First attempt is the best chance to clear NDA exam as you are highly motivated for the exam and hence can put in some serious amount of hard work. It is also a well known psychological fact that your interest levels are relatively high when you read it for the first time and it gradually recedes and you tend to get bored reading the same thing again.
After clearing the written exam such as CDS & NDA, SSB Interview is a major hurdle in the way of defence aspirants. It is conducted by the respective military institution – Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force and is considered as a tough nut to crack. In this article we will discuss the whole SSB process and also some tips to crack this “Hard nut” in one go.
Keeping that in mind, let us discuss various hurdles of the SSB process and our expert tips to overcome those hurdles.
Day 1: Screening
In Screening, individuals have to go through 3 tests namely Officer Intelligence Rating Test consisting of two papers followed by Picture perception and discussion test.
In Officer Intelligence test candidates verbal and non verbal ability will be checked and time allotted to solve each paper (I & II) is around 15-17 minutes. If you have gone through the NDA exam then this test is a piece of cake.
Picture Perception & Discussion Test (PP&DT)
This test is conducted in two phases- Picture perception followed by a Group discussion based on the picture perception.
In this, a picture is shown for a short duration of 30 sec. The individuals have to note down the details of the lead character that they think they saw in the picture. After that they need to form a story within 4 minutes based on their perception of the picture.
This is followed by a group discussion in which individuals have to first narrate their version of the story and then they have to discuss among themselves and form a final story based on various stories of the group.
Tip for Screening test:
Students need to note that this test is not at all about figuring out the correct details of the picture shown as the picture shown during the test is too dull and for a very short duration. It is important to write down the first thing that they think they saw in the picture and then form a story around that picture.
It is of extreme importance that the story thus formed revolves around one individual (mostly) and this individual comes out as a hero having Officer like Qualities.
Later during the group discussion try to calmly put your point across and make sure that you have their attention even for once. Do not rush to put too many points as this may backfire.
The results are declared later on the same day and the short listed candidates for subsequent rounds of testing.
Day 2: Psychology test
Congratulation on clearing the screening test. On day 2 you will have to go through various rounds of psychology tests like Thematic appreciation test, Word association test, Situation reaction test and self description test.
Tip for Psychology test:
As the famous saying goes, practice makes a man perfect. Practice is all it is going to take to take you through this test. Practice rigorously for all the above mentioned individual psychology tests. For an instance, practice word association test by thinking of any word at random, say valour and forming a sentence that first comes to your mind associated with this word. It is important to note that it should show some positivity or be neutral.
Day 3 & 4: Group Testing
Two days are allotted to group testing as this consists of may outdoor tests in which individuals personality is watched while performing the various activities in group as well as individually. The various outdoor activities included in test are:
Group Discussion:
Group Planning Exercise (GPE)
Progressive Group Task (PGT)
Group Obstacle Race (GOR)
Half Group Task (HGT)
Lecturette
Individual Obstacles (IO)
Command Task (CT)
Final Group Task (FGT)
The task order may differ in various SSB centres but overall process remains same.
GT Tips:
These outdoors tests are conducted mainly to test your personality individually as well as in group. As stated in our previous articles, if you religiously follow our advice as mentioned in various articles and dedicate your time preparing for NDA exam, you will have developed, over time, these officer like qualities that will boost your performance during the various group tasks.
For example, if you have the experience of NDA coaching with boarding school, you will already have the experience of working in a group while being independent and having individual identity.
Personal Interview:
A Personal interview can be conducted on either 2, 3 or 4th day. Interview is usually about you, your everyday experiences, friend circle, work, education, family background, academic achievements, some question on general awareness et al.
Interview tip:
When you ask most of candidates, interview is something that sends chill up their spine. One important tip to note here is to speak what you have written during psychology test. It should be in sync. Stay focussed and calm during the entire process and just represent the best version of you.
With this we come to end of this article. Please know that One’s strength is one’s uniqueness.
A Soldier in a battlefield doesn’t have many “attempts” to survive and that is what makes him push his limits & emerge victorious.
All the best!