How to approach SSB? from a 10 times repeater's experience

For Screening:

We will have 3 parts in screening:

1.       OIR

lets clear one thing first, If you ruin your OIR, you are not going to get screened in.

 This test is very easy, just practice before coming to SSB and you should be good. Watch some YouTube videos and solve at least one pdf, it has really helped me in solving faster. Solving PDFs fast and watching OIR questions on YouTube makes your brain to get adapted to patterns and expectations.

2.       Story writing

This is simple and yet complex at the same time. According to me, the tip to write a good story is already told directly or indirectly by the assessors themselves.

First thing is observing the picture for 30 sec (at least for 20 sec) and simultaneously try to think of story around the picture. This takes a while to develop, so practice, please practice this at least 5-10 times before the SSB.

Second thing, in the instructions itself assessors will mention that you need tell the feeling, thoughts and emotions of the character in the story. This is very important as whole SSB is a test of personality and when you give emotion and thoughts to your character in the story, you are enabling assessors to know more about you;

the way you think, how much can you relate it to real life (exposure), etc.

here is One way to proceed with story writing

 That is to think of the picture shown as one of the slides of your whole story. 

Say you are shown a picture of an accident of a car and a tange wala. That is just one moment of what all happened or will happen in that story. 

Now it depends on candidate's perception of the picture- One may write that car driver was drunk and probably can make a story around hit and run case. 

Other can write, it was small accident and car driver was apologetic of it and helped tange wala with money, medication and so on. 

Another case could be, after accident crowd started to gather and was just shouting at car driver eventually making the traffic even worse but there was a person lets say, Tanay, who immediately helped them get up, gave first aid and dispersed the crowd. 

These are just few of many speculations and each story will tell about your personality (subconscious personality).

Even though the theme is exactly same in all of these cases. It is all perception that changed; trust me none of them are wrong neither they are right.

3.       Narration and Group Discussion

One thing is for sure is that all these tests are there in the selection process for a reason, our aim should be to perform our best in all of them.

For narration, we usually get around a minute to talk about the number of characters we perceive, their age and mood, action of the story and the story. Sometimes, the assessor will say ‘next!’ even before you finish your story. 

It simply means- either your story was too long and your time is up or assessors understood what you wanted to convey 

but usually it’s because you ran out of time. 

There will around 15-20 members in a group and even if they give 1 minute to everyone, it’s going to take at least 15-20 mins plus the GD will still be left.

Goal is to somehow convey what you have perceived but before that, make sure what you have perceived is right, hence observe the picture at least for 20 secs. While narrating, your story should be as close as possible to what you have written, 

definitely you can improvise it while speaking but it has to come naturally without stammering. Maintain a nice tone and body posture you should be good with Narration part.

Usually, the instructions are to stat the GD as soon as the last candidate has finished narrating his story. This is the time when at least 2-3 people starts at the same time and it will be chaos if more than 2 people will keep on speaking. Take pause and see if anyone made sense. Don’t get the group stuck in deciding 

the no of members and their GD, always try to add something to the GD so that it the discussion will move forward. Give reasoning as to why a point should be accepted, it’s better if it is observation based or logically correct and makes sense.

If you are able to add 2-3 good points, you have done your job. During the GD never make eye contact with assessors or get hyper or slouch. Be genuinely interested and participate to the best of your ability. 

Through GD, assessors try to observe how does a candidate behave in the group, how does a candidate react in chaos, does anyone in the group has the ability to become a leader naturally?

No one likes a person who is very dominating or who seems not at all interested. Be average, be polite, be logical, be a listener but be an opportunist, hear for the other candidate’s points and you will be able to recognize when does a person is about to complete his points, take this opportunity and chip in your points smoothly. Don’t think that in fish market like situation assessor will not note your points, they are very well trained and are experienced too. If in case it becomes too loud they will divide the groups into half so that you have better stand.

Remember that no one will give you the opportunity, you will have to be smart to grab it although there will be some candidates who might ask the group to give opportunity to you or some other candidates but it’s not very useful to you. They are looking for leaders who have the officer like qualities, just be one. Be gentle, confident, smart, have a slight smile and just do your best.

