Personality Test / Interview
The Personality Test carries 150 marks and follows the Main written examination. A board constituted by the Commission probes your background, education, home district, hobbies, current affairs and understanding of Odisha's administration. It is not a viva on facts: the board is testing suitability for public service - alertness, balance, integrity and the ability to express a reasoned view under pressure.
What the board assesses
- Mental alertness and clear, logical exposition.
- Balance of judgement: can you see more than one side?
- Depth of interest in hobbies, books and the state you come from.
- Social leadership and moral integrity, tested through hypothetical situations.
Worked example
A candidate from Bargarh lists 'documenting handloom cooperatives' as a hobby. The board asks: 'How would you use handloom clusters to reduce distress migration?' A strong answer names the district's weaving clusters, links them to credit and marketing support, proposes design and e-commerce interventions, acknowledges the limits of a single scheme, and ties it to the candidate's own field observations. A weak answer recites a scheme's name without a mechanism.
Traps that cost marks
- Bluffing about a hobby or book you cannot discuss.
- Reciting memorised answers to 'Why civil service?'
- Arguing with the board or becoming defensive.
- Not knowing your own application form, district or the state's flagship schemes.