Hey everybody. I am Yogesh Yadav . Last year I had the first 2 SSB interviews of my life and by god’s grace was selected for both. The first one was for NDA (Air Force) at AFSB Mysore and the 2nd was at SSB Kapurthala for TES 10+2 entry in which I also got AIR 6. So basically I am here writing this for two reasons, (i) to share my experience &
(ii) I wanted to see my photo on SSBCrack as I was here one day reading somebody else’s article like you are reading mine right now! So it’s sort of a duty now. Anyways, joke apart, I think I have some tips for all those who aspire to clear their SSB Interview. Now, I am not going to get deep into details and what happens in each day and all. If you are interested in that, you may read 5 days SSB interview procedure. I am only going to share what you might actually find helpful and I have divided that into Screening, Interview, GTO, Psychology, Conference.

Screening:

1. The dictation of your story is most important here. It’s your first impression. Leave a mark there itself.
2. If your group makes it a fish market, you have 2 options:
   • The first and more manly move (my personal favourite) is to shout. Yes, you read it right, shout. Shout and tell everybody to behave or maintain decorum. You may have seen this in you normal day to day life like in a class. If the class is making noise and one comes and shouts rest all suddenly stop talking and listen to him. But remember you have to be careful.
     If you are too loud, it might seem you are frustrated, if you are not loud enough, they won’t listen to you, both ways it’s not good for you. The best is to be a bit louder than them all. It’s tough but effective and impressive!
   • The other easier but equally effective option is to tell them to keep the decorum politely once or twice and hope that they become quiet (Not more than twice, because if even then they didn’t behave, it will show your inability to control the group;) if they don’t then just be quiet and wait for them to finish and then speak your point without missing that *golden moment.
     (*Golden moment: After that fish market, a moment comes when everybody who has been speaking till then finishes their point at the same time. This is around one second of complete silence this is what is your golden opportunity to speak.)
   • Don’t listen to those who say it’s luck. Well, I can’t deny that completely, but luck doesn’t have that much of significance in screening so as to make it an excuse!

     

Personal Interview:

1. Maintain a smile on your face. This is what ppl mean when they say act confident. (Remember, they are doing a very boring job, so a smile is all they want).
2. Get to know yourself, like whether you are shaking your legs , waving hands, fingers, etc i.e your basic behaviour when you are saying the TRUTH. Then when you are lying about anything like girlfriend, passion, achievements, etc make sure there’s no change in you, i.e. you are doing everything like shaking legs, hand movement just like before. ( My interviewer was looking at my legs and fingers in the beginning when asking simple questions and then when i asked something personal, LUCKILY I sensed this and continued lifting my fingers like before).
3. Make a list of all the incidents of your life that shows some quality in you that you wrote in your self description. Remember and keep them like a PULLED BOW and RELEASE it whenever you get opportunity (which you definitely will at some point of time). I had two such planned, i spoke them and in fact regretted why I hadn’t thought of few more before coming here as i had ample opportunities.
4. Do not lie too much.(Don’t be a Raja Harishchandra though)
5. Try to make the interview more interesting rather than giving standard answers others (Not everyone is going to get recommended you see; Since i was an undisciplined boy i used to be often caught and i had to convince teachers. So you see i am good at it, and this proved beneficial from me in interview).
6. If you have participated in anything then surely you must have had some challenges to face, so keep them remembered well in advance for whatever activities you have written in your PIQ form.
7. If you are a funny guy, do not try to hide that Have the guts to show what you are.

GTO:
Note: One needs literally no knowledge to speak in Group Discussion Even if you have never heard of the topic, don’t panic and just modify and speak other’s (esp. somebody who said something but others could not hear) point.

