Hello, folks, this is Arindam Ghoshal. I got recommended for Indian Army in my 4th attempt from 11 SSB, Allahabad. My attempts were as follows:
- UES-24 :- Jan, 2015 at 21 SSB Bhopal (Screened Out)
- AFCAT :- April 2015 at 1 AFSB Dehradun (Conference Out)
- SSCTECH-45 :- July 2015 at 11 SSB, Allahabad (Conference Out)
- And finally, SSCTECH-46 :- Oct 2015 at 11 SSB, Allahabad ( RECOMMENDED)
No matter how rich you are, there are certain things which Money can never buy, they are priceless, they can only be earned with Passion, Hardwork and Dedication. Yes, that ‘+’ sign on chest is one of those priceless things . There are three ingredients for getting Success:- Work Hard, work smart and Work constantly. If u miss even one, you wont reach your goal. Like, if you keep on working hard constantly, but don’t work smart, you are wasting time. Similarly, if you are smart and working hard too, but not constantly, you will again fail to achieve your target. And without being said, if you do not work hard, you don’t stand a chance at all. Simple Math !
The Interviewer asked me to tell him one special reason that urges me to join the Army. I replied,” Sir, I want to be among those few who would have the privilege of having the tricolor Flag wrapped around their body when they die”. And then he said” Oh, You seem motivated”. And I firmly replied,’Yes Sir”.
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Well, I would not waste time of you guys making you read what all happened with me in those 5 days in different tests and what all topics were there in GD, Lecturette, how did my interview go, how did my GTO go etc etc. Because,, this won’t help you in any way actually. I will just share my journey from the time I started preparation for my first attempt, till I got recommended.
I started preparing for SSB when I was in the 5th semester of my B.Tech as I were to sit for my UES-24 campus interview round. I appeared, cleared the campus round and got a call for UES SSB. Yes, I was super excited because I was actually waiting to face this SSB. I got Bhopal as centre, reported there on 27 Jan, 2015 and got screened out. I was shocked and heartbroken, because I had gone with so much of expectations and dreams and hope. UES is a once in a lifetime entry, and I just lost it in a day after waiting for months and preparing so much. I was very disappointed and upset. Came back to college and started analyzing what went wrong in my screening. Found out the mistakes after lot of introspection. Then I gave AFCAT and cleared it and went to Dehradun for my 2nd SSB and I got screened in this time.
Screening TIP: Do well in both the OIR, attempt all. They are very easy, all you need is speed and accuracy. Keep the speed high from the very first question and sit with the mindset that, Yes, I have to attempt all. Write a simple story in PPDT, do not worry about the writeup, doesn’t matter if you are not able to complete your story. Make it up in the narration. Observe the picture very minutely. Do not waste time in chatting with groupmates in the time before GD, utilize that time, practise your narration as many times you can. And when your turn comes, speak calmly, don’t rush. Regarding GD, there is no need to support your story even if you feel you have written a better story than others. Just go with the story which majority of the groupmates have written. Because that is what is group discussion all about. Convincing them for your own story will only waste your time. In technical entries when there are around 20-24 candidates in one single group, you will be most probably divided into two halves. This is your chance, make the most of it. Try to speak in the GD, do not shout or lose your calm, maintain a gentleman body language. Even if you speak 2-3 times that is also enough. Give valid points supporting the picture. And you will make it !
Got conference out in AFCAT. Though I was pretty confident this time but still could not make it. Went back and then again did introspection and found that I did make some big mistakes. Then came my next attempt of SSCTECH 45, my first SSB for army. The passion for joining the army was in my blood, my dad has served 30 years in the Army. So, always had that zeal to be in the OLIVES. I reported at Allahabad on 7 July 2015, almost 400 candidates had reported, it took a long time to finish the screening process and finally I was screened in. I was happy because that time I felt that getting screened in a Technical entry is also a big deal (Well, actually its not like that :p). All my tests were going good, I was so confident this time that even if they recommend one candidate, I can be that one chap. And just like the previous time, my chest number was not announced. Again heartbroken because now I had to wait for like 3-4 months for my next SSB.
