Punjab Public Service Commission Interview Experience for English Lecturer BS-17

About Me:

• Qualifications: M.Phil(English Literature)
• Assistant Prof. Department of English
• Teaching experience: 17 Years

Summary: I am presently working as an Assistant Professor of English at a public sector university. I joined teaching as a profession in 2005. My interview experience for the post of Lecturer in English was very interesting and unique. This is a College-based teacher job and the selected candidate has to deal with the undergraduate and graduate class students. I appeared in the written test .in March 2005 along with 3300 applicants. The total number of vacancies to be filled by the Public Service Commission was 93. 465 top scorer candidates were called for interview before the Selection Board. Interviews were held in June at the PPSC Headquarters in Lahore. Though I was a little bit nervous before entering the interview room yet I had faith in my command over the subject. It proved to be a wonderful experience towards the end of the interview session. Following are the details about my interview experience when I joined this role in July 2005 at the age of 28. 

About Interview:

• Name of the Post: Lecturer(BS-17) English
• Age Limit: 28+5= 33 Years
• No. of Vacant Posts: 93
• Interview Date: 15-06-2005
• Interview Session: Morning(9 am to 11 am)
• Members of selection Board: 04
• Interview Run Time: 21 Minutes

Interview:

Q. How are you? Are you comfortable?

A. I am all ok Al hamad u lillah. Thank you

Q. Please briefly introduce yourself?

A. I introduced myself and mentioned my qualification starting from matriculation. I told about my birthplace, current residence, my father’s job, and the number of my brothers and sisters.

Q. Did you read today’s newspaper?

A. Fortunately I had read the headlines and editorial page of a renowned daily newspaper on that day and I mentioned a couple of headlines. Two more questions were asked on the news I mentioned.

Q. Why are you interested in teaching?

A. I told you that teaching is a noble profession and I like it very much since my childhood.

Q. What’s your Degree name?

A. I told that it is a Master in English Literature

Have you read Linguistics as well?

A. I told that I had read only an introductory and general course on Linguistics, not in detail.

What is Phonetics?

A. I defined it as “Phonetics is the branch of linguistics that deals with the production, transmission, and reception of human speech sounds”

What does IPA stand for?

A. It stands for International Phonetic Alphabet.

What is your area of interest?

A. I had an interest in novel and post-colonial literature. Two basic questions were asked.

Who is your favorite writer?

A. I liked Hemingway and briefly told about his works, themes, style, etc.

You are saying Hemingway was a very optimistic writer, But do you know how he died?

A. That was the most interesting moment, it went into depth, and a sort of pleasant debate started. Three, four supporting questions were asked. I disagreed with the panel’s point of view and stuck to my opinion with confidence. I noticed that it was a good sign and they were smiling, perhaps with appreciation gestures.

Which of Hemingway’s works have you read?

A. I mentioned one of Hemingway’s famous novels and two short stories I had loved.

Why do you feel you are fit for this job?

A. I showed my interests and relevant skills. However, I feel that I could not fully make them fully satisfied with my answer to this question.

What are your merits?

A. I said that I am a hard worker, dedicated, honest, and soft-natured fellow.

Do you smoke? If yes, how often?

A. I used to smoke in those days. I admitted boldly but politely and told about my routine of smoking truthfully. They smiled and said “Is it not bad? I said yes it is a bad habit. It was the second most interesting moment. It also created a sort of soft debate.

Ok Gentleman, All the best

I thanked all the members of the Selection Board I sought permission to leave.