SSB Interview Process- Schedule of Each 5 Days Activities

Unlike other organization, the selection process in the armed forces is very elaborate and is done over five years. Three different assessors namely the interviewing officer, group testing officer and the psychologist test the same candidate on 3 different perspective and arrive at their respective decision. Thereafter, on the last day in the board conference, they all sit together and discuss each case to arrive at the final decision. The schedule of testing is described below.

Reporting Day-  

Normally, Candidates are made to report in the afternoon and are picked up by a bus from the railway station. On reporting, they are given an opening briefing by the duty GTO covering the testing schedule, dos and don’ts etc. After that the candidates are asked to fill up a personal Information Questionnaire (PIQ). The PIQ forms the basis of psychological testing and the interview. 

1. Day 1- Candidates are put through a screening test which compromises of Intelligence Tests followed by a Picture Perception and Discussion test. Based upon the performance in these tests, some of the candidates are retained for stage 2 testing and others are allowed to return home the same day. Hence, qualifying in this test is most important.
2. Day2- On day 2, candidates screened in on day 1 are put through psychological tests which comprise of Word Association Test (WAT), Thematic Appreciation Test (TAT) and Situation Reaction Test (SRT). In addition, the candidates are asked to describe themselves (Self Description). On completion of these tests, the interview starts.
3. Day 3- Candidates go through Group Testing on day 3 and 4. They are divided into groups of 6 to 10 candidates in each group depending upon the total candidates screened in. On day 3 group discussion (GD), Group Planning Exercise (GPE), progressive Group Task (PGT), Group Obstacle Race (GOR), Half Group Task (HGT) and Lecturrette and conducted in some cases, even the individual obstacle can be conducted on day 3 itself depending upon the weather and engagement of assessor. On completion of the GTO testing, the interviews of the remaining candidates are done.
4. Day 4- The remaining tasks of the Group Testing like individual obstacles, command task and final group task are conducted. On the completion of group testing, interview of the remaining candidates are done.
5. Day 5- Last day is the conference day wherein each candidate is called in one by one for final look and final decision is arrived at. The results are announced by afternoon and candidates not recommended are allowed to leave.
6. Day 6-10, Successful candidates are put through medicals in the nearest military hospital and on a average it takes five days to complete. Those who fail in the medicals are allowed to appeal to the nearest military hospital within 45 days.

5 Best Tips to crack SSB for Interview Aspirants- General Guidelines

If is often noted that the candidate upon receiving a call latter rush to the nearest coaching center to do a crash course or pickup any book on SSB and try to mug up ideas and views given in them. These leads to a definite failure as assessors are expert in discriminating candidates who are genuinely good and those who are superficial. A word of caution therefore, is that there are no shortcuts to success. It calls for dedicated and systematic preparation, To start with, one must 

1. Firstly, build awareness about what is going on in the environment. Selectors are not interested in knowing the dates, numbers, and statistics etc that are straight from books of general knowledge. The general expectation is the awareness about what happening in the country and its neighborhood. This calls for reading newspapers regularly and may be supplementing it with English news channels to keep you abreast of the latest developments. In addition, It is recommended to watch popular TV shows like ‘We the people’, ‘Big Fight’ etc on NDTV 24*7 where current topics are debated by eminent personalities of society. 
2. Secondly, it may also be a good idea to start speaking in English with friends and family members. It is unfortunate but true that the medium of communication in English and Many candidates hesitate and hence do not express themselves adequately and thus fail in the initial screening itself. Hence, it is important to develop English language and it is important to develop English language skills. For this reading newspaper and listening to news will also help in building vocabulary. 
3. Thirdly, Build knowledge of the services/arm that you are aspiring to join for example if you have opted for the executive branch of the Indian Navy or Technical branch of the Indian Army, find out details of the service, the various arms, their roles, job profile etc. More often it happens candidates don’t even know for what they have applied for and it could be a reason for sure elimination.
4.  Fourthly, you must start doing regular exercise and work out like jogging, sit ups, pull-up band pushups that you would get a good physic and more stamina. This will help you to clear physical task during interview. 
5. Fifth, remember the old adage, “First impression is the last impression”, the way you present your self will matter a lot to the assessors, while it may be normal to have a pony tail and a tattoo in the civil world, understand the likes and dislikes of officers from the armed forces. Though you are not expected to take a zero cut, any abnormal dressing or accessories will draw everyone’s attention towards you which may not be very desirable. Hence, be normal and dress up in a decent way. Gentlemen should shave and ladies must keep their hair bundled and not let loose. Service personnel are particular about rules and regulations and discipline. Hence, be conscious of the dos and don’ts that are told to you and make sure you adhere to them meticulously. Though these are not stated, they are expected of any gentleman and lady and hence keenly observed by all the assessors during the test and otherwise.   