At the end of discussion, one candidate from the group has to conclude the story for the group, for this you need to make sure if you are the one to conclude, you should narrate the story which the group has finalized and not yours, ensure to add multiple points discussed during the GD and conclude confidently. It’s a myth that the person who concludes will surely be screened in, I am a 10 times repeater I know this by experience.

Click here to read more on screening process

Psychology Test:

I have said it earlier and I will state it again and again, SSB is a personality test. Neither intelligence nor English fluency nor even any other quality. 

Let’s take a moment here to understand this before we proceed on how to approach for the test.

By Google search “Personality refers to "individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving”.

A personality is never right or wrong, just different in its own way, hence there is no right or wrong answer to any of the tests being conducted in the SSB. For example, a person can be a bit introvert and he/she might still handle a group of people effectively, while another person can be an extrovert but might not be effective in managing people. A person can be an introvert and might not be able to speak up resulting in poor management, but an extrovert might handle people effectively just because he can speak out important things.

The question is ‘do you have the personality which is required for the armed forces?’.  And thus, they say ‘we are not looking for the best fit but the right fit’.

Hence, it’s not important to look for a correct answer but to sit, think and introspect to analyze what exactly ‘your personality’ is. If you have the 15 OLQs, in fact from my observations even if you have 10-12 OLQs no one is going to stop you from the recommendation.

Click here to know more about OLQs

Things like stamina and physique can be developed in the academy and even if you have a bit lesser stamina it’s fine but say if you are not a team player, then it’s gonna be a tough game. In fact in such a case, we should realize by ourselves that this profession is not suitable for us 

and it’s absolutely fine as there can be a person who likes to work alone and maybe he will become a better and faster coder or writer or artist or athlete or anything else.

Now lets discuss approach for TAT, WAT, SRT and SD

For TAT it’s simple, same as PPDT follow the instructions and write about the feelings, thoughts and emotion of your characters.

For WAT, practice before hand else it will blow up. Since we will have to see the word and form a sentence within 15 seconds, we won’t get much time to articulate the sentence well. I will tell you what to practice here.

Let’s say the word is HUMBLE and let’s analyze few sentences of it. 

(PS: Analysis is based on my little naïve brain’s capacity, not a professional one.)

Sentence 1: Ram is a humble person.      

Analysis 1: Maybe Ram is your friend and you think he is humble but it’s your personality test. What is assessor supposed to do with it.

Sentence 2: Being humble is appreciated.  

Analysis 2: You are aware and acknowledge that being humble is a good thing and preferably you practice being humble.

Now SRT, a situation will be given and you need to write a response to it. Again, no response is right or wrong, people behave differently in same situations. There is a nice anecdote to this, say if we put a potato and an egg in boiling water, potato becomes soft but the egg hardens, it’s their natural tendency. those are what it makes an egg or a potato. 

It’s the same case with us, we react and behave differently depending upon how we are in real life.

Just practice before hand to attempt as many as you can. Preferably try to write short and crisp responses, saves time. For advice I will say, make sure your responses are not fluctuating much in similar situations, say if you fight back in one situation, you should be definitely fighting back in another ‘similar’ situation.

In SD (self-description) write whatever you feel like, it’s better to prepare it before SSB as time is less and we might miss out on something important to be written or we might get stuck in thinking and collecting points. Just remember one thing, at each and every step it’s only about knowing you and assessing how well are you aware of yourselves. Write both your positives and negatives/improvements.

Click here to read more on Psychology tests in SSB

GTO Tasks:

A lot of people say (perhaps its a myth) that GTO scrutinizes few candidates after the two GDs & GPE and thereafter his focus is only on those. Well, I am not sure, if it’s a myth or not but I too believe it to be true although his focus is always on everyone.

Let’s talk about how to perform well here. To start with, be updated with the current affairs of at least a couple of months before the SSB, usually topics are from the latest news and have an opinion of yours as mostly candidates just keep on blabbering something without making any sense but might feel good as they were able speak more than others, no bro, no points for it. Don’t shout, never shout, period. Modulate your pitch here and there but don’t shout at all. You will only end up stressing up your neck’s veins that is it, nothing more nothing less.