1. In GD try to keep the decorum in group. If somebody is taking too much time, point at him and tell him to stop and let chest no. X speak. I had said somebody “chest no. 17, i think you have spoken enough now let chest no. 19 speak.” then as he got silent and chest no. 19 finished, i spoke my point. All I am trying to say is, DON’T HESITATE to speak up against anybody.
2. But keep in mind, DON’T GET INTO ONE TO ONE CONVERSATION. Like, you see, I let another person speak after silencing him and then spoke myself ; if i had spoken myself after silencing him and if that idiot had spoken again then that looks like one to one which is a negative point 4 us both.
3. In GD (esp. group planning exercise) try to take the group FORWARD don’t fight over priorities and dividing and all.my group was again and again fighting over which is the top most priority.so I said in a angry tone “Gentlemen, now that we have divided the group and doing all the tasks simultaneously, there is no point of priority. So, DO NOT BRING THIS TOPIC AGAIN “. But you need not copy. Its purely situation based! And try to raise voice when necessary WITHOUT getting angry. Remember, one doesn’t have to be angry to be assertive.
4. In PGT don’t rush to pick up any material like balli, plank, etc and let others act like servants. Simply move forward and ask for material LIKE A BOSS whenever required. Nobody ever denies to give, they just can’t. If you are at back, DON’T JUST STAND THERE, give your ideas from back, or point out some mistake that those at front are doing, But for your own sake INVOLVE YOURSELF into it!
5. Let me WARN you that the GTO is way too FRIENDLY DON’T FALL FOR IT, it’s a trap! Don’t speak much, I had revealed a bit much about myself, but somehow managed the situation! Speak only what’s necessary to him!
6. For Individual Obstacles, plan you order of obstacles before starting based both upon the points and their location for ease of doing them in order without wasting much time going from one obstacle to other.
7. Also plan which obstacles you will be repeating if you finished all well before starting (at least upto 14-15). This was a mistake I did and I had plenty of time left. I finished my obstacles and also repeated 2-3 and still time was left (even i wonder how! ) but then I was blank about which one to do next because I hadn’t planned (thinking I will not reach till here). So basically never underestimate yourself.
8. Don’t practice for lecturette in front of mirror, but audience. And have a LITTLE DETAILS about everything in the world from terrorism to oil, from Rohingya to Congo crisis, from business to south china sea rather than any in-depth knowledge as you have limited time for ssb preparation.
9. ( Btw, trust me with time you will realize that all this is related and how greedy the world is! – not for ssb, but i suggest everyone to learn about all these happenings, your perception of the world will change.)
10. All the freshers, you are supposed to keep your hands at back and limit your hand movements during lecturette.

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PSYCHOLOGIST:

1. Practice Time management is somewhat difficult in psychology tests.
2. The whole TAT is basically your you life experiences but Exaggerated.
3. Do all the Situation Reaction Test consecutively and avoid skipping any . Go for quality not quantity. Anywhere above 30-33 is safe. I did only 33-35 SRTs in both SSB and yet got AIR 6. They just want to find their 14 Officer Like Qualities in you. Now it’s up to you whether you show them in 30 or 60.
4. In the SRTs which you find difficult or confusing , avoid giving much details. You will only make blunder if you force yourself to give much details in such questions. Only give a gist in such questions.
5. In WAT, there’s no need to write the word in the sentence In Fact I suggest you to to avoid writing the word in you sentence as it will consume time and here time is as valuable as money! For example, if the word is Alarm then just write “the society about.” Instead of starting with the word ‘alarm’.
6. In your self description, make sure that there is some inter-connection between what different people feel about you. You can show same quality under more that one person’s feeling about you. Also put one or two weakness of yours in there. These things will make it appear more real.

Conference:
Well there’s nothing much you can do now unless you are a doubt case in which case you still have a great chance. Trust me conference can be a real Game-changer. Now i don’t really have much suggestion for this but be or atleast look confident. Don’t hesitate to give any suggestion/feedback if it’s not silly.
Now if you wonder what is silly, let me give you examples of silly: bit more salt in food is definitely silly. Any change in SSB process is also silly as it’s a well devised and tested process.

Note for freshers (repeaters probably know this already ): No matter what the group has planned before going for GD, NEVER BELIEVE THEM. They are going to be the first to cheat u! Though you may give them an opportunity to do what was planned. But once you see it not going the planned way, don’t waste another second and do whatever you wish.