How to Get a Job in Indian Defence- Entry Eligibility Criteria and Exams Details

Entry Eligibility Criteria in Indian Defence- SSB Interviews 

The entry level qualification ranges from 12^th class to post graduate. Some of the most common entries are describes as follow- 

NDA/Naval Academy Entry-

Boys who have passed 10+2 (Science PCM stream) can enter into the National Defence Academy/Naval Academy. At the National Defence Academy candidates are put through Graduation (BSc) whereas at the National Naval Academy candidates go through 4 years BTech program. The complete exposes towards lodging/boarding/education are borne by the government of India. In addition, the candidates get a stipend of 10000 per month. The aspiring candidates are required to go through an entrance test conducted by national Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) which are held twice a year and thereafter pass in the service commission board (SSB)

Graduate Entry Scheme-

Graduates of any stream can join the Indian Army. Whereas, in the Indian Navy and the Indian Air force, Science graduates are preferred for the main branches, however in ground duty/admin branches of the Air Force and Logistics branch of Indian Navy, Graduates of BBA, B.Com or BA (Economics) etc are preferred. The aspiring candidates are required to go through an entrance test conducted by UPSC which are held twice a year and thereafter pass in the SSB. For joining logistic branch in the Indian Navy, no entrance exam is required. Candidates with 60% marks in graduation are called for SSB Directly.

Technical Entry Scheme- 

There is a very high demand for technical officers in the armed forces. Candidates from any stream of engineering are eligible to join the armed forces. Engineering graduates do not have to appear in any entrance test but are required to pass in the SSB, In the case of Air Force, an engineering knowledge test in conductors prior and selling for SSB.

NCC Special Entry Scheme- 

NCC ‘C’ Certificate holders are eligible to join and do not have to go through the UPSC entrance examination. They just have to clear SSB.

Women Entry Scheme- 

Women candidates are also being inducted into some branches of the armed forces. In Indian Air force, they are also being inducted in flying arms. In the future, slowly and steadily, the armed forces will become an equal-opportunity employer offering greater role of women of India in serving the nation.

Career in Defence and Introduction to SSB Interview

Defence services namely Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Indian Navy are one of the finest institutions of our country. These institutions are looked upon by every one for several virtues like discipline, dedication, commitment, adventure etc. These institutions provide a very clean and healthy environment to work and to live with a sense of pride and honor in the. In the yesteryears , only the elite section of the society could join the services as an officer and it was the armed forces, post 90’s the luster of working abroad or working in multinational companies and earning huge sums of money diverted the youth from these jobs and less numbers aspired to join the defence forces, However, within a span of 2 decades  the reality has downed upon our youth and the latest trend is that engineers working in the best companies like TCS, WIPRO etc .aspire for defence career. Thus, the armed forces have stood the test time.

Highlights of Career as an Officer- 

1.  As an officer one enjoys a great sense of purpose of serving the mother land
2. Wearing the uniform gives a sense of pride and honor
3. Opportunity to lead a large team at a very young age
4. Fantastic camaraderie and team work
5. Disciplined and orderly life style Best of training and education
6. Sports and Adventures
7. A balance between work and life and the overall wellbeing
8. Salary Scale and Perks-
9. Thanks to the sixth pay commission and promotion reform implemented in the last few years the pay and perks and the promotional aspects have made defence indeed very lucrative-
10. Starting salary from Rs. 25000+ (CTC Rs. 65000 per month)
11. Fantastic perks like canteen, free medical, aid clubs, sports, free travel including by air (for commanders and above posts) etc.
12. Reach the rank of Lt COL/Commander/  Wing Commander in just 13 years
13. Easy exit after pensionable service of 20 years
14. Very handsome pension and full financial security after retirement
15. Flexible terms of tenure in the form of Short Service Commission

 

The aim of this blog is to present the entire procedure in lucid and easy to comprehend manner which will greatly help the candidates in gaining familiarity with the selection system and the various test that are conducted under SSB. The tips offered by the author in each section are based on vast experience and will come very handy in projecting your true personality in a batter way…… to crack SSB interview and such exams