jehangir bahi u r right interview is about mannerism...bt since u r unaware of the questuins 2 b asked in interview...it comes 2 the knwledg 2 ansr those qiestions....if a person can impress sm1 by saying dat he has been selected in other jobs one wonders whether those sitting in the panel are fools or ppl vd no experience....bydway for selection in other jobs one has 2 b competent N knwlgabl.....i again say "to present one ideas n knwldge in 3 hours is a skill"...all brothrs n sistrs shld keep in mind this fact during preparatn...

Brother!i really salute to all those who have passed this exam.What i mean is that writen exam is all about knowledge while interview is all about mannerism.they will not value your knowledge but the way you answer a question and the way you listen to their questions.Interview is all about your own person while written exam is in 12 different papers in which you need a lot of knowledge.
2.you say that it is a skill to compose your knowledge in 3 hours but i say that "It is your clarity of concepts that will let you write the most relevant things in 3 hours".if you are confused in the whatever knowledge you have got, you cannot reproduce it in 3 hours.
Here i refered to my family members as CSP not to boast myself but only to support my argument that it is the mannersim that count the most then knowledge in interview.
Those who are confused in whatever knowledge they have got cannot attempt their paper even in a full day.

Jehangir brother you must know before levelling criticism at arif shehbaz that he is the most committed candidate.he committedly studied for 5 years for css and finally got passed in his second attempt. this is not possible for all people because it requires great committment.Arif even did diploma of 6 months in Persian from NUML when he opted persian in css.no body can go for diploma for an optional subject.
we must salute his hard work.Jehangir Sahib you must show us if you are capable of sth which arif has achieved.

Well....a nice discussion is going on here on the forum but each of our honourable members of the forum are concentrating on only one aspect of the exam. Both mannerism and knowledge are very closely linked in order to get through the interview successfully. U can't isolate anyone of these. The psycology tests are merely for the assessment personality of the guys, here knowledge has little impact. However the panel can ask you to comment on any related topic, hence u must have the relevant knowledge and present in an effective manner.
As far as the written is considered, it's rightly said by arif that it is a technique and skill to pen down all your relevant knowledge in 3 hours time. Just take an example of the essay on Global Warming in 2008, it's a very vast topic u can write for 8-10 hours based on ur knowledge but in the exam, u will have to express ur knowledge in a skillfull manner to appeal to the examiner.
Anyway, thanks for sharing your ideas as it's always good to discuss and argue which leads to new and better ways of performance.

Kind Regards

__________________
"A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done."

Brother my point of view is that, average interview takes 20 minutes. out of that 10 minuts are consumed by introduction, academic background, family background, daily activities, hobbies, past employment, etc.in short they will ask every thing related to your person WHICH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH KNOWLEDGE.
then 5 minutes are spent by questions like why you want to join the civil services?why you have opted for that that or that particular group?what are the characteristics of civil servants?etc
As a result we have only five minuts left in which this so-called knowledge is tested.But REMEMBER, during this time, they will ask you questions about the issues that you have mentioned as the "most significant issues" of the year in the BIODATA form you have filled during your psychological examination conducted by FPSC prior to viva.Or the question may be asked about the Favourite Personality you have mentioned in that BIODATA Form about which you have crammed everything.
Again REMEMBER that all the questions asked during these 5 minuts are from current BURNING NATIONAL ISSUES about which even the cartmen, greengrocer etc know more than a css candidate.For example the issues discussed in the 2007 vivas were, emergency, terrorism, role of army, ban on media, grievances of baluchistan. waziristan swat and militancy etc.Now tell me what knowledge is required for CSS viva.Many years ago, FPSC used to sit Academicians of different subjects in the panel but now there is no such practice.Now GENERALISTS are sitting in the panel rather than the SPECIALISTS.
As far as written exam is concerned, CLARITY of thoughts and concepts will score well for you but if you are confused in whatever knowledge you have got and of course this confusion will not let you streamline your answers, you will lose marks.
Those who are used to cramming things will MEMORIZE one or two books because they are not clear and hence the more they read, the more they will lose.
Every Criticism is welcome provided it is constructive

Does the interview really take 20 mins?????

