SSB Experience Series: Got recommended in First Attempt for Indian Navy

Recommended from naval selection board Visakhapatnam. This is my first ssb ever and I m Paul Nicolas sanasi from Visakhapatnam ,Andhra Pradesh ! I cleared my ues navy campus round in September which was a group discussion followed by two questions one from my branch of study mechanical and the other from  current affairs,

I will write about campus round in detail later, but for now I will stick on to this, my call letter came in the first week of December for January 22nd NSB Visakhapatnam; my serious preparation started then ! Remember guys it's not about when u start but how focused are you to continue what you started!

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After a very long wait since my center was in Vizag my father dropped me in the railway station at around 0515 hours and the reporting time was 0600 hours.

I went straight to the MCO and to my excitement saw scores of young men already in formals and ready to take on. Made a few friends. We were taken in buses to the NSB which is a lush green board and good ambience! As soon as we went those who weren't in formals were asked to change to formals and all our certificates were checked. We were given good breakfast ! Make sure all your certificates are there.

Later to our shock and surprise we saw another large chunk of people getting down the bus, while we were thinking they are from another batch we were told they are from the same batch! The strength is now 322 ! we were then given chest numbers and I was 82 we had 4 recommended candidates already who couldn't clear the medicals and the merit and a huge number of screened out and conferenced out candidates.

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Right after it we were quickly taken into a large testing hall for OIR and PPDT test; any person with a little aptitude will do the OIR well! Just brush up on all reasoning questions if you are a bit weak we did two sets of OIR then for PPDT were shown a picture for 30 secs and had to write a story for 4 mins! The listening of instructions before the test is very critical so be very attentive and do what they tell you always! I wrote a nice story and was good about it later we were divided into group discussion! 

We were around 10 people in our group and I narrated my story well, remember it's a group and don't look at the assessors; then for the group discussion it was fish market with some guys fighting for the background,I took an initiative to Calm them down and changed the direction of the story to what the person was doing ; this probably was my turning point  . After a long wait of testing 322 candidates 92 were screened in ! This was the first time such a large number have been screened if you are to be tested they ll definitely screen you in. Remember that the testing procedure is purely scientific and there can’t be any cheating.

We were happy that we will get a chance to see the whole testing procedure and then we were divided into batches and I was with one of the coolest batches ever! Pawan,sagar,Paras,huzefa,shourya,Manikanta,kuldeep and pushkar.

We were given new chest numbers, I was now chest no 22 , nice accommodation was also given and NSBV has the best food ! We were all geared up for the psych tests the next day ; some were already reading SSB books but the pro tip is stay cool, calm, focused and enjoy.

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Next day morning we were all ready for the psych tests , I would just want to give some pro tips for each test ,on the whole listening to instructions is very very essential . 

·         TAT- write a story that comes into your mind first, give them a chance to read your mind I did all 12 tat

·         WAT - maintain pace, write the first thought legibly I did all 60 wat

·         SRT - brains are now a bit heated up; take a pause relax and be realistic; don't copy books or what you read written by others; write what's ur reaction! I did 43 SRT

·         SDT - self introspection comes handy here ; so this must be your homework to avoid wasting any time there at SSB; did exceedingly well in this which helped in recommendation later. SSB vision helped me a lot for this.

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 On the whole for the psych tests, stay cool confident truthful and realistic. After that days tests we were allowed for some liberty and had fun in the city! Since I was a local chap, became one of the most sought after guy to tell people about Vizag and its places of interest.

The next day was our GTO ; since we were a large batch of 92, 46 were having GTO on the first day and the other 46 were scheduled to have it on the second day 

You don't need any preparation for GTO; if you are physically fit, have a good planning ability and most importantly if you are a team player you will enjoy all GTO tasks! Remember GTO tasks are designed to observe group dynamics!  

Let me give pro tips quickly for each and what I did in various rounds:

Group discussion 1- did not speak a word; you better speak and share your thoughts quick and with emphasis.

Group discussion 2 - stated facts and was involved supported and took it forward!  Be like me ;)

Group planning exercise - listen with full attention; plan systematically and prioritize; I was nominated by the group to give our plan.

Lecturette - be organized and clear; I chose Aadhar card over three other topics; spoke well and covered some good points on pros and future of aadhar.

Group obstacle race - motivate cheer and encourage and give all that you can give! I was shouting our war cry as if we were in a war literally! 

Progressive group task And Half group task -   stay with the group, use common sense and give thoughts if any without hesitation.

Left for small snacks break of juice and biscuits! Mustered again 

Individual obstacles - don't fear! They are easy! Be fast in between two obstacles I did 7 out of 10.

Command task - let the commander in you emerge; you will have to lead a hundred men soon; be the best commander for two!

Was the subordinate for 5 others! Did my command task very well!

Final group task - you must be familiar by now! Just think and you'll do this with ease! Remember, it's all about you and your group!

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Was a hectic day and most of my friends have already finished their interviews, lot of questions all around and answers to be found out ; but it  was a good good day I just did not speak in the first group discussion , was happy about everything else !

Next day while the other 46 were having their GTO I had my interview scheduled! Was in my best formals and just skimmed through my notes once! 

My interview lasted for about 50 mins to 1 hr and it was the best out of all !

Was grilled like a chicken but enjoyed it, was asked about everything related to me, sports hobbies extra curriculars parents friends and the. National, international news, opinions and  girlfriends as well ! So my only tip is know who you are! THATS ALL! Keep updated with what is happening around you! I was very happy about this and was having my fingers crossed!

On liberty we went to kursura museum and kailashgiri ! If you ever come to Vizag these are must visit places!

Next day was the big day; conference for 92 people and it was republic day! We were at the TV room to watch the parade but alas! There was a power cut! 

Our conference was scheduled to start at 2 pm after lunch and it started off very well! In my conference I was asked some basic questions about the food and stay and was asked to prioritize my tests! I told them and was out very soon! Keep smiling cause there is nothing you can do now! Waited for a long long time for the conferences to get over and it was 8:30pm already! 

Finally after a short wait an officer in white came up and announced our chest numbers 88 .12, 13, .... 22 ! I was still day dreaming when my friends tapped me! Stood up and shouted my name! Couldn't believe what just happened! 10 of us recommended! Were asked to go out of the hall after shouting our names; all hugs and tears!! Was the happiest moment ever!! All the others were made to board buses and they were waving at us congratulating and wishing Us the very best!  Still wasn't able to comprehend!! Whoah! Recommended from NSB Visakhapatnam in the first attempt for permanent commission executive officer on the 68th republic day!! Medicals from INHS Kalyani ; all fit and fine to join the naval academy !

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One last thing; if this is your dream and you have dreamt of it from your heart; nothing can stop you! The selection is fair and scientifically designed and just takes to knowing yourself well!!    See you in white and Yes! I have it in me!

Hope you like SSB Vision teams efforts to keep aspirants updated with Defense news and getting experience of recommended candidates as we believe its easy to learn from mistakes either of self or others and one should utilize this learning in the best way. Follow us here and apply for email notification to recieve recent updates in your inbox. Join our facebook group by Clicking here. Its a community of aspirants discussing topics of interest and helping each other. Be the part of family. Keep reading for more!!

About the Author: Paul Nicolas is a final year student of mechanical engineering from Andhra university Visakhapatnam. He wants to help aspirants achieve their goal through this article by sharing his experience.