SSB Experience Series: Recommended in 5th Attempt for Indian ARMY- Part 2

In Part 1 of this series we saw the history and how Jeet came out of ashes like a phoenix. We saw how one should continue to explore the personality , do introspection and develop oneself towards perfection. Lets read more how he performed in various rounds and got recommended in fifth attempt.

Psych Tests:

These series of tests are testing your imagination and probing your thought process. In each test a STIMULUS is provided in terms of a Picture, a word or a situation. Our job is to let the stimulus sink in and then observe how our brain processes it. You’ll be amazed by the power of your brain my friend, let it do the dirty work of thinking, your job is to just paste the thoughts ditto on the paper. And for the brain to work freely it has to be calm.

Click here: SSB Experience Series: Recommended in 5th Attempt for Indian ARMY- Part 1
Also read: How to perform well in psychology of SSB

1) TAT: I wrote all stories very spontaneously as I had not prepared for it this time, I wanted it to be as natural as possible. The Golden Tip- Revolve the stories around your life events, never make the Hero do something that you yourself can’t do in real life e.g. if you are a Cyclist, you are free to imagine a Triathlon but not driving a train out of the trap of terrorists. Keep in mind that 30 seconds on the battlefield could mean Victory or Defeat, so make a decision quick. Imagine a theme, give hero’s identification in a line, identify the situation in next 1-2 line, give the actions undertaken by the hero to solve the situation in the next 4-5 lines and finally give a positive future in 2 more lines. The story must project your OLQs e.g. Intelligence, sense of responsibility, courage, determination, mental stamina etc. And if you really are a leader in your domain, this test is going to be very enjoyable. Make a good blank story beforehand, relate it to your life, hobby, aspiration etc.

2) WAT: I put all my thoughts clearly n concisely, most of my sentences consisted 4-6 words only. The Golden Tip- Reading positive books helps in triggering positive thoughts, the more you read the less you are out of ideas so folks read on. One Para SF officer once told me, “The one who reads, LEADS”. Again 15s are more than enough to think and put down a nice thought, usually I used to be left with 2-3 s to relax before the next word flashed. Sometimes we leave a word or two, may be because no good thought had come up, best thing to do here is relax and focus on the immediate word rather than stressing about the lost opportunity. And that is true for life, for taking a good decision the mind must be calm and composed all the time. Stress exists everywhere and the moment we fall victim to it by giving it too much consideration, we tend to become indecisive. Think about it, how can a non-living thing i.e. STRESS make you its slave. Break Free Warriors!!

3) SRT: I did 59/60. Ok I know it’s a scary number but it is possible. The Golden Tip- Practice SRTs on apps and books, time yourself and after finishing each test improvise the responses, make them shorter and crispier. Never give a response bigger than one line, in fact in a few SRTs I gave 2-3 word response only. Nobody is checking your grammar here, so put your actions separated by commas. E.g. 1.His company commander tells him to jump off a snowy cliff so he……..obeys……. 2. He was going to market and few miscreant s were teasing a girl so he……. Rescues girl, warns them sternly……..See here I could have put a bigger response like this- Intervenes, calls police, calls friends, with the help of others catches the miscreants, hand them to police, frees the girls, spread awareness of women help line, get CCTV installed in market, appoint a voluntary force to check eve teasing etc. I hope you got the point i.e. you can do a lot to solve a problem but the question is will you really do all that you wrote? They are seeking the most spontaneous response, so give them that. Writing long responses will eat up your time so write what you really gonna do . And yeah in TAT you are at liberty to give many action and solutions to a problem. Final word of advise is TREAT SRT and TAT differently. SRT demands short responses and the TAT demands more mature and long term responses, considering the past, present and future. There are no right and wrong answer, everyone acts differently in different situation. There are basically 3 ways to deal with any situation, one might compromise, other one might attack and another might retreat. Keep it in mind that each of these responses show equal level of intelligence so feel free to be GENUINE.

Click here to read: How to perform well in TATand PPDT  round of psychology
Also read: How to write good WAT in psychology

4) SD: I had prepared it beforehand and was able to do it within 15 min. The Golden Tip- Go to all the parties (friends, parents, teachers) personally and ask for their opinions about you. Then draft each party’s opinion in 2-3 pages and finally compress them all to 5-6 lines. All the opinions must be coherent i.e. none should contradict the other.

