How I Cracked Govt. Job Interviews For Top PSUs - By Rahul Attrey (Assistant Exe. Engineer, ONGC)

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The average Indian is, and will always be fascinated by the allure of a government job. This can be substantiated with the help of government data that states that between 2014 and 2022, over 22 crore applicants applied for central government jobs! Out of these, only 7.22 lakh were recommended by the recruiting agencies. The level of competition is indeed high. Government jobs are known to offer job security, and social prestige, along with a good salary and increments. Like many other candidates, I too was always driven towards public-sector jobs. And as an engineer, PSUs were my top priority. But since the competition is fierce, I knew a well-structured strategy and consistency will play a critical role in my preparation. And the outcome was that I could crack not one but several government interviews (ONGC, GAIL, EIL, and BARC).

In this article I would like to share my strategy with all the government job aspirants, to make their journey easier. Let’s get started. 

Also Read: Sachin's Inspiring Journey Of Getting Placed As An IOCL Officer!

My foolproof interview preparation strategy for government job exams

Most of the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) consider GATE scores for shortlisting candidates for the interview round. Some might also conduct their own exam. As a chemical engineer, I was deeply interested in companies such as ONGC, IOCL, GAIL, NPCIL, EIL, SAIL, RCFL, NFL, etc. These PSUs offer exciting career opportunities in chemical engineering apart from other engineering streams. 

Coming to the interview strategy, you must be prepared to handle both general as well as technical questions during the interview process. With regard to the general questions, the following are some points that you must keep in mind:

1. Introduction: For any PSU interview, the panel generally starts with the introduction of the candidate. This question is your chance to lay a good first impression on the interview panel. So practising it well is extremely important. You may state your name, qualifications, past experience (in any), and what interests you in the profile you are interviewing for. However, keep your answer precise and avoid stretching it. 

2. Be ready with your internship assignments and projects: Sometimes the entire interview may be centered around the internships or projects you did during graduation. Hence, please go through your project thesis well before you step in for the interview. 

3. Know the company profile like the back of your hand: It is important that you understand what the specific PSU does, their latest initiatives competitors, company headquarters, etc. Be extremely well-versed with it. The best way is to go through the official website of the company, specifically the ‘About us’ and ‘Media’ pages. 

4. Brush up your general knowledge about the government and recent policies: At times, you may also be asked about the names of the minister who heads the ministry under which the particular PSU/organization falls or other general questions about the government in power. Don’t miss out on this. Since you are going for a government job interview, you are expected to know these facts.  

Technical Round

The technical part of any government job interview will assess your subject knowledge. Hence, revise your core subject well, especially the crucial topics. For chemical engineering, the following are the topics that need to be covered in detail. 

Note: The interview process of BARC (India's premier nuclear research facility) is quite different from other CPSE interviews. BARC interview is solely technical and the difficulty level is quite high. Interviewers ask questions about important topics such as heat transfer, mass transfer, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, unit operations, chemical reaction engineering, and more. 

Commonly asked technical questions

During my government job interviews, I was often asked about my favourite topic. Since mine was the Mass Transfer, I used to be asked a lot of questions about it. So the trick is to make your favourite topic your strength. You must prepare it thoroughly. Other types of questions that can be asked are as follows: 

1. Definition-based questions: Some important ones are octane number, cetane number, pour point, cloud point, smoke point, calorific value, RON & MON, aniline point, etc. 
2. What are the additives of gasoline and diesel? 
3. What is CNG? What are its advantages?
4. What is biodiesel? Mention its advantages.
5. What is LNG? 
6. What is the future of the upstream sector in India?
7. What is coalbed methane? 
8. What are gas hydrates?
9. What is the future of renewable energy in India?
10. Define hydrogen fuel and state its advantages and disadvantages.
11. Explain compressed biogas and mention its advantages.

Some important books that you may refer to prepare the above topics:

• Heat Transfer book by J.P.Holman
• Principle of Mass Transfer and Separation Process by B.K.Dutta
• Unit Operation book by McCabe Smith
• Chemical Process Control by Stephanopoulos
• A Textbook of Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics by K.V.Narayan
• Chemical Reaction Engineering by Octave Levenspiel
• Fluid Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications by Cengel

Dos and Don'ts

To summarize, here are some points that you must remember during government job interview preparation. 

• Research well about the company. 
• Don't miss out on the projects done during graduation or during your internships.
• Practice behavioral interview questions as well apart from technical questions. 
• Don't ignore the important current affairs as these can be asked during the interview. 

Government job interviews can be tricky. But a well-rounded preparation can help you crack these with ease. I hope the above article will help you figure out your preparation strategy for government job interviews. Wish you all the best.