What can be the best answer to the PSU interview question, "why have you dropped one year and why do you want to join this company?"

A friend of mine currently working in HPCL dropped a year before joining HPCL and he was also asked the same question in the interview.

A friend of mine currently working in HPCL dropped a year before joining HPCL and he was also asked the same question in the interview. Below is his experience and I guess it will help everyone :

He replied honestly “ Sir, I was not able to perform well in the last GATE exam but I was very keen to work in a PSU, so I dropped one year for preparation”

Then the very next question was “ Instead of wasting one year, you could have worked in any private firm and appeared in exam this year, so that you would have got an experience of an year by now”

Of which, he replied “ Yes Sir I could have. But my focus was to work for a good PSU and I think all my hard work has finally paid off as I could atleast make it to the interviews of PSUs”

That’s it. No further questions asked . And he not only managed to got job offer from HPCL, but also from SAIL, HPCL, Coal India.

So, my advise would be “ be honest in your interviews because if you try to beat around the bush,they will ultimately catch you and if you honestly tell them about your plans then there is always a greater probability of converting your interview call to a joining letter”.