Income Tax officer interview (2002)

[Argus]

Muhammad Muti-ur-Rehman Mumtaz
Secured 50th Position in CSS 2002
Journalism, Sociology, Pub. Administration, Urdu and Muslim Law & Jurisprudence.

Guys !!!

Training at CSA is not what I expected. It's tough. It's hectic. You hardly get time for activities other than the official ones. When you do, you are tempted to catch up on your lost sleep. I, however, would take another day to write down about training details. Right now, I'm here to tell you guys how did a 200 interview go. I would write every intricate detail starting right from my dress till the moment I came out of the interview room.

I wore a well-tapered and well-tailored mid-night blue suit to the interview room. A pure white shirt and light-shaded, small-printed bluish green tie, black shoes and a Raymond wheel watch went with the suit. I had my hair gelled back to perfection. I wore my favorite perfume "Cool Water". My nails were properly trimmed and I took special care about manicure as well.

The day of the interview rose well for me. I was in a light mood, laughing around and cracking jokes to my cousine. 10 minutes before I was scheduled to leave for the interview place, I walked bare-footed on the grass.

As some of you may know, I am a free-lance writer for the newspapers. I got all of my articles laminted and took them with me in a nice file-folder to the interview room.

I was the third person to appear infront of the interview panel on a Friday. Before I entered, I recited Durood Pak and asked Allah for help. (And I got more than I deserved).

The Interview:

I enter with a smile on my face. Loudly, I say, "Assalam-o-Alaikum" to the panel. They smile back at me while responding. The chairman offers me a seat. I unbutton my jacket, put my file infront of me on the table and sit down--relaxed,calm, composed and confident.

Chairman: Welcome, Mr. Muti ! How are you ?
Me: I am fine, Sir ! Alhamdolillah..(rotating my glare to all of them) and how are all of you ladies and gentlemen this fine morning ?

The Panel: (some of them smiling) Theek Thaak.

Chairman: Young man ! have you consciously matched the color of your tie with your eyes ?

Me: No Sir ! It's quite unintentional. I'm surprised that you observed it.

Chair: Mr. Muti ! I would like you to introduce yourself in detail to the panel starting from the very beginning, your hobbies, your educational career, your family and anything else you would like us to know.

Me: Sure, Sir ! My name, as all of you know by now, is Muhammad Muti-ur-Rehman Mumtaz. By profession, I am an Aeronautical Engineer and I have done it from Pak Air Force Academy, Risalpur. Now, a bit about my family background and educational career. Sir ! I was born in a rather small town named Burewala. (and I tell them every detail till the day of my interview).

Chairman: (delivering me to the panel). Members ! You are free to ask questions.

Mr. Roshan Zamir: Well, Mr. Muti ! Where did you pick your accent from ? It sounds impressed by the Americans to the very last bit.

Me: Sir ! that is because I have a liking about Amercian accent. And by the way, Sir ! Isn't it just like us to get impressed by the Americans ?

Roshan: (ignoring the sarcasism) You talked about Officer-like Qualities in your introduction. What are they ?

Me: Sir ! Self-awareness, integrity, honor, honesty to start with... and a sense of responsibility, punctuality and leadership to cap it up.

Roshan: Do you think officers in Civil Services have these ?

Me: Sir ! The people I have come in contact with...YES !!!

Roshan: Do you feel comfortable with the idea of leaving such a highly-paid job in Saudi Arabia ? Do you really want to trade it off with a career here ? Do you know how a Civil Servant manages to educate his kids ? I think you are more of an emotional man than a practical one.

Me: Not at all, Sir ! I have solid and concrete practical reasons to back me up. Back in Saudi Arabia, I don't have a sense of belonging or a sense of ownership. The natives would always treat me as "Just another outsider" or "an alien". I would never fit in there no matter how long I live there. I am a simple nobody there. Here in Pakistan, I am someone's cousine, someone's son, someone's brother. I have an identity and I intend to keep it. I want to get reconneced to my roots, for I am nothing without them. I have mentioned the same thing in one of my articles called "Life without roots". (Roshan looks for the article and reads it).

Roshan: It's quite an interesting reading, Young man !

Me: Thank you, Sir !

Madam Mashooda: Mr. Muti ! You had Urdu as your optional subject. Would you like to tell us the first poem of Iqbal ?

Me: Yes, Ma'm ! It is called "Himaliya". Maulvi Abdul Haq has said about Iqbal's poetry that One should well imagine the ending heights of a poet whose start is Himaliya.

Mashhooda: Why did Iqbal convert his attention to Persian poetry instead of Urdu ?

Me: Ma'm, it's because of the fact that Persian language, keeping in view Iqbal's target audience, had more deep and wide-spread penetration


thanx DDG(I dont have its second part if any one ve plz post it here)