How to handle unknown questions in a UPSC Interview? | UPSC CSE

Preparing for a UPSC Interview is serious business. Even though you take up mock interviews, and get good feedback from your mentors there is still a great chance of getting a question that you just don’t know. So today we will be discussing how to handle unknown questions in a UPSC Interview.

 · Whenever an unknown question comes your way. Acknowledge the importance of the question and take your time to work through your first thoughts on how to approach the question. It may be helpful to communicate your needs during the interview.

· Always think aloud when you get an unknown question. This may help you process challenging questions so that you can discover a satisfying answer. Thinking aloud will demonstrate your thinking process to the interviewer.

· Sometimes it may be helpful to express your uncertainty. Remaining honest about what subjects you understand and addressing this information directly can show integrity which many interviewers value in a candidate. You have to show that character that you are willing to learn more and that you require more research or a deep level of insight into the question. Kindly apologize and briefly explain that you are unsure of the question.

· Sometimes the interviewers may ask some tricky questions to see if you can handle them. So whenever this situation comes, you can think from different perspectives and think aloud as you process different ways to answer the question and allow yourself to brainstorm openly on the topic 

· Whenever you are unsure about the context of a question. Ask for a follow-up question which will help you to get a better understanding of the question and the topic.

· If you are asked an unknown question that you don’t know the answer about. Then you can try redirecting to an area that you are quite familiar with. If you can connect this topic to another relevant subject then you are much better. 

So this is all about how to handle the unknown question in a UPSC Interview. Remember that regardless of what questions you get, you must always consider what the interviewer is trying to learn from the question. If you can figure that out then you have done well in the interview.

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