No need of repeating the same point again or someone else’s point framed in a different way again and again, you can agree for sure with a point and maybe support it with an example. Aim is to get the discussion to a positive direction by listening to others as well as by adding constructive points. Be polite but strongly put your point, if needed give examples, anecdotes and scenarios. remember- Aim is to get the discussion to a positive direction.

For GPE, practice is the only way. Prioritize the problems to be tackled well. See for the hidden resources in the problem story, calculate rough distances mentally and hence the time. Solution should end with what you had achieved at last, for example if you were going to attend a tournament, your solution should end with attending the tournament on or before time.

Click here to read more on GPE

Coming to physical ground Tasks, first task is Group Obstacle Race or the Snake Race where a snake like 2-3-metre-long cylindrical sack is given to each group and they compete with each other. To perform better in this task, have JOSH keep on shouting your war cry from till the very end. Help each other in getting over the obstacle, make sure your and your groups morale is high and everyone including you should be fast in clearing the obstacles while not violating any rules. Your group’s dynamics and a lot more is checked in this task. 

Other physical group tasks are PGT, HGT, FGT which includes a battery of obstacles to be crossed in group. Since assessors are looking for leaders and problem solvers, points are only for how well you can adapt in the group, give simple ideas, calm your group when required and have the courage to attempt the ideas. Give ideas, be responsible, be careful of your words and make everyone work together or at least make sure you are working to help the group. There’s no competition, you will get enough chances, just look for the opportunity. Listen to the instructions carefully, do not attempt stunts or shut up anyone. 

Most of the task will be bridged by the plank and wooden log you have, do not use rope unnecessarily. Make sure the load (usually a drum) is being carried with group but do not let it become an unnecessary burden, let the group carry it only when it can be completely moved to another end else let it be wherever it is.

Command task, here you need to perform without your group although you will have subordinates to help you. Nature of the task is similar to PGT, HGT and FGT. Before you start your task, you will have a short talk with the GTO and he might ask few questions which will seem to be ordinary but he is still assessing you. You might be asked on how did you come to center (bus, train, plane, etc), how far is the SSB center, why do you want to join the forces, why were you not selected in your last attempt(s), how did you prepare this time, etc or may be a current affair. Once you start the task, make sure you or the sub-ordinates are not violating any rule. Do not call anyone as your subordinate just because he is your friend. Observe the obstacles and see if you will need a heavy or light weight guy or the one who can tie ropes well. Keep your calm even if assessor is changing the rules during the task, this means he is either interested in you and/or wants to observe how do you perform under pressure. Be helpful even when you are the commander. 

Just to burst the bubble, a command task which has a bomb to be diffused doesn’t mean that candidate has performed the best or is going to be recommended for sure.

We have missed one important task of  GTO series, Lecturette. It is something most of the candidates are worried about, and usually happens on the 1st day of your GTO tasks. If you all can agree it’s because either we do not have content for the topic or the confidence of addressing a group in English. Therefore, read before going to SSB, read at-least about basic topics. Just google for the lecturette topics and prepare for it. Lecturette is of 3 mins, assessor rings the bell at 2 mins 30 secs and your aim is to deliver your speech effectively to the group for 3 mins. Best way to do it is to break your topic in smaller parts. 

The way you can break it is by giving some background or historical importance to your topic in first part (say 30-40 sec), your main body of the content should take most of the time. Break this in 2 parts of 1 min each, talk about its pros and cons or past vs present contrast (what’s different now from past), now you would have consumed at least 2:30 mins and assessor will ring the bell, now is the time you smoothly conclude your speech by calling out the take away or by giving an opinion followed or maybe a quote followed by Thank you. Also, keep in mind that you should not make much of your body or hand movement, this shows anxiety. Stand at an appropriate distance, try not to hide yourself behind the chair, if there’s any. Let your whole body be exposed to the audience, keeping your shoulders nice and steady. Voice modulation is important to keep the audience engaged, stress on big points, give pauses and keep a healthy smile (not a freaky one). 