Note for AIR FORCE candidates:
Once you are recommended, DON’T spend your night celebrating victory, instead go and have a nice sleep for the CPSS / PABT test the next day.
A good night sleep is very necessary to clear the CPSS test and no mobile games can be much helpful for this. And RELAXX

PS:  You yourself are responsible for the consequences of adhering to these tips; do what I said above only if you could relate it to your own personality and of course not to mention, at your OWN RISK!

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

Defence Exams and Interview Books:

• Let’s Crack SSB Interview
• Breaking The Code of SSB Psychological Tests
• Let’s Crack AFCAT – Air Force Common Admission Test
• Let’s Crack NDA Exam
• Let’s Crack CDS Exam

This is GAURAV TEWARI from HALDWANI (NAINITAL) UTTARAKHAND, I got recommended from 33 SSB Bhopal for Indian naval academy, in my first attempt. Like everyone else it was my dream to wear my heart on my shoulders, and my resume on my chest. To become one in a million and one among a million. To live a life less ordinary. All started in when I was in class 10^th when my friends discussed SSB interview. I found it interesting and searched about it on the internet, got to know about the whole procedure through SSBCRACK website. In my First attempt, I failed to clear the written of  NDA 1 2017. Got a kick ……..again prepared well and cleared the written of  NDA 1 2018 after giving boards and jee mains. Got decent score in JEE got allotted to NIT BHOPAL(chemical engineering) and by luck, the next day, I was allotted SSB centre as 33SSB Bhopal.

As I had already read SSBCRACK ssb guide twice, so I didn’t felt any requirement of coaching. So NDA 141 here I come.

Prathampag.

DAY 0

28 Aug 2018

Our reporting at the Bhopal railway junction at 1400 hrs. The army bus came at 1530hrs. Reached the ssb centre and were allotted rooms followed by document verification, followed by addressing of rules by our HANDSOME GTO. 52 deserving candidates reported in our batch.

DAY 1

SCREENING day

We had to complete 40 OIR questions in 17 minutes. Two similar tests of such kind were taken on succession and I managed to complete 78 out of 80 total questions. (the time given is less, so prior practice is a must). (I will recommend the OIR ebook of SSBCrack, most of the time questions of similar types can be seen in the real ssb OIR tests). A good OIR result is the first impression for your screening and interview (the IO may judge you based on your OIR marks)

Coming to PPDT

Ours was a picture of a hazy girl, to which I wrote a simple practical story portraying a negative mood, starting with hopelessness to hard work and dedication to achieving success.

I narrated my story confidently.

In my GD I spoke only one line regarding the gender of the character for which most of us were confused.

Since I didn’t speak much in my GD so I think that confident narration, good body language and good OIR helped me in getting screened in.

Results were announced after lunch and 24 out of 52 got screened in.

I was allotted chest no. 20.

We had to fill 3 PIQ forms (right only valid data, don’t boast much, NCC and hobby/ interest portion is from where you will be asked maximum questions by the IO)

DAY 2

PSYCHOLOGY TEST

As I practised psych part very well since 5 months and had a brief idea about it from the start (all thanks to SSBCrack), I completed all 12 TAT stories, 58 WAT, and 41 SRT which I thought were less but I wrote action-oriented and practical based (practice as much as you can, a uniform approach in these tests is must)

SDT, I prepared beforehand, asked opinions about me from my friends, teachers and parents beforehand.

Remember, self-introspection is must in SSB, and it is reflected in SDT itself, so prepare  SDT with wholehearted efforts and honesty.

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This is GAURAV TEWARI from HALDWANI (NAINITAL) UTTARAKHAND, I got recommended from 33 SSB Bhopal for Indian naval academy, in my first attempt. Like everyone else it was my dream to wear my heart on my shoulders, and my resume on my chest. To become one in a million and one among a million. To live a life less ordinary. All started in when I was in class 10th when my friends discussed SSB interview. I found it interesting and searched about it on the internet, got to know about the whole procedure through SSBCRACK website. In my First attempt, I failed to clear the written of NDA 1 2017. Got a kick ……..again prepared well and cleared the written of NDA 1 2018 after giving boards and jee mains. Got decent score in JEE got allotted to NIT BHOPAL(chemical engineering) and by luck, the next day, I was allotted SSB centre as 33SSB Bhopal. (Read on SSBCrack.com) ⚔️??❤️

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DAY 3

This was our GTO day 1. Started off with GD and  GPE in which I was not satisfied with my performance as I didn’t speak much and was not able to present many ideas. Then came PGT, I gave 2-3 ideas which were implemented well (prepare well about the cantilever and try to take initiatives only if u have ideas to cross the obstacle, else cooperation is the key).our group did the tasks with cooperation.

