Thursday, November 19, 2009

What it takes to succeed in civil services exam?

In my first blog on Civil Services, I had stated about a close friend of mine who was awaiting his results. I thought I could post a case study on him so that it becomes beneficial to other aspirants following this blog:

The story of E Harikrishnan, now serving as IRTS officer is indeed inspiring. His journey towards civil services started twelve years ago when we were studying B.E in Annamalai University, Chidambaram. In fact, three of us started preparing for civil services with IAS/IPS as goal, and he alone made it to the coveted service in 2008.

You might have noticed the year 2008 - yes, he started preparing in 1997 and finally made it in 2008 in his seventh attempt. His is a story of diligence, self-confidence and hard work. I often used to reflect on what went wrong in my case and what went right for him.

First, he had single-minded determination, which I did not possess. He wanted civil services and nothing else. Whereas, after two unsuccessful attempts, my mental strength vanished, fears about future gripped my mind and took up a job in a software firm.

Second, he very strongly believed that he would succeed one day. He visualized himself as a civil servant and finally achieved that. On the contrary, I had several doubts in my mind!

Third, six consecutive failed attempts could not deter his self-confidence. When people made fun of him, he did not mind them. Some persons even advised him to seek a job and be of help to the family. He did not mind such comments at all.

Fourth, he kept working very hard towards his goal. Referred to all possible source material.

Fifth, despite the not-so-sound financial background, his family stood behind him like a rock. His parents supported all his ventures wholeheartedly. (Of course, in my case too, I had the total support of my family and in fact, my father wanted me to prepare full-time and opposed my decision to take up the job. My father was ready to spend all his financial resources for my preparation).

Sixth, he kept constant touch with fellow aspirants to keep abreast of the happenings. He learnt valuable lessons from his own mistakes and from the mistakes of others. He was not lured by anything.

All these things together enabled him succeed in the civil services. All aspirants should possess these qualities to succeed.

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