Around one million candidates take the Civil Service Examination, but only 1,000 of them pass the interview. Despite giving their best effort, aspirants are unable to succeed. Those who fail often make similar mistakes. Here are reasons why people fail:

No Strategy: Starting without a plan leads to nowhere. Without a roadmap, candidates don't know which topics to cover, how much time to allocate, when to take mock tests, or when to practice writing answers. Lack of direction hampers their preparation thus failing to bring a positive outcome.

Reading Everything: Candidates try to cover everything they come across, but the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) advises sticking to the syllabus. Going beyond the syllabus wastes precious time. Buying unnecessary study material and neglecting the prescribed syllabus leads to failure.

Over-Reliance on Coaching: Coaching is essential, but self-study is crucial for success. Coaching institutions have many students, but merely attending classes doesn't guarantee success. Candidates who heavily rely on coaching without putting in individual effort, research, note-making, or creative learning techniques fail the exam. Coaching classes should supplement self-study.

Excessive Time on Social Media: Aspirants often spend too much time on platforms like Quora, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Instagram, discussing news, questions, and doubts with others. While these platforms can be helpful, excessive engagement wastes time and energy. Candidates become more focused on social media than on preparing for the exam.

Not Solving Previous Year Question Papers: Previous year question papers are crucial for any exam, including the UPSC. They provide insights into the paper pattern, types of questions, and marking scheme. Some questions get repeated, and solving previous papers helps manage time effectively. Ignoring them is a big mistake.

 Preparing for Multiple Exams: Some candidates believe they can take multiple exams simultaneously since the course content overlaps. However, each exam follows a unique pattern. Attempting multiple exams divides attention and hampers focus, failing in all of them.

Neglecting Revision: Revision is vital, and it should never be skipped. The vast syllabus cannot be memorized entirely. Revisiting topics multiple times is more beneficial than exploring entirely new ones. Revision enhances understanding, clarity, and retention.

Choosing the Wrong Optional Subject: The optional subject choice is crucial. Opting for a subject popular among aspirants or considered easy can backfire. What's easy for one person may be difficult for another. Superficially choosing a subject without in-depth study leads to a loss of interest and wasted time.

 Lack of Organized Notes: Maintaining self-prepared notes systematically saves time and makes studying easier. Disorganized notes lead to a waste of time and energy when searching for specific information. Proper note organization is crucial, especially during the main exam with limited time between papers.

Ignoring Qualifying Papers: Qualifying papers are as important as other papers, as candidates must pass them with minimum marks. Neglecting these papers while focusing on others can lead to failure if the minimum marks requirement isn't met.

Fear of Mocks and Test Series: Simply knowing is not enough. Candidates need conceptual clarity, understanding, time management skills, and speed. Those who avoid taking mock tests and practising with test series feel overwhelmed when faced with the actual exam paper. They waste time understanding questions and have doubts about the correct answers, losing confidence and hope.

Following Every Advice: Many sources offer advice to aspirants, including successful candidates. However, not all advice is valuable. Those who follow every piece of advice, keep changing their schedules and strategies and become confused end up achieving nothing. Select advice carefully and stick to a consistent plan.

Lack of Confidence: Nervousness is normal, but a complete lack of confidence leads to failure. Even when a candidate knows the content well, self-doubt consumes valuable time. Lack of confidence hampers preparation, and fear of failure hinders quality learning.

These are common mistakes that aspiring candidates make, failing. Learn from these mistakes and avoid repeating them when you start your preparation.