I HGT I was satisfied by my performance. All the given ideas were executed well.

Then was GOR – I performed well, kept the josh high but remained in hosh (don’t break any rules set by the GTO, just repeat the obstacle every time uh break the rule and always beware of the red mark)

In individual obstacle I did 10+1 in 3 mins …..courage and Josh is the key here, remember each and every instruction given by GTO and apply in order.

In lecturette, I got topic as politics in sports to which I spoke around 2.5 mins (even if u do not know the content well, organizing the material is important along with confidence and good body language).

As we returned back to the ssb centre from GTO ground, I was told by the PA to freshen up in 5 mins for the interview. I had to give my interview in my GTO dress stained with mud and blood.

At that time I was thinking about my GTO task (GD and GPE) which I was not satisfied with. So in this tension, I went inside the IO room without his ringing the bell. I did that twice and was scolded badly by the IO

for 5 mins before the interview*(remember if u do badly in any of the tasks, don’t worry or think about it, just focus on the upcoming tasks).

So my interview finally started from  1145 hrs to 1300hrs in which I was asked about my family, friends, teachers, special friends and my bonding with them. I was asked  questions related to phrsics like a circular motion, banking of roads, forces and applications, Archimedes, and various practical based questions like guessing the dimensions of the IO room and then units conversions and about how I prepared for the SSB.

I was satisfied with my Interview.

(remember never lie about anything, they are very experienced if you lie the probability of selection becomes nil. And whatever you right in the SDT , must match up your personality when assessed by the IO)

We came to our room, discussed our performance, I thought that it is not this time I will make it, as my GTO (GD and GPE) had not gone very well.

But still, hopes were there as other tasks went quite good.

DAY 4

It was 7:00 am, and we started off with the command task, I was called as a subordinate twice by chest no. 17 and 18. As a subordinate, it’s your duty to listen to you commander carefully and act accordingly and not to break any rules.

My command task was quite tough, for a minute I got no idea, but then I remembered the concept of load and fulcrum and completed the task. Also, the GTO helped me when I was complexing the task, and thanks to my subordinates, both got reccommneded with me later on the next day. (choose your subordinates wisely, prefer them who performed well in other tasks.

We came to our room and were guessing that who will get recommended the next day.

I guessed chest no. 3, 18 and 17.

DAY 5

Conference day (hypertension for freshers )

We all were made to sit in the testing hall followed by the IO addressing us . We asked him many questions about the forces. 12-15 officers were sitting in the confrerence hall, I was nervous outside the hall  but when I got in, they made me feel comfortable. Asked question about my stay in ssb , how many friends I made and which places I visited during those 5 days and any suggestion for improvement in ssb centre. They asked me if I was expecting my performance to be they way it went.

My answer was that I expected more in GTO as I was not able to give much ideas in GD and GPE. The president of the ssb board told me, not to worry about it as there were other tasks in which they assessed me. This braised my confidence. After lunch, our results were to be announced by the psychologist. I kept my head down, was praying. The call started chest no. 22, chest no. 3………….. then a bit of pravachan started ….

Again …….chest no. 20 and I was all blackout, it was a rewind for me and reached there where I started 3 years back, all the promises, all the boasting, everything, family, friends all came in a flash.

Chest no 18, I was happy for him more than I was for myself as it was his sixth attempt, we hugged each other and cried for about 5 mins.,

Chest no. 17 also got recommended.

It was good to see that in our batch, maximum got recommended and we 4 out of 5 were from the same GTO group.

And that was it .

02 Sept 2018

MANSA VACHYA KARMA

(thanks to my friends who backed me before my ssb days to keep the josh high and thanks to ssbcrack or helping and motivating aspirants like us).