Filling a Detailed Application Form (DAF) is considered one of the most important steps in UPSC CSE before a candidate is chosen for a service.

DAF is an extensive document that candidates are required to fill out prior to the Mains and is known as UPSC DAF 1; whereas, DAF 2 is filled before the Personality Test Round.

DAF requires candidates to provide detailed information on their educational qualifications, work experience, preferences for services and cadre, etc.

While it seems simple at first, if not filled properly, DAF can adversely affect the selection procedure. Here are five key instructions on how to write your DAF.

Know your DAF IFS officer Dr Apala Mishra — who secured AIR 9 in the 2020 examination — asks aspirants to ensure that they put in only those attributes and strengths that they wish to highlight in the DAF.

“Do not put down any achievements or hobbies that you cannot explain in your DAF. The interviewers are likely to see through it. Revise whatever you have mentioned in your DAF and have answers to everything you put down,” she says.

Seek help from experts Sharing his experience on Quora, IFS officer Suyash Chavan advises aspirants that taking notes from those with experience is always a good idea before filling the DAF.

“Due to a lack of proper guidance, I made a lot of mistakes in filling my DAF. More often than not, over half of your interview is based on it. Always consult a senior before filling your DAF,” wrote Suyash.

Refrain from adding unnecessary interests Suyash says, “I added a lot of unnecessary hobbies like travelling and cricket. It took me a lot of time to prepare answers to such unnecessary information. Questions on such information might land you in trouble.”

“If possible, fill a rough DAF at the start of your UPSC preparation and develop your hobbies and personality accordingly over the course of your preparation,” he suggests.

Do not leave hobbies blank IAS Jitin Yadav says it is not advisable to leave columns of interests and hobbies completely blank. “One can use common sense to fill general interests and hobbies,” he says.

“For example, ‘reading or watching news’. Anyways, we are reading news for UPSC preparation at least for the past one or few years. If you have no specific hobby, you can write ‘socialising with friends’ if you have friends,” he adds.

Don’t select the wrong service/cadre IRS officer Vishnu H Prasad points out that a significant area of concern in DAF is service and cadre preference.

“Many people fill the first three services very carefully and then ignore the later services, being over-confident that they will make it to the top 100. This could prove to be the costliest mistake that you commit in your entire preparation,” he warns.

“Make sure that you have researched well about the selected cadres. You are going to be spending at least two-thirds of your career in the cadre you choose,” he adds.

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