Given a short period to prepare, assessors are trying to see how well your thoughts are organized, can you address a group effectively, etc. And remember, this is just one of the many tasks, your recommendation is not completely dependent on this, even if you speak for 2 mins effectively and logically, you will get ticks for some of the points but give your best in all the tasks including lecturette. 

One last thing, candidates often ask if the top most topic should only be chosen else you will not be recommended, as per my understanding of course the assessor will give more marks if you choose one the difficult topics it shows that you’re prepared and keep yourself updated with current affairs but there’s no point in choosing a difficult topic and not able to speak properly, it will further reduce your chances. The take- away is, chose the topic you are comfortable with, break it into smaller parts, think of some points for each part and just be confident.

Click here read more on lecturette in SSB

For Interview:

IO (Interviewing officer) takes the interview between 2nd to 4th day of your stay at the SSB, rarely on 5^th day too. IO is the one who gets to know you by asking you questions from your PIQ, putting you in situations you normally wouldn’t want to be in, the way you respond to any question or situation and he keeps on cross verifying your responses by twisting the questions.

PIQ is very important as helps the IO know you even before you meet him and it gives an overall impression and idea about your personality, hence its important to give as much as information as you could through the PIQ and it should be honest and correct information.

To give you an idea, say you have mentioned that you keep on participating frequently in sports but when he meets you, he sees an overweight guy, it’s definitely going to raise a doubt to him on whether you are honest and not. Now during your interaction of 30 mins to 1 hour he will verify them by asking you your daily routine or questioning you about rules and measurements of the sport and in many other ways.

Now let’s come on what is to be kept in mind to prepare for the interview. In the beginning he will first make you comfortable for the first 3-5 mins, then you will be asked some general questions and it usually starts like : Gentleman tell me about your marks 10^th standard onwards, what all competitive exams you have appeared in till date and their results, if you participated in any extra-curricular activities, responsibilities you have held from school till date, which subject you like the most and why also tell me which subject you hate and why, who was your favorite teacher and why , who was the one teacher you didn’t like and why, what are your hobbies and how do you spend you free time, who is you best friend and which of his qualities you admire, etc.

These are basic questions which will be asked in a flow, he may add few more questions or even ask these questions by breaking them in smaller parts (rarely happens). Pay attention when he is asking these questions and retain them while you are answering to these. Other questions will from your surroundings, your decisions on major events of your life, general knowledge and you might be given a situation and asked for your opinion, questions on your strength and weaknesses.

Interview is something which goes in the direction you take it. I am saying this as you are the one who wrote your PIQ, you will tell him about your likes, dislikes, hobbies, major events of your life, etc.

I have to mention again that SSB is a personality test and in interview too there are no correct answers or responses. For a same question you and me might give different responses and still be recommended as I will behave as per who I am and so you will, according to your experiences of life. Responses are meant to differ, depending on your ethnicity, school, college, friends, financial status and many other things. 

Things which help you sail through these interviews are your knowledge about your surroundings including GK, knowing yourself (strength/weakness, decisions), reasoning ability, honestly (or Oscar level acting to lie :P) and confidence.

 

Conference:

Here comes your fifth day at the SSB and assessors have their decisions about you by now but still the game is not over. You might feel like you are not going to make it this time but my friend that is to be decided by the assessors therefore don’t give up for 1-2 more hours :D. Assessors might have doubt about some of your traits and accordingly you will be asked questions to verify them. First thing, get ready for the questions you were not able to answer during your interview or during the short talk you had with your GTO just before your command task. Be calm and well dressed, what’s done is done, keep a happy mind let go of everything but be focused.

 

Bottom-line:

SSB process are simple yet complicated, what you should be focusing on is yourself just yourself, be natural but be prepared, get a productive hobby, get to know what’s happening in the world, country and even your neighbors. Hope this might develop some perspective and give direction to your preparations. You shall receive the crown when you deserve it, not when you think you deserve it.