I said average 20 minutes.some takes 10 minutes,others 20 and still some take 30 minutes.It is very exceptional that some excellent vivas in which the panelists take interest in the viva prolong it to around an hour.

salm,
after reading the threads which have been posted by my honourable and well experienced seniors about the causes of failure in Css exam. i also read the threads of some other forum members in which i found some criticism over the suggestion of seniors and u may call them Postion holders of teh CSS-2007. As far as i know Usman bhai got 9th position as a whole and 1ist in FATA and allocated in DMG group while Arif bhai got Police gruop. therefore, i will not be wrong to say tht some care should be taken bfore falsifyng the statments and advices of a DMG officer and ASP.

I belong to a poor family and living in a remote area of District Mardan (NWFP), basically i m from FATA i-e Mohmand Agency. my father id govt emplyer and we are 4 brothers , 3 except me are engineers. My one brother has left his Engineering and got admision in International Relation Deppt in Quaid Azam University. why he did so , i think just to become a CSP officer. what inspire him, here is no CSP officer neither in our family nor in our village. But have more then 10 CSPs in nearby villages and if anybody needs inforamtion about them i can provide it.

why i wirte all above just for the sake to tell you people that all of the CSPs to whom i know are of the same opinion what has been mentioned by the Usman bhai and Arif bhai. we must follow thier advice and suggestion and no doubt it will bring some fruitful results.

positive criticism is good for improvment but with some approved and valid facts. what i personally know about the CSS is tht its the Techniques and guidance which makes man perfect. Guidance is neccessary before appraoching to any destination other wise it is impossible to reach.


Our seniors acknowledge the fact tht knowledge is the first step in this mession but what they mean to sat is tht its the proper guidance and skill which give you some edge over the other students who havnt guidance. we are not going to be master in 12 subjects but just to present the demanded stuff to the examiner. if you have read the past 5 years CSS papers then you can easily realise the importance of guidance.


Interview is mannerism ur right but what the hell will you do if the Panel ask you about the KBD, present economic crisis, Succuide attacks. i think interview is not only concerned with your manners its deopends on ur knowledge, too. so make it clear tht only physical appearnce doesnt matter but knowledge also.

Pnel members are not the peons of FPSC offices, they include some prominant mebers not only of FPSC but of other departmens as well. they are well aware all of your past and never ever try to deciev them other wise it will cost you more than your imaginations.


And who have told you tht CSS interview is just the game of 20 mints.Dont say it again bcz i have personally visited the FPSC offices during interview days and i didnt find any single candidate who had been intervied for less thn 30 mints. No doubt exceptions are evry where.


regards for all of my seniors and affection for my juniors.

dont forget me when you raise your hands for Mercy Before ALLAH.



regards

shahid khan mohmand

__________________
Mother – that was the bank where we deposited all our hurts and worries.

Brother Mohmand!
In no way do i criticize someone.If you have read the above posts seriously, I differed only with Arif S Wazir when he said that "knowledge counts only in the interview and not at all in the written exam". Though i do not know him but i hold Usman Mehsud in high esteem for his comendable achievement and i agree with his contention about why candidates fail in css.So i do not have anything to argue about with Mehsud.
A small wrong statement (God knows for what purpose) may mislead many candidates.This is ther eason i strongly argued with Arif Bhai.Otherwise we have no business with each other.

JEHANGIR BRO U HAVE DRAWN UR OWN CONCLUSIONS FROM THE REPLIES POSTED BY RESPECTED MEMBERS OF THE FORUM......THE CONTENTION WAS QUITE CLEAR "TO PRODUCE UR KNOWLEDGE IN 3 HOURS NEED SKILL NOT KNWLEDGE ITSELF".THERE MAY B CANDIDATES WITH FAR MORE KNWLDGE THAN THOSE WHO HV BEEN SELECTED BT THEY COULDNT PRODUCE THEIR KNWLDGE IN EFFECTIVE WAY SO COULDNT SUCCEED.....THE WAY UR EMPHASIZED ON UR ARGUMENTS BY MENTIONING THAT U HV CSPs in UR FAMILY REMINDS ME OF A SAYING "IF A BRIDE IS NOT BEAUTIFUL HERSELF,IT IS USELESS TO PRAISE THE BEAUTIES OF HER MOM N GRANDMOM" ...I HV COME ACROSS CANDIDATES WHO ATTEND ACADMIES, DO TUTIONS N GET GUIDANCE FROM SENIORS FOR YEARS B4 TAKING EXAM SO 6 MONTHS IS NOT A BIG DEAL...