And now came that SSB, SSCTECH-46 (April 2016, OTA Chennai course). Again I got 11SSB Allahbad. This time they were conducting combined SSB for TGC-122 and SSCTECH 46. Again, almost 400+ candidates reported. We were divided in two boards, TGC people were sent to 19 SSB and SSCTECH candidates were sent to 11 SSB. Almost 50 odd people were sent back home because of documents issue. Guys, please make sure that you read the call letter very well and carry all the documents required. Carry every document you have, also the attested photocopies, few extra papers would not make your luggage heavy pals. 36 got screened in finally. We were divided in 4 groups, freshers in group of 8 and repeaters in group of 10. Finally, 4 got recommended and unlike the last 2 times, this time my chest number was Announced, No. 21. I was on cloud nine. Still don’t have the words to explain that moment. All 4 of us just had tears in our eyes. Maybe that was the happiest moment of my Life till date.
I won’t go about the details of testing about this. I would just be sharing few do’s and don’t regarding few tests which I found it with my experience of SSB.
Psych Tests TIP:
Well, few say go well prepared for Psych and some say there is no need for any preparation for psychological tests. And I go with the second saying. Yes ! Actually there is no preparation required folks. You will hear the exact same line from the Officers/Assessors at the SSB when you will go,, and it is pretty much True. The tests are designed such that anyone can take them without any preparation. It all depends upon you. Some people gain confidence only after practicing things and some believe that they do not really require written practice for that test. So, if you feel you want to practice, you may, and if you feel you don’t, then also its fine. You should know yourself well. Don’t listen to anyone regarding this, do what your heart says, if from inside you feel that yes I need to prepare psych tests in writing, then do otherwise no need. I never felt the need, so I never did, not even once. One small advice for the people who feel that their Writing is not fast, then I would suggest that they must practice then. But practice what ? Not necessarily psych tests, writing practice, that’s it. Write anything, take a newspaper or book and write from it for at least half an hour every day.
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Guys, for psych you just need to know yourself well, that’s it. Its all about how well your heart and mind is in alignment with your external personality. And believe me, It is just a test of imagination and your true self and nothing else.
- For TAT: Write simple stories. Just write the first stimulus. Don’t waste too much time on thinking that you should write story on good theme. And do not try to be heroic everytime. Central character doesn’t mean he has to always be a hero in some story. It just means you have to write the story around him, that’s it. And I have heard and seen few people writing stories about army and all in almost every picture. Common guys, why ? You are not at all required to do that. If there is a picture which is showing something related to these stuff then only go for this type of theme otherwise no need. And in blank story, some say go prepared some say think there on the spot. Well both the ways work may be. There is no harm in going with a pre conceived story. But what I would suggest to write a practically realistic story related to your personality only. May be any event of your life, anything you feel like, there is no restriction on the domain here. Feel free. Everyone has unique life events.
- For WAT: First advice, you need to be real fast in this. Because,, looking at the word then thinking what tow write and then writing a sentence on that, all that in merely 15 seconds !! You can pretty well imagine how quick your mind and hand needs to function simultaneously. Friends, quantity never matters in any of the Psych test. Even if you don’t attempt all 60 WATs, its completely fine. They will get to know about your thought process even if you do 50-60 %. But, try your best to attempt as many as possible. Again, same advice as TAT, just don’t overthink, write whatever comes to your mind. Write short and simple sentences. I could always do 60 complete WAT because I had good writing speed. There are few things to remember in this test is that you should not write any quote or universal/scientific fact like that. Be positive in your responses.
- For SRT: Be practical in this test. Put yourself in that situation. No situation is that difficult that you cannot think at all what to write. They are all simple real life incidences that might have happened with most of you or can happen. Write exactly the thing which you will do in that situation. And one thing, complete your responses, do not write a solution in 2-3 words and that’s it. Write short responses only but not that much short that it is not really understood. Keep your mind vast open while attempting SRTs, because you will b needed to think a lot in this test. I could hardly do 40-45 SRTs. But as told earlier, number never matters here.
- For Self-Description Test: Well this is a confirmatory test which will reveal how well you actually know yourself. You can either go with preparation for this test or write on the spot there. I never prepared SD too, I always wrote SD right there and then because I had done enough introspection to know myself. For this test, just one advice, do a lot of introspection. Know in and out about yourself. That’s it !
