My Journey - As the result is out there is a lot of euphoria surrounding the result. A lot of statements, some myths, some realities, some exaggerations have been made about the successful candidate. Being one of those successful candidates who finally made it to the coveted list of Civil Services-2014, I too was surrounded by the mist of such information. Thus I thought to clear the air around me.

I am Mohd. Sameer Islam, an alumnus of ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY, who owes a lot of his achievement to my alma mater, AMU, that crafted, created and enabled me to convert my dreams into reality.

I was born in Fatehpur district, Uttar Pradesh. My education started with Sir Syed Public school and later I moved to New Manbhavan Nursery School and Maharishi Vidya Mandir to complete my secondary education (10th). Then on I was admitted to AMU from where I have done my Senior Secondary School Certificate, B.Tech(Mechanical Engineering) and M.B.A.(International Business). My sports career ran parallel with my academics. I was actively involved in hockey, marathon running, swimming, bodybuilding and later took on to horse riding where I represented AMU in national games. I got a campus placement with Reliance Communication, worked with it for 3 years before deciding to appear in Civil services examination. The decision changed my life and rest is history.

Generally it is believed that civil services require some extraordinary talent and those qualifying the exam are genius of their own kind. This deters many to even take a try at this exam. May be my introduction paragraph has casted the same illusion in your minds considering my multiple degrees and diverse sports interest. Believe me I am just another human like you with average intelligence. But I have one thing that I really appreciate about myself. I am passionate about my dreams and can go to any extent to achieve them. This passion helps me channelize all my energy towards a single goal which ever I may choose for the time being. I do believe that everybody is passionate towards the things he/she wish to achieve in life. Thus I have solemn faith in each one of you not just because you have the potential but also because you are blessed to be a part of one of the finest universities of the world which I believe you all will utilise to its fullest.

Message to youth and Civil Service Aspirants

I would like to congratulate all those who are reading this not because I am being read about, but because you are curious to know about the Civil Services. This first step is commendable because you have crossed the major hurdle of self disbelief and have set a goal for your life.

I won’t say that qualifying Civil Services Exam is cakewalk which anybody can traverse, but it also not a privilege of distinguished few. Anybody; yes I repeat it again ANYBODY CAN QUALIFY THE CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION or for that matter any goal you set in life, provided you adhere to few basic commandments of success.

First and foremost to be successful you must aim for something that is tangible, worth living and dying for. Make a goal in life so that all your efforts are channelized towards its achievement.

Secondly, once the goal is set you need to do self introspection i.e. to do a SWOT analysis of yourself. Realise what you are and what you want to become. This will help you to do timely correction so that you might not face the devil of failure. One of the biggest cause of lack of motivation or depression is the absence of this self introspection.

“A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, strong enough to correct them and smart enough to profit from the corrections”

Thirdly have a plan to succeed. Consult the person in respective field to make a plan of action with realistic timelines. This will keep you motivated enough to sail through the process.

Fourth and the most importance, never hesitate to fail. Only those who make an attempt fail. A person who has never tried, never fails. But lear lessons from your failure. Correct them and succeed.

Last but not the least, be disciplined towards your task. “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments”.

PRELIMS

Leaving particulars to my fellow friends on the same blog I wish to talk about the strategy part only.

Prelims is all about identifying the correct answers as MCQ provide you with the answers. But the worst part is that all options are so close to create enough confusion. To avoid falling into the trap read multiple NCERTS multiple times. Add current affairs to your knowledge base not just by reading newspaper but by learning it. Meaning, browse all the relevant information about the news you read. This will increase you knowledge base to many notches.

MAINS

Mains is all about your writing good answers. Good answers won’t come by their own until and unless you have practiced writing a lot before mains. So do write on daily basis and get them evaluated not from the friends but from your most staunch critics who is equally capable to check your answers.

INTERVIEW

By the time you reach this level you knowledge base will be wide enough to answer any question the panel asks you. My only word of caution is to prepare your CV thoroughly. Be honest with your answers, don’t bluff and you will definitely succeed.

I hope that this little information may be of some worth to you. In case of any specific queries feel free to ask here. Best of luck for you pursuit of happiness.