed my masters and civil services provides a broader prospect to serve the society.
The Miscellaneous Ones
1.
If
you were not selected, what was your career backup plan? When were you going to
“execute” that backup plan
Ans: I am pursuing PhD and I always believe that failure is
the pillar to success.
2.
Many
candidates prepare sincerely but constantly live under fear about ‘profile
insecurity’. I’m not from a big college, I’m not from English medium, and I
don’t have work-experience. What if they ask some stressful questions in the
interview about this? Did you suffer from such insecurities? What is your
message to these candidates?
Ans: Positive actions combined with positive thinking
results in success. I am a very positive person and I always believe that hard
work pays off sooner or later. So my message for all those candidates is
that sometimes things never go the way
we expect them to but at that time one must not get distracted from the goal
that he/she has set before. So, always believe in yourself and the rest will
fall into place.
3.
People,
most of them lack consistency in their preparation. So, how do you keep study
momentum going on? How do you fight against the mood swings and distractions?
Ans: Success breeds success. Getting gold medal in both
Graduation and Post-graduation always motivate me to work harder every single
day.
4.
Behind
every topper are many people who stood by during those uncertain times when he/she
was merely an ‘aspirant’. Would you like to tell the world, who were those
people in your case? Any specific incidence that you would like to share with
the readers?
Ans: There are 3 person my mother, my father and my brother.
My parents are my pillars of strength and my brother is someone I always looked
up to. He is my first friend and my
second father.