GTO Tests TIP:
Well, this series of Test is the best part of testing at SSB. Here you will actually being tested.
- GD: Brush up your general knowledge and current affairs before going to the SSB. You will get the benefit of that here. The topics will be mostly on some current issue going on in the country or any social issue. They won’t be like if your Current affairs knowledge is week so you won’t be able to speak. Not at all. All can speak. Its just having an extra amount of knowledge and some good stats and facts will add weight to the points you will say. Do not ever lose your temper nor ever try to dominate the group. Just give some good points and cooperate with the group and let everyone speak.
- Group Planning Exercise: Observe the map very well. Calculate the scale properly while measuring the distances. The plan you will be writing on paper won’t matter much friends, you will be assessed on the basis of the discussion. Do not try to impose on plan, listen to all. It generally a mess in this GD and becomes a fish market, keep your calm. Try to put forward your point whenever you get the chance. One thing, no one will give you chance to speak, its you who will have to make that chance for yourself. And it doesn’t really matter much who gives the final conclusion to the GTO. Don’t bother about that, if you participate well in the discussion and give good points for the plan, then you will automatically be nominated for giving the conclusion. I was nominated by my group to give the plan.
- Group Tests (PGT, HGT, FGT): There are basically three categories of candidates in the GTO tasks. Explaining this with an example, consider a Train. First category is passengers,, candidates who are in this category they will just pass ahead with the group without participating or saying anything, just like the passengers in train. Second is compartments, just like the compartments help the engine to move forward, similarly, these will be the candidates who will just help to proceed in the task. And last category is the ENGINE, yes. This is the category they are looking for. Just like the engine leas the train and takes everything along with it, similarly, you need not only be a leader but carry everyone along with you too. That means, give ides and help to execute it. There may be times when no idea will come to your mind, its perfectly ok, help others with their ideas in that time.
GTO tasks are all about Josh and active participation. Keep your voice firm and loud all the time, and never show hopelessness. Keep trying and putting the efforts to make things workout.
- Command Task: You will be made commander, so you need to act as commander too. First rule, listen to the instructions carefully and then call your subordinates wisely. When I say wisely, I actually mean it. Don’t just call anyone with whom you have bonded well. There might be a possibility during the task that you will be required to take ideas from the subordinates, so when calling the fellows, keep this in mind. Second rule, be very firm and clear in giving commands to the subordinates. Do task with them, it should not be like you just stand and order nor it should be like you doing all the task alone. Take the lead and make them do too. When the GTO starts explaining the task, start thinking about executing the task right from there because most of the instruction you would have already heard in your previous tasks.
- Individual Obstacles: Every task matters, so does this, but speaking frankly, it’s weightage is very less. It wont matter much if you do 7-8 or 13-15. SSB is not really a platform to test your fitness and stamina. The obstacles are very easy and person with average stamina and speed can easily do 9-10. I did 13. Don’t get injured in this. Because doing an extra obstacle might not fetch you anything extra but getting injured while being too fast in tackling the obstacles can hurt you real bad at times.
Interview TIP: Well no special tip for this. All you need to do is self-introspection. That’s it. See the OLQs and find out which one you need to improve. Brush up your current affairs a bit, you should know everything about everything you write in your PIQ form. Interview will revolve around that PIQ only. Just be truthful in your responses. Lying would fetch you only one thing, Not selected. It might be your first interview, but for the person sitting in front of you, for him it might be 1000th. So, do not even think of being smart and showing what you are actually not.Remember friends,, every human on this planet has those 15 OLQs, its just the extent varies from person to person. There is a minimum threshold to become an officer in the armed forces, You just need to be above that threshold. And you have your dream then. With this, signing off. Good Luck to all the aspirants. JAI HIND !
Remember friends,, every human on this planet has those 15 OLQs, it’s just the extent varies from person to person. There is a minimum threshold to become an officer in the armed forces, You just need to be above that threshold. And you have your dream then. With this, signing off. Good Luck to all the aspirants. JAI HIND!
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