There are 3 stages in which this exam is being conducted, which is Stage I, II and III. There are total of 4 papers, 2 are subjective and 2 are objective. The total marks assigned for the written exam is 1100 and 200 marks assigned for personal interview. The cut off mark is as follows:

• Cut off marks out of 500 – Only Objective paper marks
• Cut off marks out of 1100 – Includes objective and subjective paper marks
• Cut off marks out of 1300 – Includes the marks of objective and subjective exam along with the personal interview

Recruitment Process and Vacancy Details

After cracking the written exams, the candidates need to appear for an interview. This is the final phase of the recruitment process and perhaps the most difficult one. There has been an instance when someone has done exceedingly well in the written exams got rejected during the interview session. Therefore, it is very important for the students to make sure that they prepared themselves thoroughly prior to appearing for the interview. They will be bombarded with very tough and tricky questions that would require the presence of mind as well as strong IQ to answer. In the following section, a brief overview will be presented in the interview. The total recruitment process is in pointer given below.

• IES Application Form 2018: this is the first step and the candidates who want to give IES 2019 they have to first fill up the form within given date.
• Preliminary Examination: In the second phase, they candidates have to seat for the preliminary exam and have to attempt two papers of 200 and 300 marks respectively.
• Mains examination: In the main exam, the candidates have to give two papers of 300 marks each. Only 6 to 7 times of the number of vacancies will get a chance to seat for the mains.
• Interview: In the next step, interview round only the 1 out of 3 candidates will get a chance. Total number of this round will be 200 marks.
• Document Verification: the candidates who will clear the interview round have to submit their documents.
• Final Selection & allotment: the candidates who will satisfy the eligibility in the previous round will be in the merit list. Apart from that, the number obtained in the preliminary, mains and interview will be considered. Based on the merit list the candidates will be allotted in various services.

Interview

This interview session is also known as “Personality Test” which consists of 200 marks. The primary objective of this interview session is to evaluate and assess the candidates in every possible respect in order to see if they are fit enough to hold a major position in the field of Public Service. The interview is conducted by a panel of highly experienced individuals who are capable of scrutinizing the candidates from every single aspect.

One of the main objectives of this interview is to test and evaluate the mental calibre of the candidates. In other words, it is not only meant to check the intellectual qualities of a candidate but at the same time his knowledge on current affairs and different other social traits. The qualities that are judged are,

• Mental Alertness
• Critical Powers of Assimilation
• Logical and Clear Exposition
• Balance of judgment
• Depth and variety of interest
• Leadership qualities
• Social Cohesion
• Moral and intellectual integrity

It needs to be mentioned in this context, that the technique of interview is not about cross-examination, but a well-directed and natural conversation which is designed to judge and evaluate the candidate’s mental qualities. The interview has not been designed to evaluate or test the candidate’s general knowledge; that part has already been taken care of in the written examination. The candidates are expected to be well versed in different social traits and also in various other events that are taking place around them. They are expected to have a broad outreach to both national and foreign affairs.

The interview can be very interesting and enjoyable as long as the pressure of it is not buckling someone down. It is all about the character and personality of the candidate. It will test the mental strength of the candidates to see if he is capable enough to handle some of the toughest situations and also work under pressure.

Therefore, it is not enough to crack the written exams, students need to be smart and competent enough to rack the interview session as well

Vacancy Details

As far as the vacancy details for 2019 are concerned, it has been announced already and the total number of vacancy is 581. However, the candidates can get to know about various details pertaining to the vacancies for IES from different newspapers and the internet. Going through the previous year’s vacancies would also give them some idea.