This is the story of an UPSC achiever who never looked back on his past failures, neither stopped to stare long at his present ones, but just kept pushing ahead, concentrating on tackling one barrier at a time. He is 2020-batch IAS officer, Mr. Krishan Kumar Singh.
He failed three times in the CSE exam, but every time, brushed himself off, stood up, and kept moving. He cleared the exam for the first time in 2019 by securing 181 rank and joined IPS but went for the exam one more time in the next year and got a higher rank, 24, and entered IAS. Today, we present the success story of this achiever, who considers himself a ‘failed perfectionist’.
FEAR OF MISSING OUT
Mr. Krishan Singh, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, couldn’t get into IIT even after giving two attempts, and took admission in Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology. During his B.Tech days, he grew a fondness for Computer Science, but to have a go at UPSC was always in his mind. While his friends went about looking for job placements in and outside the country, he started preparing for Civil Service exam in his fourth year.
He gave his first attempt in 2015, just after finishing his degree. He couldn’t get through the Prelims that year. The next year, too, a similar story was repeated. He couldn’t get pass the Prelims.
“My friends were earning well, while my career was still hanging. I had developed a feeling of missing out. So, after failing the first attempt, I decided to attempt for other exams as well. I cleared all the steps of RBI Grade B exam and secured a job. When I failed the second time, I thought of doing better in the job which I had taken up,” Mr. Singh had told media in an interaction soon after his UPSC success.
It was his friends who made him understand that he is creating a parallel story and running from his failures. With their motivation, he decided to make another attempt at UPSC.
HECTIC PREPARATION
Mr. Singh worked as manager of RBI and during the preparation of the third UPSC attempt, he was posted in Shimla, disconnected from everything. He was only in touch with few friends.
“I was aware of my earlier mistakes. So, that was the time to rectify them. I didn’t give any mock test. Instead, this time, I worked hard on it.”
He cleared the Prelims in his third attempt, but clearing the Mains posed a big challenge now. Remembering those times, he said, “When you fail continuously in Prelims, your focus shift to clearing that only. Mains completely skipped my mind. One month of my time was wasted in thinking how to go about it. My answer writing practice was zero. Anyways, I managed to write the Mains but couldn’t get through.”
After giving three attempts, he decided that the next one will be his last. He took one week off before Prelims and one and half month break before Mains. He had decided that he will give his 100% without worrying about the result. This paid off and he cleared UPSC CSE 2019 with AIR 181 and was allotted IPS.
He said that doing a job and taking out time for preparation is a very hectic task, but one learns the value of time.
He went to train for IPS and after his Phase -1 training, he decided to try another time for IAS.
“In 2020, Prelims, Mains and Interview – all were postponed due to the Covid crisis. After giving my Mains, I went back to the National Police Academy and had completely forgotten about the Interview. When the date came, I was super chilled and relaxed. I believe this was the major reason why I sailed through it again, even when finding mistakes is much difficult if you have been successful once.”
RBI AND IPS NURTURED HIS PERSONALITY
Mr. Singh emphasised that taking up a job during UPSC preparation is a good thing. The reason he gives is, if one is sitting at home, he tends to think that this is the whole world. His perspective starts to shrink.
“My Job in RBI and then the training for IPS enhanced my personality. I was an evolved person who had explored much more. When I was going for my last interview, I was much more confident.”
He also said that while one should take suggestions from peer groups who are also preparing for the exam, one must also talk to other friends from different fields, as the latter will “have a different perspective of you which will help you in interview.”
TAKE INTERVIEW AS AN INTERACTION
He also mentioned that one should not go with the presumption that UPSC CSE interview is sort of a brain teaser or puzzle.
“The panel is present there to judge your personality through your opinions. It is important to take the interview as an interaction. In any other scenario, your interview will turn into a mechanical process, which won’t be good for your result.”
The officer now writes his own blog under the name, The Failed Perfectionist, where he has not only shared his notes and preparation strategy, but also his journey of six years of preparation.