GTO:

The GTO tests the behaviour of an individual in group. Is the individual a team player? Is he cooperative? Is he a threat to the common good? Is he intelligent? Does his contributions take the group closer to their goal? Does he give up under stress? Can he deal with other candidates emotions and influence them? Is he dominating others? Is he courteous to his colleages Etc. These are most of the things that the GTO is probing a candidate for. To the repeaters I have a question, What if a WAR breaks out and your GTO group has to decide the action plan within a few minutes, Do you think INDIA will ever win the WAR that way? The answer is quite clear, the GTO is looking for the people who can cooperate under stressful situations keeping their composure intact.

1)      GD: We discussed on 2 topics, a) Pollution b) Live-in relationships. I gave my unemotional opinions 2-3 times only in both the GDs. The Golden Tip- Communication is 80% listening and 20% speaking. While speaking never go beyond 30s mark, once you do that u make others insecure and they are naturally hardwired to be defensive to your opinion. Be open to others opinion and never show disagreement openly. You’ve got to be very courteous while talking. When you do that you will pass as a friend of everyone and that is the seed to effective leadership. Once your group mates realise that you are not detrimental to their survival they will cooperate with you and accept you as a well-wisher. Keep your opinions short, crisp and full of content. Whenever you speak, your contribution must take the group FORWARD. Again a positive and friendly body language helps in your acceptance in the group. Keep check on your facial expressions as it distracts the audience from your words.

2)      GPE: I wrote down a very concise plan, first I mentioned the problems then gave the plan in hardly 12-15 lines keeping time and distance in consideration. In discussion we developed a good plan, I helped in the process by creating consensus between the members where precious time was being wasted and kept a check on my tone and tenor and expressed myself as politely as possible. The GTO tried to pressurise us by interrupting again and again, by quoting the time remaining. But my group was very sane and did not become a victim of his tactics. Kudos to them!!

3)      PGT, HGT,FGT, CT: This time I was very calm and composed in my approach and didn’t feel the need to shout my suggestions instead I kept on analysing the obstacle and as soon as I ‘d discover a solution I’d propose it very politely to my group members showing a very positive and friendly body   language. The group accepted me as their defacto Commander. No I did not dominate them, no I did not shun away their ideas no matter how dumb they were, no I didn’t hinder anybody’s performance. All I did was showing respect towards them and their ideas and in return they showed respect to me and my ideas. Now its your turn to guess, Who got our ship sail out of the TSUNAMI? . It’s the GTO’s job to put pressure on you and distract you, if you do give into his tactics you are making the GTO the WINNER. It so happened that the GTO tried his level best to deter and distract me by hurling negative remarks, but guess what, I did not give a ***k!! And kept my focus on my job that was to get the team through the obstacles. Cooperation is the key here.

4)      IO: I did 11, could have done more. Here the sequence in which you attempt matters. If you are spending more time on the ground and less on the obstacle, it shows you lack organizing ability.

5)      Lecturette: I chose to speak on “Declining Sex ratio in India”. Spoke pretty well. The Golden Tip- Decide within 10 seconds the topic then divide the topic into sections e.g. Intro, elaboration, causes, effects , future, conclusion etc. Now rehearse once over each section and nail it!!

6)      GOR: This shows your team spirit, as in this test nobody has to use their intellect, the real personality of yours surfaces. If you have ever played a team sport, this test is a cake walk for you. Basic qualities usually projected in this test are Liveliness, Physical stamina, Sense of responsibility, Cooperation, Initiative and Team spirit.

Click here to read: Check if you have OLQ's in you ?
Also read: What is SSB all about?
Interview

This time the interview was by the book type, He asked about Education, Friends, Teachers, Family Hobbies, GK etc. Then the most important question,”Why didn’t you make it the last time?” To all the questions I gave concise and to the point replies without beating around the bush. An experienced IO once told me,” Always catch the bull by its horns”. Never bore the IO with the irrelevant, give him the CREAM. Again unnecessary body movements must be checked and a pleasant smile always helps. The IO sometimes might ridicule you, it’s his tactic of creating stress. Keep calm because it’s his job, he has no hard feelings. Never get into direct confrontation with him, it projects rigid personality. But still if you feel you are correct, reason it out very politely. He is at liberty to lose his cool, you are not.

That was my story. I am eagerly waiting for yours. Leave your queries in the comment section I’d be more than happy to help you all. In fact it will a thing of pride if I can help one aspirant make his dream a reality and thereby add one more Soldier to our armed forces. Keep preparing and work hard in the right direction, it might take long but the patience and perseverance will pay for sure. Success loves the WARRIOR who doesn’t leave the ARENA. All the best!
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About the Author: Jeet, is a diehard Army aspirant, a rock climber, a mountaineer and a marathoner. He had his setbacks early in life and made a gentleman out of himself by constant efforts and dedication. Today his persistence and Never say die attitude paid him the biggest honour of his life.