Now that we have covered a major portion regarding the preparation of the SSB interview technique, let’s face the remaining areas which are required to be covered. To give an interview, you need to understand the psyche and requirements of the interviewer. You need to think hard on the aspects and the expectations that the interviewer is keeping from you and how well you are prepared to take this challenge.
To think like the interviewer, you should make yourself aware about the job profile and the requirements for which you are going to be interviewed about and what kind of people find the suitability in that respective line of work.
It’s important that you are aware of your personality as stated in the previous part and with that of people around you as it is seen how much you are in accordance with your surroundings too.
IMPORTANT – Download eBooks for SSB Interview Preparations
- Thematic Apperception Test – TAT
- Lecturette Topics Part-1 eBook [100 Topics]
- Word Association Test – WAT
- Situation Reaction Test – SRT
- Officers Intelligence Test – OIR
- Current Affairs for All
Let’s focus on other elements that can prove helpful in the preparation of your SSB interview.
- Be honest but learn to conceal information:
The interviewer will take some strange tactics to extract the information from you or to unveil the façade that a few of us carry. Remember, the interviewer has been on the other side of the table for quite a time and have interviewed countless candidates like us and that’s why he has the knowledge regarding our nature and behaviour.
He has been trained by one of the best institutions in the field of psychological assessment and that’s why you shouldn’t lie in front of him. Being honest will show him your true qualities and he will be able to assess on that basis. But, many a time we get involved in some circumstances and situations that we repent later and they can have a terrible impact on the interviewer’s mind regarding our personality. Such things should be kept away in the interview as you don’t want the interviewer to dwell on that grey area. For example, if he asks whether you have a girlfriend or not then you should probably say no.
The logic is simple as the army has a pretty traditional mindset and such things aren’t looked well from their point of view and they consider it as a hindrance in your studies. Further questions about your sexual activities can be asked and that can put you into some muddy grounds. Though candidates who have graduated can be affirmative about this question NDA and TES aspirants should refrain from saying so.
- Know about the people around you:
It happens often that candidates stop at just knowing themselves and they make no efforts to know about their friends, family and people around them. An officer in command of his men is expected to know each and every one of them as its necessary that he should have knowledge about their potential, strengths, weakness, character, reliability etc.
How would you know who can stand by you in your difficult time or who will cast you away during hard times? You will have to observe them and draw your conclusion based on your concrete observations and evidence. Also, if you don’t have knowledge about the behaviour and nature of your immediate family members then you aren’t a good observer or you are simply not interested in them as a person. The army is the extension of the traditional family and it acts as one with Commanding Officer being called as the “Old man of the family”.
- You don’t beg for the recommendation, you deserve it:
Many of us prepare with the aptitude that this job is really very necessary for us and if we don’t get recommended that it’s the end for our future dreams. Due to such thinking, nervousness develops in our minds which hinder our positive thinking and ultimately lead us to sabotage our preparation on the wrong tracks.
You don’t beg for the job as it will lower your confidence and you will prepare with a cautious and doubtful mind which can hamper your chances. If you will think that you have all the necessary aptitude and skills to get recommended that it will develop the deserving attitude in your mind. Such an attitude boosts your confidence and makes you believe that you are here to get this job since you are passionate about this and not because you need it badly. Remember, you never beg for a job. You deserve the job and that’s why you came all the way down there to give a test of your skills.
- Find out about your hobbies and interests:
Most of us take some things which provide relief from our usual routine and gives us happiness. Such things when pursued in rather a serious manner are called as hobbies and when they are in the normal routine and we are slightly inclined towards them then they can be termed as interests.
For example, I write poems and short stories as they provide me with a platform to express my feelings. I have taken regular writing and been indulged into this domain from quite a time and have some offers to publish my poems. Such a thing can be termed as a hobby as I have taken it on a slight professional course. Hobbies are more productive in the sense of pursuing and personality development.
I also like to watch movies and read articles about various topics from time to time and it isn’t regular. It is my interest and I am fine without doing it for quite a time and pursue it when I have an ample amount of time. It can be termed as my interest. It’s totally fine if you don’t have any of the above as it’s not mandatory but if you such a passion for anything then it is expected that you must have a good amount of knowledge for the same.
- Common sense should prevail and taken care of at times:
Being an SSB aspirant, it is expected out of us that we all possess necessary common sense and general knowledge about our surroundings. It is a must that you should have knowledge regarding the history, geography and polity of your city and state. You must possess the knowledge regarding the MPs, MLAs, Counsellor of your city, Legislative area and ward respectively.
You should have the ground and practical knowledge regarding the above areas and have a strong opinion about the same. In my first interview, the interviewer grilled me for 15 minutes regarding the MP’s performance in my city and told me to tell the pros and cons of his term. He may not ask exactly the same question but it is expected that you have a complete understanding of the place you are living in as simple logic of knowing the place that you are operating applies here.
- PIQ is not the answer sheet, it is from where the question forms:
Most of us think that PIQ is an answer sheet while it is the complete opposite of that. PIQ is the piece of paper which provides the basic insight about your profile to the interviewer and psychologist alike. 90% of the questions that are asked from you found their origins from the PIQ only. You should have complete knowledge of what you are going to write in your PIQ form. In my opinion, download the PIQ form from the internet and practice filling it in a neat and logical manner.
These are some topics that you must be aware of during the preparation of your SSB interview technique. Proper questions in a systematic manner will help you forming and improvising the answers in a time frame and you should know how to answer these questions based on your understanding. It is fine to consult the internet to answer these questions but they shouldn’t be copied and written by your common sense and rational mind. This is the last part of this two-part series about the way you should prepare for the interview technique.
